Bet You Didn’t Know Google Ads Could Do This. . .

We write a lot about Google Ads because we know it can help a business succeed in digital marketing. But there are a lot of ins and outs. So when we learn something new, we want to pass it on to you. Here are some of the top things Google Ads could do for you. [Check out our guide!]

Call-Only Campaigns

According to Google, an astounding 70% of people searching for a business on their mobile call them directly from search results. That’s why Google Ads has Call-Only Campaigns: you can exclusively track your phone conversions. This is a great resource. If someone is calling to speak directly to you, they’re already a hot lead. If you place a lot of value on calls, these campaigns would be a good thing to keep in mind when working on your Google Ads bidding strategy.

Customer Match

Whether you’re a marketing professional or a business owner doing their own marketing, chances are you’ve got an email list. Customer Match is for you. How does it work? You can upload your email lists to Google Ads through the Customer Match tool. That way, when they are signed into YouTube, Gmail, or Google, they’ll see your ads. It’s a smart way to make sure someone who’s already a customer becomes a loyal one.

Ad Customizers

Wouldn’t it be great if you could change your ad text based on what people are searching for? With Ad customizers, you can totally do that. Let’s say you offer a lot of products in one category (like a variety of Timberland hiking boots). You can create a campaign using Ad customizers that will match what someone is searching for “size 6 Timberland hiking boots” vs. “blue Timberland hiking boots”. [You’ll love customizers if you have frequent sales: you can set them to automatically change based on how many days are left in a sale, giveaway, offer, etc.]

Google Adwords Editor

If you want to streamline your campaigns by keeping track of them in one place, Google AdWords Editor is your friend. This (free) desktop app allows you to download and manage multiple accounts for offline editing (which we’ve found faster and easier to use than the regular web-based interface). Here are some of the things we like to use the editor for:

• Side-by-side editing
• Keyboard shortcuts
• Bulk editing

Ad Extensions

Extensions are a free way to start boosting your click-through rate fast with content-rich ads that help your inbound strategy. We like them so much we wrote a whole blog about a few must-have extensions— check it out here.

There are a few ways that you can take your campaign targeting to the next level with a little clever Google Ads use:

Affinity Audiences

Google analyzes the online patterns of all its users. Among other things, they use that data to put your ad in front of people who are likely to search for or be interested in your business.

In-market Audiences

These are the Google users who are already searching for your business/product. It uses cookies in their browser cache to put customized ads in front of them according to those searches

Interest Targeting

You can now customize your Google Ads campaigns to put them in front of people whose interests align with what your brand has to offer.  Here are some ways to do that.

If you have an app you want to promote, there’s a Google Ads feature for that. App promotion ads include buttons allowing users to download the app via the app store, straight from your ad. Talk about cutting out the middleman.

It’s easy to see why—in spite of its complexities—marketers love Google Ads. But we know it’s not as easy as it sounds. That’s why we’re always looking for your input, questions, and concerns about Google Ads. Connect with us today so we can make sure to get you the info you need to rise to the top of the Google Ad game.