Google Marketing Live 2019 has come and gone, and brought with it significant changes to Google’s marketing and advertising platforms. We’ll be going over some of the major changes here, and what they’ll mean for your SEO and Google Adwords campaigns.
The changes presented in Google Ads 2019 bring with them some exciting new opportunities for business owners and advertisers alike. In general, ads on Google have been given greater reach and connectivity, leading to greater potential gains in both visibility and conversion for digital advertisers and their clients. Through changes like incorporating ads into Google Discovery and giving advertisers greater control over their ad bids, Google is ultimately giving businesses greater opportunities for conversion on every Google Adwords campaign and SEO initiative.
#1: Introducing Ads to Google Discovery
Google’s Discovery App has gone a year without ads, but starting later this year they will be introducing their first ads. This is quite literally a whole new channel for your Google Adwords campaign, and Google has said it will be using machine learning to maximize the relevance of each ad, in turn leading to greater value from your Adword bids.
Google’s own research suggests that 76% of consumers enjoy making discoveries while shopping. Given the nature and intent of Google Discovery, they’re predicting that introducing ads to the platform will present big yields for Google Adwords campaign initiatives. The new ads will be in their own dedicated format (heads up, SEOs!). Large high-quality images will be the primary draw of each ad, and Google will not be allowing stock images, watermarked images, and similar. Beyond that, each ad will support a 40-character headline, 90-character description, and CTA button.
#2: Pictures for Ads on SERPS
This is a big one: ads on SERPs will now feature pictures, as well as swipeable galleries. Not only that, but each picture can expand into a full-screen format, not unlike Facebook’s Instant Experiences. This brings a whole new dimension for advertisers, bringing potentially large new opportunities (and concerns) for Google Adwords campaign managers and strategists. Companies will be able to option much more of their creative to the task of marketing on Google, as well as creating new opportunities for creative teams to exploit.
The change comes with some specific concerns for mobile advertising: only the #1 ad’s images will be displayed on mobile search results.
The ads follow their own format for SEOs to master: 4 to 8 pics, a maximum size of 5MB, 70 character tagline per image, and up to three 30-character headlines, to be rotated.
As we can see, this is a big change for any Google Adwords campaign, giving advertisers and their clients a chance to make the most of their creative, and provides a simple but efficient opportunity for more comprehensive brand visibility.
“This would definitely be the most exciting new feature Google would unveil. We would have an excellent opportunity to show our client’s brand message inside Google Search ads with some great visuals/images. This is going to lift conversion rates in a big way and increase revenue & ROI for our clients”
– Ashok Patidar, PPC Manager, Coalition Technologies”
#3: Google Shopping Revamped
For much of its life, Google Shopping served mostly as a simple way to search aggregated shopping options based on search keywords. It was a simple tool for marketers and shoppers, with little real opportunity to advertise beyond putting your products on the marketplace (with some keywords to target).
Now, that’s all changing. Merging with Google Express, Google Shopping is a whole new experience, featuring a homepage that will display ads as well as personal recommendations. Google describes the new experience as “immersive,” and will not only facilitate more online shopping, but can make recommendations for local stores, giving a whole new dimension to your Google Adwords campaign efforts.
In short, this new format is not only more useful for customers, but also allows marketers and business owners more opportunities to engage directly with their customers while they’re already in the marketplace. If Google is looking to create the atmosphere of a true digital bazaar, they’re well on their way.
Showcase ads will also now have far greater reach, allowing them placement in both Google feed and on Youtube. Again, we’re seeing a lot of new avenues for Marketers and SEOs.
#4: Deep Linking to Track In-App Conversions
Your Google Adwords campaign will now finally support Deep Linking, meaning your ads on Search, Display, and Shopping can now navigate users directly to the relevant page in your app. The one caveat is that users must have your app on their device. For those already using your app, this will allow business owners to maximize the value they derive from their dedicated app, and encourage users to use the app again in the future.
Deep Linking on Google will also allow businesses to prompt users to perform actions outside of making a purchase, such as running user engagement initiatives or seasonal greetings.
The new feature is already set to work with Google Analytics, making it easy to share and track data with an ongoing Google Ads
#5: Expanded Reach for Local Campaigns
Designed to help businesses create more in-store conversions via digital advertising or Google Adwords campaign, the biggest change this brings is the implementation of ads in Google Maps search suggestions, as well as during navigation.
Why is this a big deal? Simply put, it means users no longer have to search for directly targeted keywords for your business to appear in the search results. For instance, a user likely to visit a business like yours might get an ad for your business when they’re in the area through the suggestions function.
Playing the Changes
Google’s marketing systems are constantly evolving, and as we can see from the changes announced at this year’s Marketing Live event, many of these changes present promising new opportunities for marketers and their clients. We at Coalition are excited by these new changes and are already working to get ourselves ready for the new ad channels we’ll soon be populating for our clients. Our experience in SEO and Google Adwords campaign management comes with years of adapting to maximize our practices to get the best results for our clients, not to mention a long and friendly history with Google that has allowed us to provide insight and perspective for our clients.
If you’re interested in how you can take full advantage of Google’s various marketing channels to improve your business, Coalition is ready to help. Call us today at 310-827-3890 or email us at [email protected] and start making the most of your online presence today.
