AdWords Introduces Device Bidding and Responsive Ads
Google has made several new changes to its AdWords offerings in the last month which will give businesses more control how and where their ads are displayed. Once again, the main objective is to provide a better user experience on mobile. The three major changes are the introduction of expanded text ads, responsive adverts and also, device bidding. Let’s take a look at each of these new PPC ad features.
Expanded Text Ads
FSE Online wrote about how Google removed their old-fashioned skyscraper ads from the right hand side of search earlier this year. The move to mobile means that relatively few people actually saw the adverts, and they provided a poor ROI for advertisers.
To compensate for the loss of ad space in the Google search results, Google has now expanded the adverts that appear at the top of the search results. The new expanded adverts will have two headlines, each with up to 30 characters of text, plus an 80 character description. While this may not sound like a huge change, adverts will be 50 per cent larger than the traditional text ads. These ads will also adjust to match the size of the mobile device that they are viewed on, which leads us to the responsive display ads.
Responsive Display Ads
Google has launched new responsive ads that can adjust to fit on any mobile or tablet screen. These new ad formats allow 25 character and 90 character headlines, along with a larger, 90 character description, an image and a display URL. Gone are the days when a well-crafted AdWords text ad would not fit well on a small mobile device!
Device Bidding
Device Bidding is probably the most exciting change for most businesses, at least for those PPC consultants who track device usage and conversions. Google now provides a way to adjust your bidding depending on the device used. For example, if your analytics show that your adverts convert at a higher rate when viewed on an iPhone compared to an Android tablet, you can increase your bids for iPhones. This might result in a significant increase in conversions and sales.
Google also provides Smart Bidding, which uses Google’s machine learning to automatically adjust your bids. Soon you will be able to apply Smart Bidding to set your CPA goals at the device level.
These three changes may not seem significant at first glance, but we suspect that as search engine marketers analyse their data, it will be possible to increase profit margins when using AdWords. One of the biggest bugbears of many businesses is that their AdWords spend is very high, and often with minimal sales. This is an issue that can quickly be resolved by an experience PPC manager.
Understand Your Customers
Of course, you must understand your customer base. This is key to marketing and key to making your AdWords campaign work well for your business. Carry out some market research, or send a questionnaire out to your most loyal customers, to learn more about what people think about your business.
Feedback might provide ideas for improvements – for instance, if a disproportionate number of people are complaining that ordering items on Android devices is too difficult, then there may be a problem with your website working on that platform. Quickly adjusting your bids, or removing them totally from Android, could see your conversion rates increase and ad spend decrease. As soon as your fix the technical issues that are affected Android users, you can increase the max bid level once again.
Search engine marketing, a.k.a. PPC, is becoming a more powerful aspect of digital marketing, especially with the rise of mobile search. Speak to Freelance SEO Essex to learn how to best embrace these changes and boost the traffic to your website.