Google decided to effectively combine desktop and mobile ads in one single ad campaign. Combining them was obviously already possible before but not very smart to do. PPC professionals used to separate mobile and desktop campaigns simply because people use their laptops and mobile phones differently and therefore, needed to be addressed in two different ways. Enhanced campaigns are designed to cover all devices: stationary and mobile. Google is adapting to the trend that everyone is constantly online and frequently switching devices. Now, among other new features, ads can be set to only be displayed on mobile- (smartphones) or non-mobile devices (laptop, PCs and tablets). Yes, tablets are considered as non-mobile. The reason is that tablets usually are not used on-the-go, like smartphones. Plus, in addition, from Google’s perspective there is no real distinction anymore in terms of user behavior on tablets and laptops. One of the main opportunities with Enhanced Campaigns is that SMBs (small and medium sized businesses) can greatly benefit from it, especially if they have physical store locations. Before, most SMBs did not have the time and expertise to manage their own AdWords account. They would have had to manage several campaigns, targeting different devices. Now, they can do all that within one single campaign which makes managing and monitoring easier and less time-consuming.
Benefits of Enhanced Campaigns For SMBs And Bigger Enterprises
Location Based Bidding:
This option allows you to choose certain locations and bid more or less for users who are currently in those locations. This is perfect for local shops and stores that want to get more people near their locations to visit them and, of course, become customers. There is a distinction between static and mobile, so the higher bid does not count for non-mobile devices. It makes less sense to bid more for people who are using their laptops and live or work close to a business.
Ad Extension Scheduling:
Now it is possible to schedule your ad extensions. So, for example, you can turn off your call extensions when your office is closed and instead re-direct people to a contact or call-back form on your website.
Contextual Ads:
Ads can be marked as “mobile preferred”. The possibility to target single device models does not exist anymore, which was a bad surprise for PPC professionals . The “mobile preferred” option gives Google the power to judge which ads should be shown based on the user’s situation. For instance, a user browsing on his mobile phone at home could be considered more static than one who is currently on-the-go. Another example, if you advertise a mobile iOS app, people using an Android device won’t see your ad.
Cross-Device Attribution:
Basically this feature makes it possible to see how users interact with your ad across different devices. This makes it possible to give a proper value to your different campaigns. For example, it will be possible to see that someone first visited your online shop through a mobile ad, left it and came back again on his laptop to buy a product. This feature is not rolled out yet, but will be in the next 3-4 months. If you are more interested in this feature we covered this cross-device tracking feature recently in more detail. So, if you own a business with physical store locations, Google’s new Enhanced Campaign update can help you target your ads more effectively and easily. If you were reluctant to get started with AdWords because you didn’t have the time or money for an agency, then I urge you to look into it now. Every time someone searches for a local business on his phone, you might miss out on a potential new customer. To get more in-depth information about Enhanced Campaigns, make sure to check out DudaMobile’s Ultimate Enhanced Campaigns Resource. To all SMB owners, are you considering using Enhanced Campaigns in the future? What were your reasons not to start advertising on Google until now? Please let me know in the comments.
