On Thursday, Google Ads showcased some of its latest upgrades at the SMX conference in NYC. Among the latest triumphs were two new click-to-message features: email forwarding and automatic replies.

If you need a refresher, click-to-message is an optional ad extension that allows users to do just that; message you right from the ad itself. See below.

The New Features:

1. Email Forwarding:

The email forwarding feature allows “texts” that customers send from click-to-message ads to be delivered to you as an email.

It means advertisers don’t have to provide a phone number to use message extensions, they can just use their email address, and the experience on the users’ side won’t be any different.

1. Automatic Reply:

Advertisers will also be able to set up automatic responses to send to users who contact them via click-to-message.

For example, “Thanks for getting in touch, we’ll call you back within the next few hours!”

Why Should You Care?

Google says that 65% of consumers use messaging to connect with a business, especially to complete tasks like getting information about a product or service, or to schedule an in-person appointment.

If you haven’t been using click-to-message extensions it’s probably because you haven’t got a text-enabled company phone set up, or because you’re worried you won’t be able to handle the 24/7 messaging expectations. Well, poof! Those problems have just disappeared.  

Enabling click-to-message is likely to improve your CTR, and it’s also a much easier way for your customers to get in touch with you on mobile – never a bad thing.  

These new features will be available in the next few weeks; just in time for holiday sale season.