Bing says the first trials of detailed sitelinks for a carefully selected pool of search advertisers have been “phenomenal”.
The Microsoft-owned search engine has been experimenting with Enhanced Sitelinks in the hope of catering for advertisers that wish to add more detail to their paid search listings. This sees the addition of up to two lines of customisable text to a Sitelink Extension, which typically features below a main search result.
Google, which controls 67.6% of the US search market, has had a similar feature available for the past two years.
Initial trials
Some Bing users may have already seen Enhanced Sitelinks pop up in their browser, but the rest of the search world learned of its project from a blog post by Microsoft’s principal program manager, Eliot Li.
The images show regular Sitelinks from Home Depot being complemented with two lines of relevant, non-clickable information below.
Li claimed that a first set of tests for the feature had been an overwhelming success. Enhanced Sitelinks was said to have fuelled an average rise of 27% in click-through rates, with some of the luckiest advertisers seeing a 68% lift.
Rolling out
According to the post, the success is a result of a larger, more relevant and descriptive ad being presented to the user.
Li adds that only high-quality ads placed above the organic listings will trigger Enhanced Sitelinks and urged marketers to only have the option enabled for high-performing campaigns.
The feature is currently only available in the US, but is set for a roll out in other markets later this year.