When Google announces that “more Google searches take place on mobile devices than on computers in 10 countries including the US and Japan,” you can rest assured that mobile has arrived. During a live stream of the annual AdWords Performance Summit in Half Moon Bay, California Google Vice President of product management, Mr. Jerry Dischler, spoke of the, “I want to know, I want to go, I want to buy” moments and the raft of new products Google is rolling out for its AdWords clients.
Consumers using mobile devices are in a hurry and have exacting demands. Digital marketers have to meet those demands in the moment to even get noticed. Google has been studying the situation, weighing feedback from throughout the world, and has begun tweaking its search capacity to meet consumers’ expectations for relevancy and spur of the moment shopping. The core issue — how do people search for information on mobile — has led to a whole new generation of ad experiences Google promises will be richer and more engaging. And designed for screen-swipes, not mouse-clicks.
Paraphrasing Dischler – over half of automotive searches happen on mobile. So Google is rolling out two new types of ads in the auto vertical: automotive ads for OEMs, and dealer ads. The new ad format links to a carousel of images of the exterior/interior of the car, all swipe-friendly. Tapping on any image brings up more relevant information. Tapping on the “Dealers” link in the new ad or the landing page takes you to a search results page listing nearby dealers.
Hotel ads, launched last fall for both desktop and mobile, has been revamped globally, according to Google. People searching for hotels on Google will see all the relevant information — location, availability, rates, user reviews, et al — and high resolution photos and Google Street View. Going forward Hotel Ads will show up for all of Google’s hotel partners worldwide. “Book a room” ads provide special information pages from the hotel information repertoire or from reputable online travel sites.
The Google Compare feature that debuted earlier this year has become a big hit with the auto insurance industry. Google will be adding mortgage to the lead generation service later this year.
Consumers will be able to compare mortgage rates from multiple mortgage providers using Google Compare. Users will be able to review and customize criteria such as interest rates, terms of loan, fees, etc. Applying with a lender or calling up an adviser is just a ‘tap away’ from the Google search ads.
Google continues to invest in automation for both bidding tools and creative execution. A new reporting dashboard for automated bidding has been designed so advertisers can gain greater visibility into bid strategy performances over time. New simulation tools show the relation between cost and volume at multiple cost-per-acquisition targets.
New measurements tools offered to marketers accurately measure performance across various customer touch points including across apps, devices, calls and in-store engagements.
Consumers today click on an ad on one device and then complete the activity on another. This makes return on advertising spends difficult to reconcile. But Google intends to change that for good. Estimated cross-device conversions data will soon be available for automated bidding strategies. This will help advertisers accurately judge transactions started in-app but completed on the web, or vice versa.