If you’re a search engine marketing professional who uses Google AdWords on a regular basis, I’m sure you’ve seen this pop up message show up at the top of your console several times:
“Google AdWords will soon be Google Ads. The Help Center and new AdWords experience will reflect our new brand starting July 24, 2018.”
And when Google decides to make a change, everyone starts freaking out because it usually means that they’re adding yet more confusion to their already confusing advertising platform… but let’s all relax and take a deep breath before we jump into conclusions this time around.
For one, the new branded platform under the new name “Google Ads” will still include the same features as the current Google AdWords. From that stand point, the name change makes sense. What started years ago as a search-only or text only ad platform, has over the years also grown into a fully featured advertising solution that includes the Search Network, the Display Network and Video ads.
The branding update means that starting on July 24th, Google AdWords users will begin to see Google Ads (logo), as well as being re-directed from the current adwords.google.com to the new ads.google.com.
So far, so good. Not a huge deal since Google also said that “Changes to the Google Ads branding will not impact your campaign performance, navigation, or reporting.”
So, what is the main reason behind this update?
According to Google, the new Google Ads platform is meant to simplify the current multi-channel advertising environment by being able to connect search, display and video campaigns into a simpler and more seamless experience. In effect, it promises to be an improved version of AdWords that while keeping all the features that we’re familiar with, it will also pack several new tools and options to help reach the right customers across all platforms and devices.
But wait, there’s more… much more!
Google also promises to add more AI and machine learning algorithms to make everyone’s life even easier! We’ve already seen examples of this with some of the “ad suggestions” that help create ads and save time. So what’s next? Say hello to the new “Smart Ads,” the new default option for Google Ads.
With Smart Ads, multi-channel integration of your (Smart) Campaigns could be completed in minutes, whether you want to bring traffic to your website, generate phone calls, or drive traffic to your physical store. These three goals are after all, the goals of 90% of small business owners.
With the new platform, when creating a new campaign with Smart Ads, you begin by selecting the goals that are most appropriate for your business. If you’re also a “Facebook Ads” advertiser, this sounds quite familiar to the way Facebook allows you to set up your campaigns based on reach, conversions, etc.
With Google Ads, you will be able to select multiple goals while Google’s platform provides the plan for you to be able to reach your potential customers through multiple channels.
In sum, this rebranding + platform update promises to be a positive improvement to the current setup by adding automation and machine learning functions that will facilitate the creation of all campaigns. Time will tell… but we will definitely write further articles in the future as we have a chance to use it for all of our clients.
Thank you for reading. Until next time, this is Manuel Gil del Real (MGR)
Source: Google.com
