If you didn’t catch the AdWords Livestream on 5 May 2015, here’s a round up of the talk. If you’d like to watch it after reading this to find out more, it’s here: AdWords LivestreamJerry Dischler, VP of Product Management kicked off the talk by introducing micro-moments and in typical Google-style, they have a beautifully crafted tag line to go with the concept:

We don’t go online, we live online

He’s right, the first statistic rolled out was that mobile searches have already exceeded desktop searches in 10 countries worldwide, with the remainder expected to follow suit by the end of the year.Living online is all about being connected wherever, whenever, regardless of the device we’re using. Google estimates that 91% of us look up information on our mobile phones where we’re in the middle of a task. We’re all guilty of looking up a cake recipe or new shoes mid-way through a conversation…Dischler went on to explain how the customer journey is now fractured into micro-moments. As an audience we're device agnostic. We go to the nearest device to accommodate our needs, wants and desires – our loyalty shifts from brands and accommodates on our needs.In order to take advantage of this shift in user behaviour, marketers need to consider:
  1. Mobile – if you haven’t got a mobile strategy or site you’re way behind
  2. Immediacy – in those moments users want information now
  3. Relevancy – be the business that gives the user what they want
  4. Availability – give directions, show stock, show opening hours
Micro-moments covered, and we’re on to the product update. New Automotive/Car Ads

50% of car-related searches occur on a mobile device, with users likely to follow and call from the same device

New Ad #1: Car Model AdBased on the fact that users often prefer image ads, this new ad format gives a “showroom experience”.Working seamlessly on mobile, an image carousel allows multiple photos to be uploaded, while key stats are delivered once an image is clicked.New Ad #2: Dealer SearchSimilar to other location ad formats, dealer search will give users the option of click-to-call, get directions or find out more information about a dealership. Travel Industry Ads

69% of time researching travel is done in snippets of time (micro-moments!)

Hotel Ads have been rolled out globally, giving user the option to compare and book hotels through Googles own comparison engine rather than the likes of Booking.com, Expedia, etc.With the mobile user at the forefront of the thinking behind this, Google’s tool reduces the steps in the path to purchase when booking a hotel room. Shopping Ads Enhancements

YoY there’s been a 175% increase in mobile shopping searches

In Google’s words, smartphones have become our personal shopping assistants. Whether users check for stock in their local store, buy hard to locate items, or simply look for the cheapest price, smartphones have become essential in the way we buy.

93% who used their mobile to research went onto purchase on their mobile

To improve the existing Google Shopping experience, the product information card has been enhanced and includes a hi-res image, availability and reviews. Google Compare

YoY there’s been a 48% increase financial searches on mobile

We’ve already got Google Compare in the UK (and US) for car insurance and credit cards. They’re making a couple of improvements and adding a new product to the suite.Car insuranceRatings for insurance providers will be included in the next few weeks. This will be broken down in to key areas including service, claim process, overall satisfaction. With mobile being an ongoing theme throughout the update, they’re also adding support for local insurance brokers.Credit cardNo major update here, but they have introduced support for regional banks as well as the major nationals.New product: MortgagesTo be launched during May 2015, Google Compare will add mortgage comparison to their collection. Given the options available and the serious nature of selection a mortgage, they’ve created a guided walkthrough. From the user’s point of view, they’ll be taken through the usual questioning process, with cautionary remarks along the way to ensure the gravity of their actions is understood. They’ll also include comprehensive ratings for lenders to help decision making. Last new ad formatApp Promotion Ads are now eligible to use all 2 million+ Google Display Network sites and search ads are available on Google Play. Optimising AdWords Campaigns

15% of daily Google searches are unique

Yep, that means they have never been seen before. Astonishing, and you cannot possibly predict every keyword variation!Dynamic Search Ads EnhancementLaunching globally over the next few months, Dynamic Search Ads (DSA) will crawl and organise your site, putting the pages into categories. This’ll save using individual landing pages within DSA.To increase transparency, sample queries, ads and target pages will be show for each category once the site has been crawled.Google Display Network EnhancementBefore today, if you wanted to have 100% accessibility to the Google Display Network (GDN) you’d need to create more than 50 different ad sizes. From today, as long as you have three core sizes (728x90, 1600x600, 300x250), Google will automatically resize your ads to and your reach could (depending on your settings) increase to 95% of GDN sites.Ad updates covered, we’re onto the tools…Automated BiddingLater this year, a target CPA simulator/modeller will be launched. If you’ve ever wondered what would happen if I adjusted mobile bids by 10%, this tool’s the answer to your prayers.Bid StrategyThe bid strategy dashboard enhanced will also be enhanced before the year is out to allow comparison of bid strategies over time, looking at target and actual CPA.Measurement: Cross-device conversion

9 out of 10 smartphone users start journey to purchase on one device and finish on another

Cross device conversions can be included in the conversions column, however you will need to go via your Google account team or agency (as long as they’re a Google Partner!) to sign up for this. This data will also include app based purchases, regardless of device.Users outside of the US, Canada and Australia will have to wait until later this year though.Attribution

53% of marketers rate attribution as a high or top priority

Marketers also cite the need for alternative attribution models. With greater understanding of the ever-expanding path to purchase, a last click attribution model can provide insufficient answers to where ad spend should be focussed/optimised.Google’s new tool aims to help with two common questions:
  1. Which attribution model should I use?
  2. How do I take action from attribution?
For those of you unfamiliar with attribution modelling, it’s the process of assigning a value to each touch point during the customer journey.Data-Driven Attribution ToolAgain, you’ll have to contact your Google account team or agency as this is being set up via a whitelist – you’ll also have to wait until later this year!Google’s data driven attribution tool will allow your own conversion data to be used to understand the direct value of any given keyword. Once the information has been digested and analysed bids can be adjusted to account for the whole journey, rather than up-bidding on the channel which drove the last-click and ultimately the conversion.Not a tool to be taken lightly or misunderstood, you’ll need to know which attribution model is best for your business in order to make the best decisions.AdWords Drafts & ExperimentsAfter an apology for the lateness of this launch, it’s another whitelist product if you’d like to start using it from June. However, it will be available to everyone in autumn.Report EditorNo whitelist here, however the roll out process is ongoing and Google are aiming to complete it by the end of autumn.Cumulative ROAS & Measured ROASGuess what, you’ll need to get this through your friendly Google account team or agency.These tools are all about optimising your campaigns based on the incremental value of the keyword, device or format you’re bidding on. This is aimed at high spend advertisers for large scale campaigns. That’s it.Update over and we’re back at our desks working out how best to use these new features. It emphatically reinforced the mobile message throughout. Every new product or enhancement has the feeling of a mobile-first approach, and if Google’s doing it, the rest of us probably should too.If you’d like to find out more about any of these new features, or how they can be applied to your campaigns, don’t hesitate to get in touch. We love to talk!