Google Adwords Minus the “words” - what do these changes mean for high-end design?

In my email this morning I received notice that Google Adwords had changed to “Google Ads.”  Upon investigation, I learned that this change was an attempt to encompass everything Google has to offer advertisers, mainly:

• Search

• Display

• Mapping

• Video

• In-App

This is a way to shift advertise perception from keyword intent to a world that focuses on audiences.  This is similar to the way we do advertising for other platforms like Facebook and LinkedIn, but it’s a shift for Google.  Google was always the place where people type in search terms and as such, businesses like ours had to develop keyword strategies that lined up.  

At its core, Google is still intent-centric and therefore somewhat reliant on keywords.  So with this change, should you throw out your keyword strategy? Probably not. However, you could expand that strategy beyond just keywords and think through how that might apply to other platforms under the Google umbrella.  

Think about how people find things online today.  It’s not just through typing in a search engine. Often, they are on the go and use things like maps or videos on their phones to fulfill a need or answer a question.

Google has made it easy to expand the keyword mentality to omnipresent advertising methodology by developing Smart Campaigns as their default ad experience.  As an advertiser, you can develop a smart display campaign to show ads in a variety of formats across the Google network.

According to Google, the smart display campaigns combine 3 optimization technologies:

• Automated bidding - the platform now automatically adjusts bids according to the likelihood to convert, thereby maximizing your marketing dollars.  You still set maximum daily spend limits, so your marketing budget will stay in check, but the idea is that those dollars will perform better.

• Automated targeting - the idea here is that your ads will automatically and increasingly show where they get you the most business.  Google is using smart technology to feed your content to the most likely converters.

• Automated ad creation - You provide things like headlines, descriptions, logos and images and Google will automatically create the ads you need for almost all ad spaces within the Google network.

Bottom Line?  People are changing how they search for things online and if you want to get found, you should be changing your digital strategy to be more audience-centric, dynamic and responsive.  Google has adapted their advertising platform to meet these needs and to make it easier than ever for businesses of all sizes to get into digital advertising

Soon I might just be out of a job.