How B2B Marketers Need To Prepare For AdWords’ Changes in the Mobile-Focused World

Last week, during Google’s Performance Summit, the company announced a series of exciting changes to their online services. The focus of the Summit was how mobile is shaping user behavior on Google around the world. With mobile on the mind, Google laid out how they plan on evolving in order to make the lives of both users and advertisers easier.

From AdWords to Analytics to Google Maps, Google plans on making big changes to some of their key platforms.

Here’s a look at the changes coming specifically to Google AdWords:

New Extended Text Ads

During the Summit, the biggest announcement was how Google plans on shaking up the current AdWords ad format. Below is a summary of how the text ads will be evolving:

The expansion of text ads will easily be the biggest AdWords has ever seen, ultimately expanding both the headline and description line by 35 characters and 10 characters, respectively. After removing the side bar ads earlier this year, changing the format is the next logical step.

The additional ad space should push advertisers to come up with unique, new strategies to achieve their goals.

That being said, advertisers shouldn’t wait for Google to roll out these changes. Having ads ready to go when this becomes available will ensure that advertisers don’t miss a beat on the competition.

Brand New AdWords Interface

In another big announcement, Google showed off their brand new AdWords interface.

Beyond improving the overall look, there are a few new graphs that are available. These data points include:

• Location
• Device
• Time of Day

The visualization of these key metrics will allow for quick access to data that was previously hidden in the “Dimensions” and “Settings” tab.

Another difference is how users will set up new campaigns. While the types of campaigns will remain the same, Google is introducing “Goals” to go along with them. This will allow advertisers to tell Google exactly what action they would like to drive from their ad. Examples of these include:

• Express Interest (Form Submissions)
• Make a Purchase
• Call a Business
• Visit the Business Locally

Ultimately, this is used to streamline the campaign creation process. By selecting a desired action, Google can recommend the features that will allow an advertiser to achieve their goals.

Expanding the Display Network

Another area where Google is improving their services is for Remarketing. With the use of their “cross-exchange inventory,” Google is allowing ads to be seen on more sites and apps across their Display Network.

While the expansion of websites on the Display Network may seem positive, it will be important for advertisers, who currently are utilizing the Display Network, to make sure they pay attention to their current campaigns. This is especially important if they are utilizing auto-placements.

Once new websites are introduced, advertisers will need to keep an eye on any changes to their placements in order to ensure that a new website doesn’t negatively impact results.

Separate Tablet Bidding (Finally!)

When Google originally announced separate mobile bidding in 2013 with the “enhanced campaign” launch, they decided to keep the desktop and tablet bidding together. This, to the disdain of advertisers, has remained to this day, despite other platforms, such as Bing Ads and Yahoo Gemini, allowing the feature.

At the Summit last week, Google officially announced the separation of the two devices, allowing for advertisers to bid on them individually.

To get ready for this change, advertisers should look at the data they have seen for tablets. If the device hasn’t been getting the desired results, a plan of action should be in place, once available, to lower the bid as needed.

More Focus on Local Advertising

With the focus of the Summit being on mobile search, it’s no surprise Google introduced two new features for local businesses with physical locations.

The first will help businesses that are using the location ad extension. When a user searches for an advertiser’s keyword, the location will be shown prominently on the search results or Google Maps.

The second upgrade is specifically for Google Maps in the form of “Promoted Pins.” This allows for a business to have a pin show up on the map to point out their store’s physical location, in order to attract attention to their business. They will also be able to display any special offers right on their business’s Google Maps page.

In order to get ready, any advertiser with a physical store should make sure they have a location ad extension in place. They should also prepare any special offers that could be used to entice users to visit their store.

Conclusion

In our mobile-focused world, this is an exciting new chapter for AdWords. With these new changes coming in the next few months, there is no better time to plan ahead than now.

Coming up with strategies for these updates ahead of time, whether it is extended text ads, tablet bidding, or advertising on Google Maps, will ensure advertisers won’t get left in the dust when Google starts to roll them out.