Google's Step Inside AdWords Update Feature & Tool Overview
20,000 people tuned in to listen to Google’s live stream this morning which highlighting AdWords updates and tools (watch the video here). Google’s announcement was structured around three pillars of advertising, each which highlighted new tools or upcoming updates.
Below is a summary of what was announced and what it means for retail search marketers.
Google AdWords April 22 Livestream Announcement
1. Innovative Ads
The Innovative Ads section of Google’s AdWords announcement highlighted increased functionality for advertising apps across search, display and video.
“Mobile is more important than ever, with mobile apps more important than ever.”- Jerry Dischler
Although Google stressed that “its no longer about devices” during today’s announcement as well as in the livestream preview, the Innovative Ads portion of Google’s AdWords announcement previewed a “holistic solution to help you [advertisers] advertise apps across the Google Network, on Youtube, Display and on search.”
Google’s app update is designed to address marketers issues with application discovery and installation using new features: Targeted Offerings and App Deep Linking.
Targeted Offerings
Targeted offerings address app installation issues where 60% of apps are never installed. Targeting offerings work with search to “suggest keywords based on Google play insight.” For Display and Youtube Targeted Offerings help tailor app ads to deliver more effective advertising.
- App Installation- Tailor ads across search, display and Youtube
App Deep Linking
App Deep Linking is designed to address the issue of re-engagement with apps, where 80% of apps that are downloaded are only used once. App Deep Linking in search links ads to specific app pages and in display.
- App Deep Linking- Increase re-engagement across search, display and Youtube
Enhanced Measurement
AdWords updates for app performance will enable advertisers to monitor conversions more extensively.
Google’s app updates are designed to improve marketers challenge with apps across the entire lifecycle as they are an “increasingly large part of the landscape.”
2. Insightful Reporting
The Insightful Reporting section of Google’s AdWords announcement discussed the importance of integrating offline activity with online metrics using offline measurement to increase ad profitability.
“Turn signals to stories, to help people wherever, whenever on any device.”
Estimated Total Conversion Advancements
Google announced a pilot for estimated total conversion offline enhancements which is used to measure in store transactions. The tool as tested provides “endless opportunities for hyper local information to connect with users wherever they are online.
- Estimated Total Conversion pilot- Measure in store and offline transactions
3. Powerful Tools
Google announced four new AdWords tools today to help advertisers manage the complexity of online retail.
“The future of marketing is using technology to reach people in the right context in the right moment.”
Google’s intelligent tool updates are designed to address advertisers challenges with AdWords tools as advertisers “often have to use offline tools, AdWords editor, spreadsheets… in order to deliver large changes across a number of campaigns.” Bulk Actions and Automated Bidding are updates to address these challenges
Bulk Actions
Allow you to make big changes across a number of campaigns. Including bulk editing of extension for campaign settings, and dramatic improvements to bulk changes that you can make with spreadsheets.
Bulk actions allow advertisers to upload multiple campaigns withing AdWords quickly, with fewer clicks, and to set up a campaign for different campaigns such as location targeting and ad rotation.
Automated Bidding
Google designed Automated Bidding to “bring an enterprise class solution to every advertiser directly within AdWords.” Automated bidding allows advertisers to set specific program goals (e.g ROAS, CPA, clicks) without the work of setting bids or monitoring to hit ROI targets and budget ceilings.
Automated Bidding used Google’s to “do the hard work of setting up the right bids to meet your efficiency targets and budget requirements”
In true Google fashion, some of the best new feature announcements were saved for the last portion of the talk, Tools for Power Users. Paul Feng, Google’s Director of Product Management provided sneak peaks for two upcoming AdWords tools that are potentially game changers.
Enhanced Reporting Multidimensional Analysis
Google’s Enhanced Reporting tool functions as a better version of a pivot table within AdWords that allows marketers to drag and drop data for reporting. The multi-dimensional tool makes live analysis changes possible, all in real time.
In addition to tables that allow marketers to drag and drop metrics, the reporting tool also highlights data in graph form, with the same flexibility so marketers can “spend less time in the rinse and report part of your data and more into insights.”
“Tools so you can spend more of your time exploring your data and less of your time processing it.”
Drafts & Experiments
Drafts & Experiments is the other upcoming AdWords update which is going to make your ad possibilities exciting. Drafts and Experiments basically allow advertisers to test strategy without having to use an entire campaign by turning “all of your ads into a lab, where you can stage and test your ideas before fully committing.”
Marketers can use drat mode to make campaign changes, which then can be applied to an entire campaign, or use to run an experiment with a percent of traffic which then can be used to “help compare experiment results versus the original campaign.”
Google Features Summary
- App Installation- Tailor ads across search, display and Youtube
- App Deep Linking- Increase re-engagement across search, display and Youtube
- Estimated Total Conversion – Measure in store and offline transactions
- Bulk Actions-Make changes across a number of campaigns
- Automated bidding- Set campaign goals without doing the legwork
- Multi- Dimensional Analysis- Analyze and segment data within AdWords (similar to excel functionality)
- Drafts & Experiments- Test campaign strategy and A/B test with ad groups
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