Amazon is slated to account for over 80% of all online eCommerce transactions in 2019. This is something that has stirred the other players into action. Google has finally decided to challenge Amazon with Google Express. Google has even made the re-branding change of changing AdWords to Google Ads, with the new interface set to switch over permanently on October 5th 2018.
More important changes coming from Google:
1. Personalized ad preferences settings have been updated – You are now able to opt out of seeing certain ads, this will keep the ads you see more relevant. Not great for advertisers using audience targeting.
2. Google marketing platform – A holistic way of viewing all your marketing efforts. It enables easy collaboration between marketers and their clients.
3. TrueView is enhanced to create full-funnel YouTube ads – New bidding options and new features will give advertisers clearer measurement with improved conversion tracking.
4. Lead ads on YouTube – Following in Facebook’s footsteps, Google is going to be offering this awesome feature.
5. Responsive Search ads get huge boost – Get ready to have over 43,000 different permutations of your ads. Smart algorithms will make sure the best converting ads are getting impressions to the highest converting audience and device.
6. Mobile speed score gets a column – You will now have a quick way to see your mobile speed score. Mobile has become the standard in which Googles algorithms will rank your website, So always make sure you build for Mobile user experience first, then desktop.
7. Cross device reporting funnels on Google Analytics – The ultimate device analytics to help you better understand how your audience interacts with your content.
8. Smart campaigns – A quick way to get your campaign live without any experience with bids and keyword management. A solution for small businesses to get traction with Google Ads.
9. Auto landing page creation – Don’t have a website? Soon that worry will be a thing of the past. Google is in the process of offering dynamically generated landing pages. This feature will live in smart campaigns.
10. Improved features coming to Google Shopping – Smart shopping options will soon be available. Selecting the smart option offer a quick launch with little to no setup required.
From previous experience “Smart campaigns” are good for testing if a channel is going to work for your business. It does not offer a competitive edge with more advanced setups. We will have to wait to see if Googles machine learning will beat a manual campaign setup in the future.
Brian Roizen is the Cofounder and Chief Architect of Feedonomics, a full-service feed optimization platform that optimizes product data for hundreds of channels. He has been featured on numerous podcasts and eCommerce webinars, and regularly contributes to Search Engine Land and other industry-leading blogs. Brian graduated summa cum laude from UCLA with both a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering.
