Incorporate location information in your ads by setting up location assets. With location assets, your ads can display information such as your address, a map to your location, or the distance to your business to help people find your stores. People can then click or tap your location when shown with your final ad to get further details about your location on your location page, which includes the most relevant business information all in one place. With location assets, ads may also include a phone number or call button so that users can easily call your business.
This article provides an overview of location assets, how to create them, how to remove them, how to link them to a Business profile, and some common issues with linking location assets to business profiles.
Before you begin
If you make products and want to help people find them at retail chains and stores, refer to About affiliate location assets.
When to use
Ads with location assets help people to engage and visit your business.
Search Network example
Clara, a bakery owner, wants to draw foot traffic to her storefront. She adds a location asset to her campaign. Now, when people nearby search on mobile for one of her keywords (“best bakery nearby” or “fresh bread”), her asset is eligible to show and may give bread-lovers:
- the distance to her location, and its city (mobile)
- her location's street address (computer)
- a clickable "Call" button
- tappable or clickable access to a details page for her location—with information such as hours, phone number, photos, and directions.
Location assets can also work with YouTube and Performance Max campaigns.
YouTube example
A major clothes retailer wants to target the audience segment “Fashionistas”—encouraging people browsing online to come into the store and make purchases. To accomplish this goal, the store’s account manager sets up location assets on YouTube ads.
Alongside her YouTube ad, the location asset format shows a “teaser” of business information. When a user clicks or taps the location within the final ad, it expands to a location page that shows more business information, such as address, phone number, and store hours. The store shown in the final ad is selected based on the user’s location or a location they’ve shown interest in.
Where they show
Location assets can show your business information in various formats on mobile devices and computers on the Search Network, Display Network, YouTube, and Google Maps.
Google Search Network: On the Search Network, ads with location assets can appear as a standard text ad with your location and phone number. On mobile, a clickable “Call” button may show in place of your phone number.
- Google search sites, like Google Maps: Your locations can appear beside, above, or below search results on Google Maps, including the Maps app.
- Google Display Network: Your locations may show on sites and apps on the Display Network when people are near, or have demonstrated an interest in, your local area.
Note: Location assets on Display inventory are only available through Local Campaigns or Performance Max with store goals.
- YouTube Video Ads: Your locations may show on YouTube TrueView in-stream and bumper ads when people are near, or have demonstrated an interest in, your local area.
Your locations will start showing on video ads, meaning your video ads will show information about your business locations unless you explicitly opt out.
How to create location assets
There are 2 ways to enable location assets in your account:
- If you sell products or offer services at major retailers, the easiest way is to add chain store locations directly to your account in Google Ads (recommended).
- If you can’t find your retailers in this list or prefer an alternative, you may also link to a Business Profile.
Whichever way you choose, the locations you add are eligible to show with any Search, Display, or Video ad in your account.
If you want to assign locations to particular campaigns or ad groups, set up location groups when you create your location assets.
Optional settings
You can choose to enable call reporting (this setting is recommended). You'll need to turn on account-level reporting to view call reporting for calls from location assets. Learn how to Manage call reporting for your campaigns.
Verify your phone number
Phone numbers with location assets will be verified to confirm they represent the business being promoted. Learn more about Phone number verification for call and location assets.
Instructions
Add location assets
- In your Google Ads account, click the Campaigns icon
.
- Click the Assets drop down in the section menu.
- Click Assets.
- Click the plus button
, then click + Location assets.
- To add chain locations directly to your account in Google Ads, or to link a Business Profile, follow the steps below.
Use chain locations in Ads
Keep in mind: Chain locations update automatically as stores open, move, or close, but updates to locations in the Business Profile manager may take up to a day to reflect in your Google Ads account.
- When setting up location assets, you’ll have the option to select one or more chains. Click Select curated locations to view pre-selected chain stores that have been identified as being a good fit for the country associated with your account.
- Follow the prompts to add the specific chain locations where your products are sold.
- Click Save.
- If you don't own the chain store locations but instead are a manufacturer that sells products or offers services at these locations, you should use affiliate location assets instead of location assets. To add affiliate location assets, click the plus button
You can customize your locations further at the campaign or ad group level. You can choose to add all account-level locations, use just a subset of account-level locations using Location Groups, or choose “No affiliate retail chains” to keep the asset from showing for specific campaigns or ad groups.
As an alternative to chains or if your chain locations aren't available in Google's list, you may also link your Google Ads account to a Business Profile and show the Business Profile’s locations as location assets in Google Ads. To use this option, you will need access to the Business Profile manager that lists your locations.
Learn more about how to opt out of allowing your merchant photos to be used by local ads.
Check whether your business is already on Business Profile (many businesses already are). Since Business Profile verification takes time, don’t set up a new Business Profile if your business already has one.
If your business is new to Business Profile, start by creating an account. For instructions, go to Get started with Business Profile.
Link to any Business Profile
- In your Google Ads account, click the Campaigns icon
- Click the Assets drop down in the section menu.
- Click Assets.
- Click the plus button
- Your domain should show up automatically. If it doesn’t, enter a domain to discover potential Business Profiles.
- Select Countries by clicking the pencil icon
. Click Save.
- In the list below, find the Business Profile that best matches your business. Click Select.
- Confirm that the correct Business Profile is showing in the preview, click Continue.
Your request will be sent to the email address for the Business Profile you selected. When your request is approved, locations for that account will be eligible to show as location assets with your ads.
Link to a Business Profile you manage
- In your Google Ads account, click the Campaigns icon
- Click the Assets drop down in the section menu.
- Click Assets.
- Click the plus button
- Click Link to a Business Profile Manager account I know.
- Choose Select a Business Profile that I manage. Select an account from the dropdown.
- Click Continue.
- Apply your business name or label filters if needed. Click Finish.
Link to a Business Profile using an email address
- In your Google Ads account, click the Campaigns icon
- Click the Assets drop down in the section menu.
- Click Assets.
- Click the plus button
- Click Link to a Business Profile Manager account I know.
- Select Request access to another Business Profile. Enter the account email address.
- Click Continue. A request will be sent to the Business Profile email. When the request is approved, locations from this account will be eligible to show as location assets with your ads.
Edit locations or location labels in Business Profile
- Identify the person who manages Business Profile for your business, then ask that person to add your Google Ads email address as an owner or manager. You may want to send them the Business Profile instructions: Add and remove location group owners and managers.
- Once the Business Profile manager invites you to Business Profile, an invitation is sent to the email address associated with your Google Ads account. Accept that invitation.
- After you’ve accepted the invitation from the Business Profile, sign in to your Business Profile to make any edits to your addresses. For guidance, go to Edit your Business Profile on Google
Once you are a manager of a Business Profile, you can link to Google Ads using the instructions above for “Find and link to a Business Profile you manage”
Opt out of using merchant photos in local ads
- In your Google Ads account, click the Campaigns icon
- Click the Assets drop down in the section menu.
- Click Assets.
- Select Association from the “Table view” dropdown menu.
- Click the 3-dot menu icon
on the right, then select Account level automated assets.
- Click the 3-dot menu icon
- Expand the “Automated locations” entry.
- Unselect the “Allow Google Ads to use merchant photos” checkbox, to opt out.
on the right, then select Account level automated assets.Set up campaign and ad group level location assets
Before using the below steps, make sure that you have location assets set up at the account level.
- In your Google Ads account, click the Campaigns icon
- Click the Assets drop down in the section menu.
- Click Assets.
- Click the plus button
- You can select to add a campaign. If you want to add an ad group, click “Add to” from the drop down menu, then select the campaigns or ad groups you wish to add the location assets to.
- You can select to set up campaign or ad group level location assets by using one of the 4 options under the “Show my ad with” menu.
- All synced locations: Use all location assets synced at account level.
- Location groups: Individually select locations to be used in the campaign/ad group (up to 20 locations can be selected).
- No location assets: Disable location assets in the campaign/ad group. If you select this option, location assets won't be serving in the selected campaign/ad group.
- Click Save. You can find the campaign/ad group level location assets settings in the “Associations” view of the Assets page.
Remove location assets
How to turn off location assets at the campaign or ad group level
- In your Google Ads account, click the Campaigns icon
- Click the Assets drop down in the section menu.
- Click Assets.
- Click the plus button
- Choose to remove your location asset at either the campaign or ad group level using the drop-down menu.
- Click the pencil icon
, then check the boxes beside the specific campaigns or ad groups from which you want to remove your location asset.
- Select No location asset.
- Click Save.
, then check the boxes beside the specific campaigns or ad groups from which you want to remove your location asset.How to remove location assets from your entire account
- In your Google Ads account, click the Campaigns icon
- Click the Assets drop down in the section menu.
- Click Assets.
- You'll now be able to view a table with all your assets. Select Associations (legacy) from the “Table view” drop-down menu.
- Select Location from the list above the table toolbar.
- Check the box next to your account-level location asset.
- Click Remove in the blue bar at the top.
Important: If you remove location assets from your account, then you won't be able to use business locations for targeting or bidding, and you won't be able to track store visit conversions, so it's not recommended.
Common issues
The following are some common scenarios that can cause issues when linking your Google Ads and Business Profile and some tips to resolve them. Keep in mind that you’ll need access to the Business Profile that lists your locations.
Learn more about Linking your Google Ads and Business Profiles.
You don’t have access to the Business Profile
If you don’t manage the Business Profile you’re trying to link, you’ll need to contact the manager of that account. You can then send a request to the email associated with the Business Profile. You can also request that the account manager share owner or manager access.
You’re trying to share location assets across multiple accounts
If you’re going to link multiple accounts, they must be under the same Google Ads manager account. There should be a single email associated with the multiple accounts in order to link them to Business Profile.
Note: You can only link your Google Ads account to one Business Profile at a time. If you would like to link a new Business Profile to a Google Ads account that’s already linked to a different Business Profile, you'll need to remove the link to the old Business Profile first before linking the new one
Once you link your Google Ads account and your Business Profile, or edit your business' location in the Business Profile product interface, both of your accounts should sync within 24 hours. Edits made to your business information in Business Profile can take up to 24 hours to show up in Google Ads.
Use the following steps to find out the progress of your account’s linking:
- In your Google Ads account, click the Campaigns icon
- Click the Assets drop down in the section menu.
- Click Assets.
- You'll now be able to view a table with all your assets. Select Associations (legacy) from the “Table view”.
- Click the Location at the top of the table.
After about 24 hours, the "Assets" tab should show the total number of locations that have been updated as a result of the linked accounts. If you aren’t able to find locations in the “Assets” tab in your Google Ads account, make sure the locations in your Business Profile follow these guidelines:
- Business name - Enter a business name with 80 characters or less.
- Address line 1 - This is required. Don't leave this box blank.
- Street address - Enter an address with no more than 80 characters.
- Country code - This is required. Don't leave this box blank.
- URL - Enter a URL with no more than 35 characters.
View the Guidelines for representing your business on Google.
Keep in mind
Changing the password of your Business Profile won't require re-linking from Google Ads.
The following two situations might delete feed items for location assets:
- Changing (adding or removing) a filter at the account-level location asset. Any feed items that don't match the filter will be deleted.
- Adding a Google Ads label to the listing in Business Profile, and then filtering only those locations with labels at the account level. All listings that had a label added are then re-synced to Google Ads as a new feed item ID.
