3 Ways Google Enhanced Helps AdWords Users

With the introduction of Google Enhanced earlier this year, the ability to target AdWords campaigns across devices became a thing of the past. Now, AdWords users will need to build campaigns around context – when, where and how people are searching the web – using Google’s new Enhanced features.

Photo Credit: liewcf, Creative Commons

Location

It should come as no surprise that Google knows a LOT about where you are doing your searches. Most people spend so many hours at work (a location they can track) and so many hours at home, but it also knows when we are on the go. So it makes sense that Google Enhanced would target AdWords campaigns based on this information.

For example, someone that is searching for gastro pubs while at work is probably looking for not only places but also reviews and menus. However, this same search done on the go has different intentions; that person most likely wants to know where the nearest gastro pub is to their current location.

Google Enhanced allows you to build AdWords campaigns around these scenarios, so that your advertising is more effective.

Time of Day

How does someone searching for yoga pants at 10 p.m. differ from someone searching for them at 10 a.m.? It is more likely that the person searching late at night wants to shop online whereas the person shopping in the morning may want to find a store where they can go try on the pants or make a purchase.

With Google Enhanced, you can target these behaviors through your campaigns and even schedule the timing to line up with user intentions.

If you are a storefront, you may also consider shop hours when developing ads: can the person call you or chat with you from their device, right then and there? Make it possible for them to reach you in the way that they want.

Device

While it will no longer be possible to target AdWords campaigns by device, Google recognizes the importance of when people are typically using certain devices. Whereas desktops and laptops are more common during work hours, smartphones and tablets are more heavily used before and after people are at the office. This correlates with time of day, so you will want to keep that in mind when creating campaigns with Google Enhanced.

The three ways AdWords users can start to use Google Enhanced are more about understanding the way people are searching – their location, the time of day, and the type of device. The Enhanced program works to the advertiser’s advantage by combining these factors into usable features that are more relevant and efficient for both advertiser and user.

The deadline for upgrading to Google Enhanced is July 22, 2013; the date that all AdWords accounts will be permanently converted.