Google is used by billions of people around the world who are looking for information to help them take some sort of action in their life. As Google put it in a recent post, they are searching for “I want-to-know, I want-to-go, I want-to-buy” and other similar things. For some of the top countries around the world, including the US, a majority of these types of searches are being done by people on their smart phones.
To help capture these searches and give the proper results, Google has made a lot of great improvements over the past year. They have updated and improved their app promotion tools and pushing innovative new options such as the ‘ads in the Play Store’ feature. They have also improved cross-device conversions, which help marketers to keep their message in front of people whether they are on the PC, Smart Phone or Tablet. They have even helped retail stores to market to customers in their physical stores.
There is a lot more that can be done, however, and Google is looking to stay on the front lines of it all. With that in mind, they have given some insight into what will be coming from the AdWords platform in the coming months:
- Car Shopping – People who are shopping for a new car today spend an average of 15 hours looking for information online. About half of the searches for cars today provide results with images, which is why Google has introduced a new type of ad format called ‘Automobile Ads.’ These ads will show multiple images of the exact vehicle that people are searching for with specs like MPG and horse power. It will also have a Dealers Link to take them to a dealership with that vehicle in stock.
- Hotel Shopping – Hotels are another major industry that is searched for regularly. Google is launching ‘Hotel Ads’ which will provide customers with quick information about the rates, availability, location, reviews and more for each hotel. It will also give photos and Google Street View results. They can even select ‘Book’ to set up a new reservation on the partners’ sites.
- Mortgages – Not surprisingly, people also use the web to look into getting a new mortgage. This could be when shopping for a home, or when looking to refinance. Google is adding a mortgage feature to the existing Google Compare platform. This will allow consumers to find great rates from a variety of mortgage providers quickly and easily. They will also be able to speak with an adviser for more information, all right from the Google Ad.
Improved Automation
On top of the new ad formats, Google is looking to make it easier than ever for marketers to capture these types of moments. They are improving their automated bidding options for many types of ads with the introduction of a new ‘reporting dashboard’ to increase transparency. They will also allow greater control of the entire ad experience.
In addition, they are enhancing the dynamic search ads to include more recommended category targets based on the actual content on your website. This will include things like recommended cost per click for each category and greater visibility on where your ad will be displayed.
Measuring Your Moments
Of course, none of this would be effective if markets couldn’t get the accurate information about the entire customer experience that they need. With this in mind, they have created improved metrics that will provide easier to use information to sort out the complex path to purchase. This will gather information from devices, apps, calls, stores and more and combine it in an easy to understand and helpful way.
Several new products have been launched to facilitate this:
- AdWords Attribution – Google is working to help marketers get information beyond just the ‘last click’ attribution. They will allow you to select from a number of different models to identify what information you need based on your ad strategy. Each of the models will be data-driven and use the information from your actual campaigns to help you generate improved results.
- Cross Device Automated Bidding – The path from search to purchase is getting longer and more complicated, especially in some industries. Being able to have your ad bidding automatically adjusted based on customer behavior can be very important. With a new feature from Google, you will be able to set up improved cross-device automated bidding to increase conversion rates.
Of course, there is always more coming from Google. These new features, and improvements on existing ones, will help you to become more successful. Just make sure you take the time to see which ones will be most helpful to you and implement them as soon as they are available.