Ad assets are the extra pieces of information Google can attach underneath a search ad: the row of links, the short bragging points, the phone button, the address, the image. They are optional, they are free to add, and most small business accounts either ignore them or fill in two and stop. That is a mistake, because on a crowded results page the ad with six links and a call button takes up more room and answers more questions than the ad above it that is only a headline.
This is a practical walkthrough of which ad assets matter for a small business, what each one is limited to, and the order to set them up. Everything below comes from Google’s own documentation rather than agency folklore.
What Ad Assets Are and Why They Are Not Optional in Practice
Ad assets are add-ons to your ad, not separate ads. Google says plainly that “assets are free to add and they’ll only show if they’re predicted to improve your ad’s performance.” You are never charged extra for the asset itself, and Google decides in each auction whether showing it helps.
That last part is the piece people misread. Adding ad assets does not guarantee they appear. It makes them eligible. If you have not added them, the slot goes to a competitor who did. Google’s own recommendation is to “use every asset relevant to your business” and to consider adding four or more asset types.
There is a second reason to care. Ad assets feed into Ad Strength, the completeness rating Google shows next to your responsive search ads. Google states that advertisers who improve Ad Strength for their responsive search ads and sitelinks from “Poor” to “Excellent” see 15% more conversions on average. Ad Strength is not a quality grade on your writing, it is a checklist, and ad assets are a large part of what it counts.
The Ad Assets Worth Setting Up First
Set these up in this order. The first three take under an hour combined and cover most of what a local or service business needs.
Sitelinks: the biggest single win
Sitelinks are the additional links that appear below your ad, each pointing at a different page. Link text is limited to 25 characters in most languages. Google’s guidance is direct: provide at least 6 sitelinks with descriptions for your high-volume campaigns and ad groups, and adding 6 or more will also improve Ad Strength. Google’s internal data puts the gain at up to 3.5% more conversions on average for advertisers who raise sitelinks per campaign to six.
You are charged the same for a click on a sitelink as for a click on the headline in the same ad, so the extra links are not a separate line item. Pick pages that match how buyers actually shop: your main service pages, a contact or booking page, a reviews or gallery page. Avoid sending sitelinks to the same page with different wording.
Callouts: short claims that cannot be clicked
Callouts are short phrases that sit beside your ad text, limited to 25 characters each, and Google can show up to 10 of them depending on device, browser, and spacing. They are not links. Their job is to answer objections before a click: family owned since 1998, same day service, licensed and insured, free estimates, no contracts.
Write callouts as claims a competitor cannot copy word for word. “Great service” is filler. “24 hour emergency callout” is a reason to pick you.
Call assets: the phone button
Call assets put your number on the ad. On a phone, a clickable call button appears under your responsive search ad. On desktop, a “Call us” button shows, and clicking it reveals your number along with a QR code that opens the dialer when scanned. You can also set your number to appear only during the hours you can actually answer, which is the setting most businesses forget and then wonder why the leads feel wasted.
Structured snippets, location, and image ad assets
Structured snippets list what you offer under a header such as Services or Brands. They are not clickable. Google recommends at least 4 values per header and more than one header-value set, and notes that a desktop ad can show up to 2 headers while mobile and tablet show only one.
Location assets pull your address into the ad and require linking a location data source, usually your Google Business Profile. Image assets add a picture beside a search ad, and they have real gates: a square 1×1 image is required at a minimum of 300 by 300 pixels with 1200 by 1200 recommended, and your account must be at least 60 days old with a clean policy history and active campaigns before you can use them.
Where to Add Ad Assets, and the Level Rule That Trips People Up
You can add ad assets at the account, campaign, asset group, or ad group level. The rule to remember is that the most specific level wins. If you add call assets to an ad group, those show instead of your campaign or account level ones, and campaign level overrides account level.
The practical approach for a small account is to put genuinely universal ad assets at the account level, then override at campaign level only where the message really differs. Google’s own note on sitelinks says the same thing: account level is fine when the links are relevant to everything, but a sitelink that only fits a subset of campaigns should be added to just those campaigns.
How to Tell Whether Your Ad Assets Are Working
Check the Assets view in your campaign reporting and segment clicks by which part of the ad was clicked. Google lets you break out clicks on an individual sitelink versus the headline or another asset, which tells you which links people actually want. Two or three sitelinks usually carry most of the clicks, and swapping the dead ones is a five minute monthly job.
Editing a sitelink does not reset its performance statistics, so you can rewrite link text without losing history. You can also schedule ad assets with start and end dates or restrict them to certain days and times, which is how seasonal messaging should be handled rather than by rewriting ads.
None of this replaces the writing. Ad assets expand a good ad and expose a weak one, so get the core right first with our guide to writing Google Ads headlines that work, then layer the assets on top. If your ads are not appearing at all, assets are not the problem and the paid advertising guide for small business covers where to start instead.
Ad Assets FAQ
What are ad assets in Google Ads?
Ad assets are optional extras attached to your ad, such as sitelinks, callouts, structured snippets, call buttons, locations, and images. They were previously called ad extensions. Google adds them to your ad only when it predicts they will improve performance, and they are free to add.
How many sitelinks should I add per campaign?
Google recommends at least 6 sitelinks with descriptions for high-volume campaigns and ad groups. Adding 6 or more also improves your Ad Strength rating. Keep link text within the 25 character limit so more links can be shown alongside your ad.
Why are my ad assets not showing?
Assets are eligible, not guaranteed. Google shows them only when it predicts they will improve performance, and space depends on device, browser, and character spacing. A more specific level can also override them, since ad group assets replace campaign assets and campaign assets replace account ones.
Do I pay extra when an ad asset shows?
No. Assets are free to add, and you are charged for a click on a sitelink exactly as you would be for a click on the headline in the same ad. Structured snippets and callouts are not clickable at all, so they carry no separate charge.
What are the character limits for ad assets?
Sitelink text and callout text are each limited to 25 characters in most languages, or 12 characters in double-width languages such as Chinese, Japanese, and Korean. Structured snippets need a header plus values, and Google advises at least four values under each header.
Get More Out of the Ads You Are Already Running
Most accounts we look at are leaving room on the results page unused. If you want your campaigns built and maintained properly, our paid advertising services cover setup, assets, and the reporting that shows what is actually converting. If you are spending every month and cannot tell what is working, get in touch with Demur Design for a straight answer. For more guides like this one, subscribe to the Demur Design newsletter in the footer below.
This article is researched and drafted with AI, then reviewed, fact-checked, and published by Demur Design.
