If you run a business, you are probably very familiar with salespeople telling you all about the “bells and whistles” that come with the product they’re selling.
And while listening to a list of features can be exhausting, it’s often one of the most important parts of the presentation or pitch to pay attention to because, often, the features are where you can best understand what’s going to work for your business.
But how often do you hear about new features for a product you already have? Probably a lot less, as you’ve already bought it (that’s one way to avoid the sales team).
Well, today, this blog’s goal is to reacquaint you with something you’re likely paying for on a monthly basis or using for your business but may not have heard about in a while from a neat accessories point of view; Google Search Ads.
Let’s discuss five of the newer features of Google Search Ads that you may want to talk to your Google Ads Manager about.
1) Image extensions
This is probably the easiest to explain and the easiest to ignore because, well, it’s just a picture added to your Google Search Ad. It might not seem like much, especially since it doesn’t necessarily translate into taking up more screen real estate.
The picture is displayed to the right of the ad; despite its simple nature, the results are quite impressive. Ads that added image extensions converted 15-30% more often and saw their cost per conversion drop as much as 48%.
Now those numbers may change as everyone adopts image extensions, as these results may have to do with novelty, which is just all the more reason to talk to your Google Ads Manager now about adding them to your ads.
2) Performance Max Campaigns
The year is 2022; would you trust your car to drive itself? Probably not, but what about in 2032?
A decade ago, the thought of allowing AI or the algorithm to manage your ad budget, spend and targeting was terrifying. It was probably as effective as lighting your money on fire.
But today, in 2022, the algorithm has become much better at helping advertisers find leads, especially in fields and industries where targeting options have been removed.
This is what Performance Max campaigns are all about—having the Google algorithm do the heavy lifting for you. Your job is just to provide it with ad copy, pictures, videos and, most importantly, a goal.
Once you’ve set up those four things, it does much of the other work.
The real benefit of it is that it mixes mediums, showing your ads on search, display and video formats all over the Google properties. It does this more effectively and efficiently than having three separate campaigns would, as it is still optimized for a specific goal
3) Promotion Extensions
This is like image extensions, except that it gives your ads more real estate on the SERP if you use them.
These extensions appear below your main ad, giving your ad more vertical real estate, which is the most important kind as it can kick your competitors out of the view of what searchers see on the first load—especially on mobile.
These are sometimes tied to seasonal promotions, and you may need to cater your promotion to a few rules that Google has.
However, the benefit these provide your ads will make it worth it to run seasonal promotions, especially since there are no rules on how large the promotions need to be.
4) New Customer Conversion Bidding Options
We all know that it costs less to keep a current customer than to acquire a new one. But what if we could quantify that difference and even spend purposely looking for new ones?
This would be an asset to companies that have otherwise great customer retention.
Well, Google has created a feature for exactly that! A recently added feature to Google Ads allows you to change your bidding strategy when seeking conversions from new customers.
You can increase how much you are willing to pay for conversion if Google understands it to be from a new customer.
This way, you can be more competitive in finding new customers and better plan your ads campaigns around new customers. The actual use cases for this will vary depending on the business, but it can be an excellent way to invest money directly into finding new customers.
5) Affinity/Audience groups for remarketing targeting
This one is a little more intense and may require a more in-depth sit down with your Google Ads person. But basically, Google has long had its own “affinity audiences” list. A holistic view of people through their hobbies, lifestyle, passions and other markers creates audience groups.
In the past, you’ve been able to use these to lead display campaigns and video campaigns, but they haven’t been available in search. Now, not only can we use them in conjunction with Search campaigns, but we can also use our Search results to learn more about our converting audiences, as well as which affinity audiences are currently working for us to create future display ads.
The Future of Google Search Ads
Innovators at Google are always looking for new ways to improve its features to provide more effective tools for marketers and more relevant results to users.
It’s essential to stay up to date on all the new features and services Google offers if you want to stay ahead of your competitors and remain relevant in a constantly changing digital landscape.
As technology becomes more advanced and user expectations grow and change, marketers need to stay one step ahead and use all available resources to their advantage.
This article has provided a brief overview of some of the newer bells and whistles offered alongside Google Search ads. Hopefully, these features give you a bunch of new conversations to have with your Google Ads runners.
Even if you’re not sure if these features will work for your business, take a few minutes to have a chat with them to go over your options so you can be sure you’re getting the most out of your Google ads campaign.
If you have any questions about the above or want to know how we can help you take your Google Ads to the next level, give us a call.
Our team loves to talk all things Digital Marketing, so get in touch with one of our marketing experts today to learn how TechWyse can help take your business to the top.
