Machine Learning, Transparency, New Campaigns, and What It All Means
If you’ve read our past blog, you know that Google is ditching AdWords and bringing forth a new brand, Google Ads. They made it clear that the change was big, but it wasn’t until the internet giant’s Keynote Address this week that we knew exactly how big.
Today we are breaking down key highlights included in the presentation and what it means for your ads.
Machine Learning & Responsive Search Ads
Google has taken the plunge into fully immersing its products with artificial intelligence and machine learning technology. Google has been pushing for less manual testing for some time now, and with this recent change they are putting automation at the forefront of all their services. They are betting that their algorithms know what’s best for the audience more so than the businesses that are being promoted. And it looks like they might be right this time.
One of the most exciting ways they are using machine learning is with responsive search ads. In AdWords, advertisers would write an ad with two 30-character headlines, and one 80-character description.
With the new Google Ads platform, Google will be bumping this up to three headlines, and two 90-character descriptions.
Advertisers will still have the option to write each ad manually, and this remains the ideal option in some circumstances. However, there will be a new option where the advertiser (or agency managing the account) can provide up to fifteen headlines and four descriptions, and Google will mix and match based on the specific search query. These generated ads will still need to be managed, measured, and adjusted, once the copy is written.
What does this mean for our clients?
It means all of your ad copy will be getting a makeover as we leverage our expertise to ensure your goals are met.
Transparency
Google has paid close attention to the privacy landscape of late, and is getting ahead of their own PR nightmares – and smartly so.
There have always been ways to reduce the amount of data Google collects from you, but with this new update, they are increasing the control the user has. Not only can choose to turn off ad personalization all together, Google will now show all the audiences it places you in within your Google account settings. From there, you can choose to change certain audiences or opt out of that altogether.
This is a smart move by Google to avoid the controversies that Facebook has dealt with recently.
What does this mean for our clients?
The extent of this impact is yet to be determined. Because Google is getting in front of it, that might be enough to make users feel better. We will be carefully monitoring this change to see how it impacts the reach of our campaigns.
New Campaign Types – Local and Smart Shopping Campaigns
Google announced a few new campaign types at the event; the two most exciting are the local campaigns and smart shopping campaigns.
Local campaigns are unique, because instead of tracking online traffic and conversions, they are intended to drive more store visits. With local campaigns, Google tracks users anonymously who have location history enabled and will report on who has seen an ad and then visited the physical location.
Smart shopping campaigns are exciting since instead of optimizing the ad based on normal factors, such as reach or clicks, it is specific to the goal defined. The advertiser can choose to optimize based on revenue, return on ad spend, store visits, or even new customer acquisition. This will be a huge tool for ecommerce, or any B2C business, to leverage and see quantifiable results.
What does this mean for our clients?
Local campaigns will be a huge opportunity for our brick and mortar clients looking to increase foot traffic. We’ll be adding these to your account in the coming months!
Just Another Digital Update?
Not at all.
This is a big change – the most significant change Google has made to the platform in 18 years.
During the coming months, Google will be rolling out each individual component. As always, we’ll be keeping tabs on all of this and crushing it for our clients.
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