Recently I was fortunate enough to attend Google’s Masterclass up in Auckland. It was an afternoon packed with information on Google’s hot topics including Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML) and Attribution. In summary, it’s time to get Google Ads-smart and let Google do some of the hard work.
Get creative & targeted with your Ad Copy
Gone are the days of generic ads to targeted audiences, the consumer journey is complex. Google research shows that 10+ sources are consulted before purchases are made and 90% of customers switch between devices making it 2x more likely that they will be influenced by digital ads.
Google recommends having as many relevant ads live as you can. 3.5 billion searches happen on Google every day, different people and different contexts ask for different ads therefore showing the right ad to the right person is critical to success. Google report up to a 15% increase in clicks or conversions when there are at least 3 ads in rotation per ad group vs. ad groups with only 1 or 2 ads.
Tailored messages
Ads should be relevant to the information that customers want based on their: Time, Device, Location, Interest and Intent.
Using ad customizers is a great way of tailoring your message at scale. Below are a few examples of how ad customizers could work for your business.
Examples:
Tailor your ad to the time of day/device
- Friday afternoon/mobile
Looking for Things to Do this Weekend?
Book a Happy Hour Jet Boat Ride on Your Mobile Now & Save. - Wednesday/any device
Hump Day Special
Book Now & Save 10%. Use Promocode: SAVE10.
Another great ad customizer is the countdown feature; using the countdown helps to create urgency and encourage customers to convert quickly. Ads dynamically show customers how many days/hours/minutes until a sale ends.
Is location key to your businesses success? There’s a customizer for that also. Location customizers can use both physical location and location of interest.
Example
Tailor your shipping cost based on physical location
- Physical location – North Island
BBQs On Sale Now
$10 Flat Rate Shipping, North Island Wide. Order Today.
Get the right message to the right person results may include;
- Increased conversion rate
- Increase in spend
- Increase in click-through rate (CTR)
Once you’ve locked in your tailored messaging, schedule your ads to day/time to maximize efficiency and free up more valuable time.
Ad Rotation
In September of this year, Google made a change to ad rotation, the change aimed to simplify ad rotation for businesses. The two options available now are:
- ‘Optimize: Prefer best performing ads’
- ‘Do not optimize: Rotate ads indefinitely’
‘Optimize’ uses Google’s Machine Learning (ML) technology to deliver ads that are expected to perform better.
Combine optimised ad rotation with tailored messages for optimum success.
Smart Bidding
Now that your messaging is creative and tailored it’s time to allow let the system help with your bidding. Smart Bidding adjusts your bids for every auction based on a set of rich signals that are used to capture relevance for every search query.
Signals available with bid adjustments are time, remarketing lists, device & location while Smart bidding signals include operating system, app, browser, ad creative, language, actual query and search partner.
Based on your campaign goals, whether it be increase visibility, increase conversions/sales or drive revenue there are several smart bidding strategies to help you achieve those.
Attribution
Today’s path to purchase is more complex than ever with 90% of people switching between screens to complete tasks and 30% of all customers journey’s involving more than one channel of interaction.
Simply looking at transactions/conversions using the Last Click model will not show or give credit to the touch-points that were also key to the final conversion. Attribution is a hot topic now, click here for our Attribution blog.
Are you ready to get started?
