Google is rebuilding Adwords from the ground upwards for what it calls the “mobile first world”.

The company is also looking at making it easier for marketers to bridge the digital and physical worlds. With location-related searches growing 50% faster then any other mobile searches, it’s clear that consumers are moving between online and offline experiences seamlessly.

Earlier this year Google Adwords removed right-hand side adverts on desktops to improve the search experience and make it consistent across all devices. This has led to their recent announcement to their biggest change to text adverts in 15 years.

Optimised for screen sizes of the most popular smartphones, new expanded text ads in AdWords provide more ad space so you can showcase more information about your business before the click. Here are the key changes:

These upgrades help your ads work harder across screens, especially for the on-the-go mobile consumer that wants to know exactly what you offer before tapping into your website.

Based on early testing, some advertisers have reported increases in click-through rates of up to 20% compared to current text ads.

Display Adverts on GDN

Responsive ads for display adapt to the diverse content across the more than two million publisher sites and apps on the Google Display Network (GDN). They also unlock new native inventory so you can engage consumers with ads that match the look and feel of the content they’re browsing. Simply provide headlines, a description, an image and a URL, and Google will automatically design beautiful responsive ads.

Google is also extending the reach of GDN remarketing campaigns by giving you access to cross-exchange inventory, which includes more websites and apps around the world.

Device bidding

Google Adwords will offer much more control on device-specific bidding. This lets you anchor your base keyword bid to the device most valuable to your business and then set bid adjustments for each of the other devices. You will also have a wider range to adjust bids, up to +900%.

Nearly one third of all mobile searches are related to location; people’s online and offline worlds are colliding. To help advertisers reach consumers searching for physical business locations, new local search ads across Google.com and Google Maps are being introduced. Advertisers using location extensions will be able to prominently showcase their business locations when consumers search for things like “universities” or “university open days.”

They’re also investing in more branded, customised experiences for businesses on Google Maps, geared towards helping you increase store visits. They are currently developing and experimenting with a variety of ad formats on Maps that make it easier for users to find businesses as they navigate the world around them. For example, Maps users may start to see promoted pins for nearby universities, employers or lunch spots along their driving route. Local business pages are also getting a brand new look.

Attribution Modelling in Adwords

In May Google launched an update to AdWords which gives you the ability to update your attribution model. It’s an update that can help you go beyond last-click measurement – the default in AdWords – and understand your customer’s journey on a much deeper level. As of the beginning of June 2016, this change was rolled out to all AdWords accounts.

By going beyond last-click attribution for your Search ads in AdWords, you can understand your customer journey and make changes to improve your campaigns. Users take a while to make decisions; by changing your approach to attribution you can identify how your advertising affects people across all of their crucial, decision-making moments.

Jim Bloor

Source: This article is based on Inside Google Adwords