Google Ads has quietly updated how ad strength is calculated in Performance Max by including sitelinks as a factor. In the interface, sitelinks now appear alongside images, videos, headlines, descriptions, and products used to assess ad strength.
If sitelinks are missing, advertisers may see a drop in the ad strength score, prompting system suggestions to add them. Including sitelinks can help improve both the rating and user engagement by offering more paths to conversion.
Advertisers should review their asset groups and ensure sitelinks are configured.
This update was discovered by Vojtěch Audy.