Reading Time: 4 minutesAs digital marketers we are faced with many new and exciting media optimization opportunities regularly. The landscape of digital marketing changes frequently and there is a good amount of time involved in deciphering what new features and strategies should be tested. Google’s responsive display ads have recently introduced new features and we are very optimistic on the outlook of increasing reach and return.
What are responsive display ads?
Responsive display ads have been around for years. They allow you to upload images, headlines, logos, copy and, newly introduced, video. Google will automatically generate these ads to be shown across their network, Google Display Network. This is ever so important with the increase in mobile and the numerous different sizes of creatives that are popping up across users’ web experience.
Why Use RDAs?
Optimization: As marketers, our number one goal is to increase revenue and return. Without optimization we will not succeed. This is the top benefit in utilizing responsive display ads. If assets were manually created in all ad formats with different CTAs and images for testing, you would certainly be spending too much time. This time and money could be dedicated to performance improvement and optimization. Time is not the only factor when it comes to optimization benefits of RDAs. Google uses machine learning to determine the optimal combination of assets for each ads slot based on predictions from your account history within Google Ads. Thousands of combinations could be served and analyzed to find the ad that drives the highest return.
Reach: Wouldn’t you love to expand your reach online? With traditional static ads you are limited to the number of websites where your ads can show. The competition on the standard web inventory is high and you may be missing the opportunity to reach your target audience. Additionally, Consumer behavior is changing to an “on the go” mentality. This increases the need to show up in more native, non-traditional settings online. Google automatically resizes and formats your uploaded assets to fit the available inventory in their network. This makes your ads eligible for nearly any ad space, which in turn, increases your ability to reach your audience wherever they are on the network on whichever device they are viewing.
Enhance brand message: Reach customers in the correct stage of the purchase funnel! Google adjusts your assets with their machine learning to determine the top headlines, thus helping the advertiser classify what CTAs and messaging their audience responds to the best at each stage of the sales funnel. This boosts the brand massage across their target markets and stages of the funnel without having to continually create and upload new creative assets. You can use these learnings to refine and optimize your brand message. This sounds like a recipe for success!
New features in responsive display
Google recently made announcements on new features coming to their Responsive Display Ad product.
Video: Video is continuing to grow in popularity and driving potential customers to brands. According to HubSpot, 90 percent of customers say video helps them make buying decisions and 64 percent that seeing a video makes them more likely to buy. Think about that statistic. This shows the influence video has in a customer purchase journey. It is no surprise that Google zeroed in on this and introduced the addition of YouTube video assets to RDA campaigns. You can add up to five YouTube videos to get served in different combinations along with your headlines, descriptions and brand logos. Now you can expand reach to new inventory and improve performance with sight, sound and motion. Very exciting!
New reporting: You can imagine with all the new ad variations that Google automatically creates there is a need for marketers to analyze what is working. Google introduced new combination reports. This is designed to give advertisers more understandings into which grouping of assets and copy are performing best. This feature encourages testing multiple headlines and images so that you can determine which assets to use moving forward.
Ad Strength Scorecard: How do you know if your ads are good? The big question that is asked by all advertisers. How would you like to know the answer through the eyes of Google? Well…they are giving us a peek into what they see. This straightforward feature will ensure your ads are set up for success before they even start. You can attempt to create “excellent” ads by using this score card and work to improve your ads based on Google’s feedback. Below is an example:
If you aren’t testing RDA, start now!
To sum things up, it’s quite simple. If you aren’t testing RDA, you should be. The setup is easy and can be done without professional banner ad production. You can scan your website or upload creative directly to Google Ads. We encourage you to test multiple versions of all assets – images, headlines, descriptions and videos. RDAs can be a powerful learning tool if you take advantage of everything Google is offering. RDAs also expand your reach, which is extremely important in your strategy to message your audience while they are ready to buy or looking for your service. We would love to hear how you have used RDAs with your brand. If you need help with your marketing strategies, Vizion Interactive is here to help.
*Featured Image from Google Ads community
At Vizion Interactive, we have the expertise, experience, and enthusiasm to get results and keep clients happy! Learn more about how our status as a Google Partner, along with our PPC Management, Google Shopping Ads, Social Media Advertising, Amazon Advertising, and other Paid Media services can increase sales and boost your ROI. But don’t just take our word for it, check out what our clients have to say, along with our case studies.
