True to form, Google is making big changes when it comes to their online PPC system, Google Adwords. Recently, the search engine leader announced 2 major changes to their paid advertising channel including:
1. Enhanced Campaigns
2. Phone Numbers In Ad Text
As a result of the first change, Enhanced Campaigns, advertisers will no longer have the option to target desktops, mobile phones and tablets independently. Instead, each campaign will appear across all devices. The thought behind the new upgrade is that we live in an ever-connected, multi-device world and it should become easier to create and manage campaigns that can more effectively target all devices.
Google describes the key features of the upgrade as follows:
1. Powerful marketing tools for the multi-device world
2. Smarter ads optimized for varying user contexts
3. Advanced reports to measure new conversion types
While this is undoubtedly a huge change that will affect every advertiser currently running Mobile Campaigns, some features that advertisers and marketers have become especially fond of, namely “click to call” and ad extensions will remain available after the upgrade.
Google’s second change, Phone Numbers In Ad Text, forces all advertisers to utilize Google’s “call extensions” feature and no longer supports the display of phone numbers inside ad text or sitelink extensions. In Google’s announcement regarding their decision to alter the way phone numbers are used in advertising, they stated, “We are making this change to foster a safer, more consistent user experience across desktop, tablet, and mobile devices.”
However, what this change really does is allow Google to charge for mobile ad engagements as part of its transition to enhanced campaigns.
What This Means For You:
1. We have already seen CPCs begin to climb over the past couple of weeks and it is projected that they will continue to rise over the next few months. After all, advertisers that have not concentrated on mobile and/or tablets will now flood the market, creating a much more competitive space.
2. Decisions will need to be made as to whether advertisers will want to participate in Google’s “call extensions”. Currently, “call extensions” have two unique settings. The first allows advertisers to utilize their own phone number but limits exposure strictly to mobile phones. The alternate setting allows the call extension to be shown across all devices but displays a unique Google call tracking phone number that forwards the call for an additional $1 (cpc charges will still apply).
Although these changes are huge, Google still provides the best online advertising opportunity to reach prospective customers/clients who are actively searching for what your business has to offer. And while these changes will undoubtedly take some “getting used to”, ultimately, they will provide users with a better experience and more relevant results whether they are at work or on the go!
It’s always nice to see our work used in real-world situations.. 
