There is a new type of campaign in Google Ads that will probably attract a big portion of your Social Media budget! Are you keeping up with the new possibilities?
You’ve probably heard the news already, but if you haven’t, here it is – at the very end of May, Google has made Discovery campaigns available to all the advertisers globally. This brings new and exciting advertising opportunities for companies and might be “the thing that will eat a big chunk of your Social Media budget”.
So, what are these Discovery campaigns?
The Discovery campaign is a new type of campaign in Google Ads. Discovery Ads are going to be serve on YouTube (Home and Watch Next feeds), Discover feed on the Google Search app, and in Gmail (Promotion and Social tabs). Ads are native-looking and mostly based on visual impact. So far you can choose from two ad formats that remind us very much of Facebook Ads – Discovery carousel ads with multiple images and Discovery ads with a single image. The targeting for these campaigns is not based on search intent but rather on the profile of the user, again quite similarly to what we have on Facebook Ads.
Is it hard to set it up?
Not harder than any other Google Ads campaign! You click on “New campaign” and choose “Discovery”. Then, as with any other Google Ads campaign, you will need to choose Location and Language targeting, your monthly budget and bidding (Maximise conversions or Target CPA). On the ad groups level, you will need to choose your audience based on Demographic (age, gender, parental status, and, if applicable, household income) or Audience (Remarketing, in-market, or affinity audiences). And lastly, you will need to create your ads (carousel or single image). They will work using the same principle as your responsive ads i.e., you need to create several headlines and descriptions and the system will pair them automatically for each user. You can also choose a call-to-action – at the time the available options are “Contact Us”, “Visit Website”, “Apply Now”, “Download” and “Shop Now”.
What do I need to try it out?
First of all, as the only bidding strategies available are conversion-based, you will need to have conversion tracking on your website. Plus, you need to ensure that your account is getting enough conversions per month, so that you can be sure that Google’s system is making educated decisions about your bidding.
You also need to ensure that you have enough budget to afford another Google Ads campaign. If you have several campaigns that are already spending 100% of your advertising budget and you are happy with the results, it’s probably not the best decision to “starve for budget” one of those campaigns that is already bringing you sales, just to try something new. Google recommends setting the daily budget for Discovery campaigns to ten times your target CPA. Google also recommends waiting for 40 conversions until you make any changes. So, to get the most out of this new campaign, you need to have some budget available.
Another thing that is crucially important is the visuals. They will decide if your campaign fails or brings good results. So, make sure to try it only after you’ve properly worked on your images.
Is it worth trying?
If you have all the requirements in place, of course you should try it. Google estimates a combined audience for Discovery Ads of 2.9 billion people. This is almost the same as the overall Facebook audience, so it will definitely give your business more exposure.
Another advantage is that Discovery campaigns are potentially easy to test – just replicate your best performing Social Media ads. It will be more than enough for the first few months and will allow you to make a better decision on whether you need this campaign for your business or not.
And, as usual, like with every other novelty in digital marketing, keep in mind that these campaigns are brand-new and, as such, most likely your competitors haven’t tried them out yet. This is therefore your chance to be the first one to reach your customers in an innovative way and, because of that, have more chances to successfully engage with them.
For more information, bespoke strategies and efficient digital marketing solutions, just contact the Clarity’s girls through info@yourdigitalclarity.com or visit our website at www.yourdigitalclarity.com.
