Not all customers searching for your business know that you have a mobile app. Today Google announced new advertising features that enable you to promote, track, and monetize your mobile apps through AdWords.

The first new feature — the Mobile App Extension — enables you to attach a mobile app download link to your search ads. Through this extension, you’ll be able to promote your mobile app to customers that might only be searching for your brand, product, or service.

Beta participants using the Mobile App Extension reported a six percent increase in clickthrough rates compared to controlled — those not using the extension — campaigns.

The second feature comes in handy if you’re focused on promoting your mobile apps through Google’s click-to-download ads. These ads enable individuals to download your mobile app directly from iTunes or Google Play after clicking the ad.

Previously these ads featured a small mobile app icon next to the text ad. Now Google has updated the ads so that information from your iTunes and Google Play listing automatically added, including image previews, a description of your app, and pricing and rating information.

Additionally, if an individual downloads your mobile app from the Google Play store through a click-to-download ad or mobile app extension, AdWords will count that download as a conversion. However, this only applies to Android apps and not iOS.

And finally, Google announced that tablet and mobile app users will receive ads relevant to their search queries inside apps through Custom Search Ads.

Although mobile advertising is still relatively new, mobile search is a powerful channel for businesses. This is a significant opportunity for you to reach your customers through the mobile platform.

[Via: TechCrunch, Image credit: mikogo]