Structured snippets and callout extensions are two of the most straightforward improvements you can make to any Google Ads account. They cost nothing per click, take under an hour to implement properly, and consistently improve click-through rates by expanding the information your ad conveys and the physical space it occupies in the search results. Despite this, both are routinely set up lazily or not at all by advertisers who are happy to pay for positions that are less compelling than they need to be.
What Are Callout Extensions and How Do They Work?
Callout extensions are short phrases (up to 25 characters each) that appear beneath your main ad text in Google Search results. They are non-clickable; their role is to add specific selling points, features, or credentials that do not fit within the constraints of your headline and description character limits.
Google typically displays two to four callouts at a time from your total pool, selecting those it judges most relevant for each auction. You can set callouts at the account, campaign, or ad group level, with more specific settings overriding broader ones.
Callouts appear for desktop, tablet, and mobile ads, though the number shown varies by device and available space.
What Should You Write in Callout Extensions?
The quality of your callouts is determined by how specific and differentiated they are. Generic callouts (like "Great Service" or "Quality Products") add no meaningful information and are ignored by searchers who see the same empty claims on every competitor's ad.
Effective callout text is specific, verifiable, and relevant to the searcher's decision:
For service businesses:
- "No lock-in contracts"
- "Same-day call-back"
- "UK-based team"
- "Google Premier Partner"
- "Free initial consultation"
- "10 years in business"
- "150+ five-star reviews"
- "24/7 support available"
For e-commerce:
- "Free UK delivery over £50"
- "30-day returns"
- "In stock and ready to ship"
- "Price-match guarantee"
- "Next-day delivery available"
- "UK manufacturer"
For professional services:
- "SRA-regulated solicitors"
- "FCA-authorised advisers"
- "Chartered accountants"
- "CIPD qualified HR"
Write at least ten callouts per campaign to give Google sufficient variety to select the most relevant for each auction. Test new callouts quarterly by reviewing performance data and replacing underperforming ones.
What Are Structured Snippets and How Do They Differ from Callouts?
Structured snippets show a labelled list of values beneath your ad under a specific predefined header. Unlike callouts, which are free-form phrases, structured snippets are organised by category. Google provides a fixed list of headers:
- Services (most common for service businesses)
- Brands
- Courses
- Degree programmes
- Destinations
- Featured hotels
- Insurance coverage
- Models
- Neighbourhoods
- Service catalogue
- Shows
- Styles
- Types
For each header you select, you add a list of specific values (minimum three, maximum ten). Google displays the header followed by two to four of your values as a snippet beneath your ad.
How Should You Set Up Structured Snippets?
Choose the Right Header for Your Business
Most service businesses will use the Services header to list specific services they offer. An accountancy firm might list: Tax Returns, VAT Registration, Management Accounts, Payroll, Company Formation, Bookkeeping. An SEO agency might list: SEO, PPC, Content Marketing, GEO, Technical SEO, Link Building.
The values you list should be specific, not generic. "Great service" would be declined by Google as a structured snippet value. "Enterprise SEO Audits" would be accepted and is genuinely informative.
If your business naturally maps to a different header (a travel agency might use Destinations, a university might use Degree programmes, a car dealership might use Models), use the most accurate header rather than defaulting to Services.
Add Values That Match Search Intent
The values you include should align with what your target customers are likely to be searching for. If your campaigns target specific service queries, include those service names as structured snippet values. This creates a visual reinforcement of relevance: a searcher looking for "VAT registration accountant" sees "VAT Registration" prominently in your structured snippet, confirming you provide exactly what they want.
Set Snippets at the Right Level
Account-level structured snippets apply across all campaigns and are most efficient for services you provide across all your advertising. Campaign-level snippets override the account level for specific campaigns where you want to highlight different services or values.
For an agency running separate campaigns for SEO, PPC, and Content Marketing, the overall account snippet might list all services while each campaign has its own snippet listing only the specific services relevant to that campaign.
Language and Scheduling
Structured snippets support scheduling, allowing you to show different snippets at different times. For a business with significant seasonal variation in services, scheduling relevant snippets to appear only during the appropriate season prevents confusion. A garden centre might schedule a "Seasonal plants and flowers" value only during spring and summer.
How Do You Measure the Performance of Callouts and Structured Snippets?
In the Google Ads interface, navigate to Ads and Assets > Assets to see performance data for each individual callout and structured snippet. The metrics available include impressions, clicks, and click-through rate at the individual asset level.
Use this data to:
- Identify callouts that receive significantly lower click-through rates than your average (replace or rewrite them)
- Identify structured snippet values that never appear (they may be triggering quality issues)
- Test variants of the same message (e.g. "30-day free returns" vs "Free 30-day returns") to see which drives more clicks
Run tests for at least four weeks before drawing conclusions. Impression volume needs to be sufficient for statistical patterns to emerge.
What Is the Difference Between Callouts and Sitelinks?
This is a common source of confusion. Sitelinks are clickable links that take users to specific pages on your site. Callouts are non-clickable text that add context to the ad. Structured snippets are non-clickable categorised lists.
All three serve different purposes and all three should be active simultaneously. Sitelinks direct motivated users to specific destinations. Callouts highlight unique selling points that might not fit in headline copy. Structured snippets communicate the breadth or specific nature of your offering in a structured format.
Accounts that run all three types see meaningfully larger ads than those running one or two, and larger ads generally achieve higher click-through rates simply by occupying more SERP real estate.
Dynamically sets up comprehensive extension strategies across every Google Ads account we manage. If your campaigns are running without full asset coverage, you are competing with one hand tied behind your back. Get in touch for a PPC audit.
