Google Ads Lead Form Extensions: Everything You Need to Know

Getting leads from Google Ads doesn’t need to be complicated—especially when you use the Google Ads lead form extension designed specifically for lead generation. It allows businesses to capture customer information directly within the ad, without requiring users to visit a website or complete additional steps.

This streamlined lead generation process reduces friction for potential customers, enabling faster sign-ups and improving the chances of converting ad clicks into qualified leads.

But the question is, how can you set up lead form assets? And that too effectively? 

To answer all such questions, we have written this article. In this guide, we will discuss what lead form assets are, their benefits, how to set them up, and many other important details. 

So, are you ready? Let’s quickly start. 

Note: Extensions in Google Ads are now known as assets. For this reason, we have used both terms interchangeably throughout the article.

What is a Lead Form Extension in Google Ads? 

Google Ads Lead form assets allow you to lead generation and capture customer contact information directly within your ads. Through these forms, you enable users to express interest in your products, services, and businesses without leaving the Google platform they are currently on, such as Google Search or YouTube. 

With lead form assets, you can collect the following customer information: 

• Name
• Email address
• Phone number
• City, State, Zip Code, and Country
• Company name and job title (useful information if your goal is to use Google Ads for B2B lead generation.) 

Lead form assets are currently available for Search, Video, Performance Max, and Display campaigns in Google Ads. 

Also Read: 1. Google Shopping Ad Extensions 2. Google Ad Callouts

How Do Lead Form Assets Work? 

We will now discuss how do Google Ads lead form extensions work and the entire flow, from the moment you add them to your ad to when a user sees and clicks them. 

Step 1: You create a form inside Google Ads and then assign it to your campaign. 

Note: You can only attach one lead form per campaign, and campaign-level forms override account-level ones.

Step 2: A user sees your ad on a supported Google property, such as Gmail or Discover, and clicks on it.

Step 3: Then, they choose to submit their contact information, such as email, phone number, and other details, directly within the ad without getting redirected anywhere. 

Note: Forms may also auto-fill with a user’s first-party data if they are signed into their Google Ads account.

Step 4: Once submitted, you get access to all those leads in your Google Ads account, which you can download as a CSV file. Also, you can even set up a webhook integration and send those Google leads directly to your CRM system.

Step 5: Based on the collected data, you can create lead form audiences, run Google remarketing ads, and boost your brand’s advertising efforts.    

How to Create a Google Ads Lead Form Extension: Prerequisites and Process 

Before we learn how to create these lead form assets, let’s go through certain requirements that you must meet. 

Requirements for Google Ads Lead Form Extension

• Your account must be in good standing and shouldn’t have any history of major, egregious policy violations. 
• Your Google Ads account should be serving an eligible vertical or sub-vertical. For eg, sexual content is not allowed. 
• There should also be a privacy policy for your business, as that will appear in the form. 

In case you are creating and adding the lead form to a Video or Display campaign, or a Search campaign where the ad headline directly opens a lead form, you must meet the following requirements: 

• Ad spends more than $50,000. 
• Reputable advertisers with more than $1,000 spend per account or more than $15,000 combined across all accounts are also eligible upon Advertiser verification. 

Apart from that, for an active lead form to be eligible to serve, your campaign must also be: 

• Using a conversion-focused bidding strategy. 
• Optimized toward a Google leads form conversion goal. 
• Use Responsive Search Ads (RSAs), as expanded text ads are not supported. 

Note: Lead forms are available only in select eligible countries, such as Australia, the United States, and the United Kingdom. Go through this Google page to check the full list of countries.

Step-by-Step Process to Create Google Ads Lead Forms At the Campaign Level

1. Create a New Campaign 

• Open your Google Ads account and go to ‘Campaigns’ from the left-hand side menu. 
• Click on the ‘+’ button and then select New Campaign. 

• Select Leads as the campaign goal. 

2. Select Campaign Type

• Select a campaign type that supports lead forms. Options include Video, Search, Display, and PMax. 
• Click Continue, then configure your campaign settings as you normally would to set up a Google Ads campaign. 

3. Open the Lead Form Asset Editor

Then you will have to open your lead form editor to enter the lead form details. 

• For Search and Display campaigns, go to the “Assets” section, then choose More asset types, and then Lead forms. 
• For Video campaigns, you must scroll down to the “Lead form” section and then select Form.

4. Create a New Lead Form

• Inside the lead asset editor, click on Create new. 
• Add a headline, business name, and description. 

5. Choose the Questions you want to ask Customers in the Form

Some options that you can select include: 

• Name
• Email 
• Phone Number
• City 
• Zip / Postcode 
• Are you over _ years of age? 

6. Add Qualifying Questions if Needed 

• You can also add custom questions to filter better Google leads. 
• Choose questions from Google’s catalog or suggest your own.
• Then, select answers that define a qualified lead. 
• Each qualifying question that you add must include at least two answer options, where each should stay under 70 characters.

7. Set Optional Questions Carefully 

• Remember that some questions can remain optional for users. 
• However, either an email or a phone number will be required. 
• And, qualifying questions cannot be optional. 

8. Add Your Privacy Policy URL

• Add the link to your privacy policy page. 
• Google requires this to be able to collect customer contact information. 

9. Customize the Form Design 

• Search campaigns allow you to add a background image to the Lead form. 
• However, it needs to be in the 1.91:1 (1200 x 628) recommended ratio. 

10. Write the Form Submission Message

• You must create a headline and description under the form submission message that customers will see after they submit the form. 
• If available, you can also add a CTA that takes users to another page.  

11. Connect your CRM if Required 

• You can also connect your CRM to send Google leads directly to it. 
• Use webhooks, Zapier, or the Google Ads API. 

12. Choose Lead Form Optimization 

• Select between More qualified or More volume optimization. 
• Configuring this setting will help you balance both the quality and quantity of your leads. 

13. Accept Terms  

• If you are creating the form for the first time, review and accept the terms of service. 
• Select Save.

Important Points to Note:  1. Google automatically counts every form submission as a conversion. Also, Google creates a specific conversion action as soon as it approves your lead form extension.  2. If a user opens a form, that will count as a click, and you will have to pay the CPC for it.  3. You will not get any tracking data for lead form interactions in Google Analytics.  4. Once you create a form, you cannot edit its questions further. You must create a new form to make changes. And in case you edit headlines or descriptions, your campaign will pause until those updates are re-approved.

Step-by-Step Process to Create a Lead Form Asset At the Account Level 

Here’s how you can add a lead form at the account level.

1. Go to “Assets” from the “Campaigns” menu on the left-hand side menu. 

2. Click on the blue ‘+’ icon and then select ‘Lead form.’
3. Select “Account” under the “Add to” dropdown. 

4. Select the “Create new” option. 
5. Fill in the required details of the lead form. 
6. Click on “Save,” and the form will be created. 

Note: You can add only one lead form extension at the account level. Account-level lead forms are only available for two campaign types: PMax and Search.

How to Download Leads from Google Ads?

Once you start to get submissions for lead forms, you must fetch and access that data quickly. This is because Google only stores leads for 60 days. 

Additionally, you can only download leads from your Google Ads account when you have “Standard” or “Admin” access. 

In case of manager accounts, you can only download leads from a client account if the client has provided you with ownership. 

Different Ways to Download Leads 

There are two different ways to download leads. 

1. In Google Ads: 

• CSV: You get a simple CSV file where the column headers are full question names translated into the language you use in your Ads account. 
• CSV for CRM: You get a more advanced CSV file in which the column headers use field names instead of full question names. This format is ideal for CRM imports. 

2. CRM, Third-Party Integrations, and Google Ads API:  

• Webhook: A webhook sends lead data directly to your CRM. And in this case, the question fields will appear as column IDs. 
• Third-party integrations: Third-party integration providers like LeadsBridge, Salesforce, Adverity, or Zapier can help send lead data automatically to your CRM through webhooks.
• Google Ads API: If you are a developer, you can also retrieve leads via the Google Ads API.

Step-by-Step Process To Download Leads in a CSV File

• Go to “Assets” from “Campaigns” by clicking on the left-hand side menu. 
• Select ‘‘Lead form’’ summary card header when asked for the type of asset. 
• Then, below the lead form asset, you must select from the two available options: CSV or CSV for CRM. 

Note: To learn how to download leads from removed forms, we recommend checking this Google page. To understand how to retrieve leads through the Google Ads API, refer to this Google support page.

How to Integrate Google Ads Lead Forms with a CRM? (HubSpot Example) 

We will now cover the integration process between a CRM (HubSpot, for this blog’s reference purposes) and Google Ads to facilitate lead transfer via the lead ad forms. 

A few important things to note before we begin with the process: 

• You must have admin access to your Google Ads account. 
• Lead forms must be attached to an active campaign. 
• Google only syncs leads going forward, i.e, historical data won’t be synced. 
• New leads may take up to 2 hours to appear in HubSpot. 
• If you make any changes to field mappings, they will apply to newly synced leads only. 

The Setup Process 

1. Open your HubSpot account and follow this pathway: Settings > Marketing > Ads, and click on the Lead Syncing tab. 
2. Click on Connect and then select Google, and check the box next to your account. Click on Save. This will enable lead syncing. 
3. Then, click on your account name, open the relevant form, and map custom fields to the correct HubSpot contact properties using the Edit mapping option.
4. Click on Save, and that will activate lead syncing. 

Note: If you notice any errors on your Ads dashboard, click on View errors, locate the form that is affected, and resolve the issue under the Status column. To go through this integration process in detail, check this HubSpot support page.

What is the Main Benefit of Lead Form Extensions in Google Ads?

There is not one but multiple benefits of using Lead Form extensions in Google Ads: 

1. Less Friction and More Conversions: You can collect essential customer contact details without asking customers to visit a separate page. Plus, customers also find it convenient to use these forms as their details often pre-fill from their connected Google accounts without any hassle. 
2. Built For Mobile: These lead form assets load instantly within Google’s interface, irrespective of the device type and screen size. 
3. Automatic Conversion Tracking: As Google automatically creates a conversion action for every submission, you don’t need to worry about tracking. 
4. Seamless CRM Integration: Google Ads lead form CRM integration allows you to sync all leads directly to your CRM for easy follow-ups without manual imports or exports.
5. No Landing Page Required: With Google Ads lead form assets, you don’t need to build separate landing pages, which saves time and reduces marketing costs significantly.    
6. First-Party Data Collection: Through lead forms, you can reliably collect first-party data that customers willingly share, which is essential in today’s world as third-party cookies continue to phase out.

Conclusion and Key Takeaways 

Google Ads Lead Form Assets make lead generation simpler, faster, and more effective — all without sending users away from the platform.

The key takeaways from this blog include:

• Lead form assets let users submit their details directly within your ad, without visiting a landing page.
• Your account must be in good standing, serve an eligible vertical, and have a privacy policy URL to be able to support lead form asset creation.
• Setting up a lead form involves selecting a Leads campaign goal, filling in form details, adding qualifying questions, including a CTA, and choosing between More Volume or More Qualified optimization.
• When creating a form, choose your questions carefully. Once saved, they cannot be edited.
• Google stores leads for only 60 days, so set up a webhook or download regularly to avoid losing data.
• HubSpot’s native lead syncing lets you connect your Google Ads account and map form fields in just a few steps.
• From mobile optimization to automatic conversion tracking, lead form assets offer real, measurable advantages for most advertisers.

Good luck! 

Other Google Ads Articles to Read: 1. Google Ads Examples 2. Google Ads Reporting 3. Google Ads Glossary 4. 20+ PMax Ad Examples

FAQs

1. Is Google Ads Lead Form Extension free to use? 

The feature itself is free, and there’s no additional cost to add a lead form to your ad. However, you still pay the standard CPC each time a user opens the form, as that counts as a click.

2. Is there any eligibility requirement for the Google Ads Lead Form Extension? 

Yes. Your account must have a good policy compliance history, operate in an eligible vertical, and have a privacy policy URL. Additional spend thresholds apply for Video, Display, and direct-open Search campaigns.

3. Where do Lead Form Extensions appear? 

Lead forms can appear across Google Search, YouTube, Display Network, Gmail, and Discover — depending on your campaign type.

4. What information can I collect using a Lead Form Extension? 

You can collect standard details like name, email, phone number, city, company name, and job title. You can also add custom qualifying questions to gather more specific information.

5. Are Google Ads Lead Form Extensions better than landing pages? 

It depends on your goal. Lead forms work better for quick, low-friction conversions, especially on mobile devices. Landing pages are better when you need to educate the user or build trust before they convert. Ideally, test both and see what works for your audience.