Blink and you’ll miss it! We’re always trying to keep up-to-date with the latest changes from Google, whether it’s the complex organic search algorithms or the most recent advancements in Google AdWords. As Google try to make search even more helpful for users, they have now teamed up with the Coalition for Better Ads to continue improving their ads.
New tools for Google AdWords
Coalition might be a bit of a naughty word at the moment, but not where Google are concerned! This new partnership has given rise to new features within the interface, helping to make search easier for the customer and also more profitable for you, the account holder.
One new tool we’re particularly excited about is Smart Bidding, which will set your bids for you to make sure you get the most conversions within your daily budget. This is particularly helpful if you have a lot of a certain type of stock that you need to shift in a hurry, for example, clothing retailers who may be looking to shift last season’s styles. Google uses complex machine learning technology to factor in remarketing lists, the hour of the day, browser and device into your bids, so you’ll never miss an opportunity. To set this up, simply go to the Settings section on your Campaigns page, and change the bidding type to “Maximise Conversions”.
A newly-designed interface
Keep your eyes peeled for this one as you may find it appears one day without you asking it to! Google have openly admitted that they haven’t updated the AdWords interface for eight years – quite a shock when we consider how many other changes have been made to search since 2009. You might find yourself asking “where’s that gone?!” when the new designs come into play, but the team assure us the new interface is sleeker, more modern and overall easier to use. So what can we expect?
The new navigation panel in AdWords
The first thing that might come as a bit of a shock to AdWords users is the navigation panel – everything will now be on the left-hand side as opposed to across the top! You can hide this navigation on a smaller screen if you wish, or make it re-appear. When it reappears, it will cover the page menu options. By default, only your enabled campaigns will show. To see any other campaigns, you can click on the “three-dot” icon.
Campaigns are listed across the top in a breadcrumb style to make navigation easier. The page menu will change options based upon the campaign/ad group you’re currently clicked on. Using the page menu, you can now navigate within a page, for example by clicking “keywords”, you will now be able to see all options on one pre-set page, e.g. search keywords, negative keywords and search terms.
Changes to reporting
Google have also been doing some cleaning up on the reports front. Look for the reporting icon across the top in the right hand corner (a white square with three black lines). Within this, you’ll see reports and “Predefined reports” (formerly known as Dimensions). Other handy tools such as billing and payments can be found in the three-dot icon next to the reporting icon, as well as Keyword Planner and conversion planning.
The best part? If you don’t like change, you can go back to the previous interface at any time (take note, Facebook!). Just click onto the three-dot icon and select “Return to previous AdWords”. You can go back by clicking on the cog whenever you wish.
So there you have it – but don’t just take it from us! You can also hear it in the dulcet tones of the Google AdWords specialists on YouTube.
Don’t forget, if you’re looking to try out or better optimise your Google AdWords campaigns, contact the experts at Agency51 today.