The scoop on adwords

Google is by far the market leader when it comes to online advertising. The AdWords platform, Google’s advertising program, controls more than 30% of the worldwide online advertising market now, with the rest split amongst dozens of other companies. Based on current projections, Google’s share is only meant to increase. To maintain that lead, Google needs to ensure that AdWords is best suited to tackle today’s consumers.
To that end, Google is in the process of undergoing the largest overhaul of their ad system since its inception. Google’s enhanced AdWords campaigns are rolling out now and are expected to be fully operational within the coming weeks.

The focus of the enhanced campaigns reflects how times have changed. Although desktop ads are a default option, the main area of development has been mobile ads. Much as the world has shifted its Internet consumption to smartphones, so too has Google adapted AdWords to take advantage of these portable devices.

To start, Google has entirely remade the bidding process. Now, businesses, both large and small, can bid for ads depending on location, time of day, and platform. For instance, if you own a diner, you can make certain that people searching for dinner and food will find your restaurant. You can bid 25% higher for those searching within a mile radius, 20% lower for Google searchers before 6pm, and 60% higher for those looking the info up on a smartphone. Google is making the bidding process fully customizable so that businesses can best target their desired audience.

Google is also rolling out new tools for location based targeting. Now, advertisers can choose specific locations to target, and can bid higher for some locations and less for others. The enhanced campaigns allow for location targeting, and bring new tools for deciphering that information. Simple reporting tools inform you as to what triggered your ad, as well as notifying you as to where your user was when they opened the ad. You can even set your ads up so that you bid higher for ads as a user gets closer to your location. These tools, and the info they provide, allow for quick adaptation to user habits and for better targeting of your business.

AdWords has begun to extend its extensions as well. These vary depending on what device they are viewed on, but can easily be adopted across all platforms. The enhanced campaign has changed the rules for adding phone numbers to ads. Now, if an ad is being displayed on a smartphone, one is required to use the “call button” extension that Google provides. This adds a simple button that a user clicks on to automatically dial the phone number provided during the ad setup. An advertiser must pay for each click on the “call button” and is now unable to merely add an un-selectable phone number. On desktops the phone number is presented and un-selectable. Although making things easier for the user, this does add an extra cost to advertisers.

The new campaign also includes an extension that integrates with Google Offers. Now, right within the ad, you can offer special deals. For instance, underneath the name and description of your store, you can say: “Get 20% off today only!” Next to your deal will be a “Get offer” button that will direct the user to Google Offers and allow them to store it in their Google Offers Wallet. This is available on both desktop and mobile devices, giving you yet another method of engaging your audience.

The enhance campaigns are giving more control to the advertisers over what is displayed in the actual ad. Now you will be able to customize the Sitelinks, the short description featured on AdWords ads, to display whatever you want. Further, Google is also adding options to add device specific pages. This way, within the same ad, a mobile site and a desktop site can be featured. Google will also help take care of targeting individual operating systems (OS), such as when you advertise an OS-exclusive app.

Google’s new AdWords will only enhance the already dominant ad platform. The simplified campaigns make it easier than ever for businesses to enter the mobile advertising landscape. The new bidding process help streamline the process while the customizable ad delivery provides powerful tools that label this as the desired industry leader. As the rollout is completed in the next few weeks, be sure to fully be aware of how the system works, or hire someone that does. There are a plethora of new materials here to use; be certain that your business is using them all.