5 Key Takeaways from the Google Performance Summit 2016

It’s been a couple of weeks since Google announced their plans to overhaul their AdWords system.

On May 24, the online giant hosted their Performance Summit (the new name for their combined AdWords and Analytics launch event) and announced some major changes to AdWords that, unlike in past years, will affect every AdWords advertiser, big and small.

Now we’ve had some time to let the information sink in we have put together this post summarizing five of the main changes that will be implemented over the coming months and what these mean for your PPC campaigns.

 1.  You Will Be Able to Advertise on Google Maps

Google have been stressing the importance of mobile search for many years now. “Near me” searches have increased 34x since 2011 and 80% of these searches take place on mobile. 60% go on to make a visit on the day with 18% making a purchase.

What does it mean for your business?

As a response to this increase in local search, Google has responded with advertising pins in Google Maps. Businesses will now be able to place their location pin and ad within Google Maps by keyword and location. This function will be available with Google My Business listing and location extensions within AdWords.

2. There Will Be New Bid Adjustment Options

What is it?

Those who use AdWords have been frustrated by the inability to adjust their bid by device type for some time now. At the moment it is possible to bid up or down on mobile through adjustment of the bid modifier (by up to 300%) however this feature is not available for tablet.

What does it mean for your business?

Google announced that advertisers will soon be able to individually bid on mobile, tablet and desktop allowing them to set a default bid and increase or decrease it for each type of device. This will give more flexibility than the current method of only modifying bids based off your current desktop bid which in turn, allows advertisers to make better use of their budget.

3. Expanded Text Ads

What is it?

Google are increasing the amount of text that can be included in ads. Previously ads followed a 25-35-35 layout: 25 characters for the Headline and 35 characters each for two lines of descriptions. This is being replaced with two 30 character headlines and one 80 character descriptions. Display URLs will now be generated which means advertisers will no longer be able to write their own.

What does it mean for your business?

More text space gives advertisers a better opportunity to include relevant keywords within their ad, which could increase their quality score, and in turn increase the chance the ad will show for relevant searches. More text space may also increase the chances of advertisers using emotional triggers as explained more by Larry Kim in this Think Tank.

4. New Demographics for Search Ads

What is it?

At the moment advertisers can target by age and gender for display ads only. This capability will be extended to include Search Ads.

What does it mean for your business?

This a highly anticipated feature which, combined with flexible bid adjustments will allow advertisers to spend more appropriately on the groups of customers who have a higher purchase intent in both Search and Display ads.

5. A New Look for AdWords

What is it?

Google are redesigning the AdWords interface and the changes will be implemented by the end of this year. Screenshots of the work-in-progress interface were shown at the Summit, with many noting the similarities to the recent AdWords app.

What does it mean for your business?

This won’t necessarily mean a lot of change for business goals; however a redesign will hopefully increase user experience and make it easier to follow ad performance.

Watch The Google Performance Summit 2016

You can watch the Performance Summit here:

What Do You Need to Do?

If you currently run PPC ads it is recommended you have a look at your AdWords campaigns to understand how you use these changes to maximize you ads.

For those who have tried AdWords before and think it is a waste of time and money we understand. The dashboard is complicated, understanding appropriate bidding requires experience and it can be overwhelming. However with these new features if you are looking for a way to boost your business the second half of 2016 might be a great time to get back into PPC.

If your business is struggling with traffic or to make it on to page one of Google, running an ad campaign is a fantastic way to shoot your business to the top, increase exposure and increase traffic. For more information about advertising online you can contact Adeo Group on 0141 218 4422 or email us: info@adeogroup.co.uk

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