Google’s new ‘Enhanced Campaigns’ tool marks one of the biggest ever changes to its hugely popular AdWords search ad system. With consumers now targeted by situation rather than device, Alistair Dent, head of PPC at Periscopix, has analysed the changes, and what they mean to people searching and to advertisers…
What the changes mean to people searching
The most significant thing to come out of the announcement is a change in approach to how we use different devices. No longer will you see search ads that are targeting you by what device you’re using – mobile, tablet, desktop etc – but by your situation. In other words, what is the most relevant result based on what you’re doing and where you are, rather than on what device you happen to be using.
The reason Google’s taking this approach is that the different between devices is coming less clear. The screen resolution and size difference between a Galaxy Note and an iPad Mini is negligible. Which is a mobile, and which a tablet? What do you call a laptop that you can use as a tablet? The lines are blurring.
Google knows, pretty much, whether you’re at work or at home. If you login regularly from two places each day, and you spend an average of eight hours at one and 10 hours at another, Google can assume that those two places are work and home. If you’re anywhere else, you’re ‘mobile’ – and you’ll want different results.
For example, if you search for ‘TopShop’ when you’re at home, you probably want to browse the site, or buy something to wear. But if you search for ‘TopShop’ when you’re out and about, you probably want to know where the nearest store is.
What this means for advertisers – some of the big changes
Mobile preferred: Advertisers can mark search ads as ‘mobile preferred’, which lets Google judge which ads are the most appropriate to show you, depending on your situation. If you’re out and about, you’ll see a mobile ad.
This means advertisers have to think more about the intent of the person searching – whether they’re looking for a local store, or whether intending to browse an online site, for example.
Location based bidding: Advertisers can also bid to show their search results based on where someone is searching from. But now you can differentiate between someone who’s on the move, and someone whose office is next door to your store.
No more tablet-only campaigns: Nearly 20 per cent of traffic comes from tablets now, and Google has decided that you can’t count the traffic as separate any more. So this is the end for tablet-only campaigns, which isn’t great news for retailers, where conversion from tablets was nearly 20 per cent better than from desktops.
No more mobile-only campaigns. The lines between what’s a mobile device and what’s a tablet or laptop are blurring. As a result, Google has decided that any keyword you want to run on a mobile must also run on other devices. This is likely to push up mobile cost-per-clicks, which is good news for Google’s revenues.
By Alistair Dent
Head of PPC
Periscopix
www.periscopix.co.uk
