Google’s Ingenious Mobile Ad Campaign

Selling ads for mobile devices is a major problem for Google, Facebook, and Yahoo. The users log in through their smartphones one minute, and the next minute they are on their PCs or Tablets. There are many complexities in running a mobile ad campaign; it is difficult to track down the sales records, it is impossible to cram in many ads at once, and the users keep switching between devices. Google may have come up with a way to solve these problems.

In a recent announcement, Google told the world they are upgrading Ad Words “by rolling out enhanced campaigns”. The enhanced campaigns will utilize the location, the time, and the capability of the device being used to the marketer’s advantage. The campaign is set at very low prices and caters to SME’s that can reach their target demographics in an entirely new way.

The main features of the enhanced campaigns include:

1. Add placement according to time, location, and device
2. Bidding for keywords according to the location of the customer
3. Click to call and location extensions for nearby customers, and ecommerce solutions for those at far away locations
4. New conversion types including duration of the call in click-to-call solutions, downloads, direct sales etc.

Google also announced that they would upgrade all ad campaigns in mid 2013. The campaigns are being dubbed an ingenious move by marketing experts, as Google’s mobile ad prices were plummeting, and this move would surely improve the company’s bottom line.

With potential customers living in a multi-screen world and switching from device to device in a matter of minutes, it had become almost impossible to track the conversion rates from mobile ads. Furthermore, placing ads on a small screen is an entirely different phenomenon; as such ads may overpower the screen and can cause the customers annoyance instead of selling the product effectively.

People using smartphones and/or Tablets are usually on the move, and switch to their work PCs or Home PCs upon reaching their destinations. Google’s new enhanced ad campaigns will take this factor into account, and the ad placement will depend highly on the location of the user.

Furthermore, the ads for keywords will be different based on the time of day. A marketer may set his or her campaign to direct a customer to their location before closing time if the customer is in the vicinity. A different ad may appear for the same shop if the customer is near the shop’s location after the closing time.

The enhanced campaign will also result in major revenue for Google as it is most likely to induce a bidding war between competitors in the same location. Two competing pizza shops in the same neighborhood would want their ads to be displayed when a potential customers enters the vicinity, and Google would place ads for the highest bidders.

It was about time that more factors were taken into consideration when designing a mobile ad campaign and Google has once again determined their superiority in this sector.

[Image via betanews & infographicworld]