Location Assets

A location asset adds store information to a Search ad. Depending on the device, it can show distance and city on mobile, a street address on desktop, a map pin, and a clickable Call button on mobile. Google formerly called these location extensions. You build the asset in Location manager, under Tools and Shared library, where you choose one location asset type per account: locations you own, or locations where you sell products but do not own the store. You then link a data source such as a Business Profile. The asset turns a text ad into a local one, which is useful when people decide based on how far they must travel.

The most common data source is your Google Business Profile. Once the accounts are linked, locations sync into Google Ads and each one must pass integrity verification before it can show. Data comes from Google Maps and Business Profile, so corrections you make there flow into linked ads accounts. Changes made in Business Profile can take up to a day to appear in Google Ads, and Google's linking guidance notes sync can take longer after a new link. Locations marked temporarily or permanently closed will not show. Other sources include chain stores and up to 10 Google Maps locations. If you run several locations, make sure each has consistent names and categories so the right branch is picked for each searcher.

Location assets connect to several other settings. They can show on Google Maps and Search Partners as well as Search, on YouTube in-stream and bumper ads unless you opt out, and on Display only through Local campaigns or Performance Max with store goals. They can enable store visit tracking, which Google turns on automatically when your account meets eligibility criteria. Call reporting is recommended for the phone numbers shown, and it needs account-level reporting. You can set No location asset on a campaign or ad group where addresses do not belong, such as a nationwide online offer. For online-only offers, setting no location asset avoids sending people to a storefront that cannot serve them.

Most problems come from the Business Profile link, not the ad. Mismatched names, unverified profiles, or locations that fail integrity checks mean the asset does not serve, and there is rarely an obvious error shown. Another common mistake is removing all locations from the account, which Google discourages because it ends location targeting, location bidding, and store visit tracking. Duplicate Business Profiles for one shop create confusion, and Google advises against making a new profile if one already exists. Hours that are wrong in Business Profile will also show wrong in your ads. Keep your Business Profile hours current as well, because a searcher who arrives to a locked door will not click your ad again.

This week, open Location manager and check that your locations are listed, active, and approved. Compare the address, phone number, and hours with what is on your shop door. Make fixes in the Business Profile, not the ads account, then wait for the sync. If you have many locations, use labels to choose which ones feed each campaign. After a few weeks, compare store visits, calls, and direction requests in reporting, and drop location-focused spend on branches that do not produce them. Check the store visit and call numbers each month, and compare them with what the front desk sees, to judge whether the data is credible.