We cover owned and earned media a lot on this blog, but it's not because we don't like paid media. But that's just not true! We love paid media! It's an extremely effective and cost-efficient way to drive traffic and sales, and is an essential piece of any omni-channel digital strategy. So today, I wanted to give paid search some much-deserved attention, and highlight three new features in AdWords that are great for ecommerce brands.
Automated Bidding Solutions
Ecommerce advertisers can now select from three new automated bidding techniques for Shopping campaigns: 1. Maximize Clicks, 2. Enhanced CPC and 3. Target ROAS.
The Maximize Clicks option is best when you're hoping to capture as much traffic as possible within a budget. This is a great option for publishers or others that generate revenue from on-site ads, and pairs well with retargeting campaigns.
The Enhanced CPC option is for those that want to manage their own bids or use third-party bidding software. It works on top of your bids in real-time to get more sales at a similar costs.
Targeted ROAS campaigns are for those that are revenue driven (who isn't?!) and don't want to manage bids manually. Products that drive more revenue will get higher bids.
Automated Extensions on Shopping Ads
Google is offering automated extensions on shopping ads (PLAs) at no additional cost or effort to advertisers. These extensions, which are pulled from Merchant Center data feeds, can help your ads stand out, and provide important information that can impact purchase decisions. Extensions may include free shipping, sales or other pricing drop notifications. While Google begins to phase in Automated Extensions, they'll be phasing out Promotional Text, citing lower customer perception and lower click through rates on these types of ad additions.
Structured Snippet Extensions
Building on the success of their newish dynamic structured snippets, Google is now allowing brands to show structured information with text ads to highlight specific product features, brands or types. This new feature, called Structured Snippet Extensions, is customizable for each business. You simply select a predefined "Header" (essentially, the theme or category of the feature) then input a list of unique values. For example, a clothing retailer may list out the different product categories they carry (e.g., Men's, Women's, Kids, Plus Size) or list different styles (e.g., Cardigans, Sweaters, Hoodies, Wraps).
Three great new features (actually six, if count each automated bidding option individually) for ecommerce brands to help them make AdWords campaigns for efficient and more effective.
