The 5 Biggest Google Ads Updates of 2019

by | Apr 13, 2020 | Blog

Online advertising is one of those things you can’t afford to ignore as a digital marketer. This is one of the areas I really focus on as it could make a difference in whether my clients have more conversions and sales or their businesses get swamped by the competition.

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In online advertising, Google Ads is one of your biggest allies. The folks at Google like changing things up every so often and Google Ads has had a fair amount of changes and updates in the past year.

Here are my top 5 favorite ones:

  • Brand new audience for search advertising.

In mid-October 2019, Google announced the debut of affinity audience and also seasonal event segments especially for in-market audiences. Both of these allow you to hone in on your target consumers and ensure that your ad helps you connect with those who are interested in your products or services. Using this, you can now refine your ad message and put it in front of those most likely to make a purchase.

  • The audience-expansion tool.

Borrowing this idea from Facebook’s lookalike audience, this tool allows you to grow and expand your display campaigns by reaching and connecting with new potential customers who behave just like the ones you’re already targeting. This is fantastic for those of us working with small businesses on a budget because we can boost our impressions and conversions without affecting the budget.

  • The unveiling of lead form ad extensions.

When working with my clients, I realized it’s not easy to get customers to convert from their tablets or smartphones. They’re either too impatient or the small screens are too limiting, among other reasons. That’s why I like this extension as it allows you to collect prospective customers’ information without them leaving the SERP. This way, they can fill out forms right on their screens without navigating elsewhere like to your client’s website.

  • Bringing user-generated images in shopping reviews.

Customers still like seeing how their purchases will have an impact on their daily lives and this allows them to do just that. Pictures of your products are taken by your happy customers and appear in Google shopping reviews, helping others decide on their purchase. Nowadays I advise my clients to ask their customers to upload pictures while leaving their reviews.

  • The introduction of gallery ads.

Last on my list is a new feature unveiled at Google Marketing Live. The gallery ad appears at the top of the SERP and features a neat swipeable carousel of a maximum of 8 images. Above the carousel is a display URL and a clickable headline as well as a short caption below each image. This revolutionizes ads because now you can combine words and images to make your ads stand out and grab your customers’ attention.

Schedule a consultation with me today and let’s see how we can make Google Ads work for your business.

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