For those savvy about the consumer journey and smart about their PPC management, the new features suggest more conversions could be on the horizon for brands large and small.
In a blog post published Sunday, the Inside AdWords team lifted the lid on Customer Match and Universal App Campaigns, two new products which launched Monday on Advertising Week’s Times Center Stage. The intent behind both options is to bring AdWords advertisers closer to customers, Sridhar Ramaswamy, Senior Vice President of Google Ads and Commerce said.
According to Google’s Google/Ipsos, "Consumers in the Micro-Moment," March 2015 report, 70% of consumer brand perception is based on the timing and relevance of messages presented to them. Introducing these new AdWords features will harness the search engine’s ability to better time advertiser and brand messages to the consumer’s activity as they are doing it.
Consumer Match has been designed to position advertisers closer to their higher value customers on search, YouTube and Gmail, potentially creating better sales opportunities and bigger baskets for advertisers getting on board. Customer Match works using the advertiser’s own database of customers and requires the brand to upload their customer email addresses to Google. The email addresses on the list are matched to customers signed in to Google, giving advertisers more freedom to create highly targeted, very specified AdWords ad messaging and AdWords campaigns.
The action specific ads can be shown whether the user is searching on Google, watching a video on the topic on YouTube or telling a friend about it on Gmail. On the consumer side, there is no need to worry you will be bombarded with messaging. Alongside its announcement, Google stressed that users can control the ads they want to see and block ads at an individual advertiser level through the Google Ad Settings interface.
Customer Match comes with a Similar Audience targeting option, available via YouTube and Gmail (not search). This takes data from the customer base uploaded to show ads to other consumers with similar habits and interests.
Ramaswamy said, “With Customer Match, your brand is right there, with the right message, at the moment your customer is most receptive. Only Google can help you do this to delight your most loyal customers in the moments that truly matter.”
Both features will be available to AdWords advertisers shortly. As an advertiser, you can already upload your customer list within the AdWords interface. For step-by-step instructions, see this Google Support post.
