3 ways Google updated AdWords this week

Google has made a series of updates to Google AdWords that focus on measuring campaign effectiveness and campaign reach.

1. A new click-through rate

Launched in 2016, click-to-message ads (CTMA) were introduced as an additional call to action that would allow advertisers and agencies to give target audiences the option to immediately get in touch with the advertiser.

“Google’s click-to-message ad format is a great example of better user experience by reducing steps to what the consumer wants to get to," said Azam Jalal Khan, CEO of Digitz. "It also encourages impulse behaviour because of ease of interaction.”

An update launched this week will give users access to a reporting tool that will offer insight into the effectiveness of CTMAs. The update will reveal:

• Chat rate: The percentage of ads that result in a push for a chat with the target audience.
• Messages: The total number of messages from a single conversation.
• Chat start time: A range of time slots when searchers initiated a conversation.

2. YouTube for retargeting

In a bid to improve direct response advertising targeted towards users of Google Search, advertisers and agencies will now be able to rely on YouTube for retargeting their ads.

Custom Intent Audiences will provide marketers with the ability to target and retarget people who searched for their products or services on Google Search, according to the company.

Collecting anonymised information of Search users across the internet, the new feature introduces search-based targeting integrated with YouTube for advertisers classified in the preferred advertising buying program.

If successful, the new tool will help Google to position YouTube as having the ability to drive demand through video.

"Advertisers interested in this approach need to be contextual in their retargeting," said Danish Ayub, CEO of MWM Studioz. "This means that the video ads retargeted need to be similar to the overlying need-based intent of the search used. Hero based content must be adapted to reflect the search terms and questions being bid on and this requires a significant investment in quality production."

3. Customise the call to action

Along with the update on YouTube, marketers can now customise the calls to action (CTA) that appear alongside video ads. The update, known as TrueView for Action Ads, allows advertisers to set the target customer per acquisition bidding.

Similar to in-stream ads, these ads can also be skipped after five seconds.