If you are using call extensions with AdWords Enhanced campaigns, you may want to think twice about selecting the mobile preference for call extensions. When you select the mobile device preference for any ad extensions, those extensions will only show on mobile devices. You will not accrue any PC impressions for those extensions.
If you are using Google voice call extensions, take a look at your campaign click type segment splits. Do you receive manually dialed phone calls? Why risk losing those manually dialed calls by selecting this preference? The possible “benefit” of selecting a mobile preference for call extensions is that if you have more than one type of ad extensions for a campaign, and your preference is to show your call extensions ONLY on mobile devices. I guess you could do that, but what’s the point? Why not show a call extension on PC’s as well – Now that you can do that with enhanced campaigns.
This option will not give preference to call extensions on mobile devices over other ad extensions. If for example you (like me) would rather have your call extension show on mobile devices than sitelink extensions, selecting this option will not accomplish your goal. There is no way to “prefer” that the call extension is the “#1 option” for ad extensions over any other extension. The way the help information is phrased is… confusing, to say the least:
“Standard text ads and extensions will be given preference on desktop and laptop computers or tablets.” This statement is a bit of a lie, in that – There is no “standard” option or preference. There is no way to say to the Google machine “I only want to show sitelinks, product extensions, social extensions, etc. on PC’s, and I want to show only call extensions on mobile devices”. You can either show all possible extensions on all possible devices, or only certain extensions on only mobile devices. With legacy campaigns you could easily show only the extensions you wanted to, on only the devices you wanted to, simply by setting the device/extension options through the campaign settings.
Only having mobile device preference ads and ad extensions for a campaign will not result in a mobile only enhanced campaign. You will still accrue PC impressions, there is still no way to create a mobile only, call only campaign. I still don’t see a real benefit to this option, at least, not in it’s current form. Perhaps Google will make some changes before the forced enhanced campaigns transition on July 22nd 2013. Maybe then the mobile preference for call extensions will make some sense, or have some real value. Until then, I would be very careful about selecting this option – If your goal is to get more phone calls to your business from AdWords. Your ads will show on PC’s whether you want them to or not. You might as well see if you can get some manually dialed calls out of those impressions/clicks while you’re accruing those unwanted PC advertising costs anyway. 🙂
