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AdWords has just pulled the wraps off their new Enhanced Campaign program and it’s pretty special if you can figure it all out.
The basic premise is this: people searching the same keyword have different needs depending on the time of day, location and the device they’re using.
The example they use is takeout pizza.
This young couple has just moved into their new home so they don’t have the kitchen set up and they don’t know the area. The man uses his PC at home (apparently they do have wireless hooked up) to search for pizza delivery. He gets an ad for Saratoga pizza with a direct link to order online.
The woman is out buying furniture and decides to buy a pizza while she’s out and about. She searches pizza on her smartphone, also gets Saratoga, but her ad has a call button and directions.
They could have saved themselves $10.00 if she’d used that smartphone to call him before she stopped at the pizza shop, but hey. . . two pizzas. . . how cute.
Enhanced Campaigns also allows you to adjust your bids and budget based on location, time or device.
Example: A breakfast cafe wants to reach people nearby searching for “coffee” or “breakfast” on a smartphone. Using bid adjustments, with three simple entries, they can bid 25% higher for people searching a half-mile away, 20% lower for searches after 11am, and 50% higher for searches on smartphones. These bid adjustments can apply to all ads and all keywords in one single campaign.
This is really brilliant. It puts your AdWord dollars to use in the best possible way. It’s great for offline locations but I can see it for online, too. For example, if someone is looking for a mystery novel at midnight from their smartphone, I’d show them an ad for an ebook over directions to a local bookstore. As a marketer, I’d be willing to bid a little higher for that late-night, mobile customer.
AdWords is also pumping up the volume on stats. The new settings will count app downloads and phone calls that come in through a campaign as a conversion.
The one odd side (I’m not sure it’s bad enough to be called a downside) to this new program is that it lumps tablets in with desktops instead of with mobile. I get that many people use tablets at home instead of their desktop but it’s a different experience, and as such, it deserves its own category. Tablets encourage laid back browsing. It encourages app and ebook downloads and streaming entertainment. It’s touch vs mouse and that’s gotta make a difference in how you advertise — maybe not now but soon. If AdWords really wants to make ads more relevant, then they need to treat the desktop, tablet and smartphone as three different animals.
I think this new concept is a giant leap in the right direction. Instead of a one-size-fits-all display ad, Enhanced Campaigns lets you hone in on what a customer actual wants when they search. Do they want dinner a half hour from now or food for a party they’re having next week? Is this research or are they ready to buy? Given the way we all speed through life, presenting the best possible ad with the shortest distance between customer and conversion means more dollars in your pocket, and that is the primary goal after all.
Here’s a short video explaining how the program works:
What do you think of the new Enhanced Campaigns for AdWords?
