This past month, Google launched a new segment of its AdWords program called Ads Added by AdWords. The new program creates ads for existing customers based on their present ads and landing pages.
At this time, Ads Added is still going through a pilot phase, so only a few-thousand AdWords customers have been contacted to participate. You could be part of a subsequent group, however, so your understanding of Google’s latest search initiative could prove beneficial even if you’re not currently a testing member.
How Ads Added by AdWords Began
According to a recent report at Search Engine Land, Google began contacting potential Ads Added pilot hopefuls on January 12. Google then allowed those customers to agree to participate in the January 26 launch – at which time AdWords officials dropped specially-created ads into the existing accounts of those users. The initial group of about 2,000 accounts comes from individual advertisers that have used “Optimize for clicks” or “Optimize for conversions” settings in their ad groups. You can read more here about tracking your conversions.
Google says in its Ads Added help page that its own ads could help advertisers “improve [their] ad groups’ performance by five to 15 percent.” Participating users will see these additional ads marked with the “Added by AdWords” label. Just as Google created the new ads based on users’ headlines, keywords, and landing page information, users can edit or delete these additional creations by visiting their ad groups and making changes as they always have.
Still, Google suggests that users keep the new ads running for an indefinite period. If users want to make changes, Google says, they can copy the headline and body content from an Ads Added campaign into a new user-created campaign. That method will allow users to compare the performance of their original ads, Ads Added samples, and any modified Ads Added suggestions.
Privacy and Machine Learning
Search Engine Land noted that Google made its first Ads Added group by hand. The search giant’s own product team vetted the final products that were rolled out to the pilot group. Although there were thousands of initial participants, this method of ad creation could make sense. A count of 2,000 participants isn’t insurmountable, and Google’s machine learning algorithms can learn from the steps humans took to create the best of these new ads.
Algorithms should have the ability to see how the Ads Added group compares against advertisers’ home-grown efforts. When they fail or when they succeed, machines can take this initial effort into consideration for a possible rollout of Ads Added to the general public. At that time, automated creation of ads will be necessary because even Google’s numerous staff members couldn’t hope to keep pace.
This entire effort of Google’s brings to light the ideas of privacy and self-determination in marketing. When machines can undermine individuals’ efforts, why should advertisers even try? Well, this initial step is a far cry from machine-driven advertisement. Advertisers and companies such as Atria are still necessary to create ads and make sure campaigns see success.
Help from Google officials or, potentially, Google machines, could be a welcome step in the right direction if marketers can still be creative and express their own ambitions. Fear that Google will begin rejecting users’ ads is unfounded. In contrast, the Ads Added supplement could help marketers boost their campaign efficacy across the board.
You can contact Atria for any assistance you need with your existing ad creation process, which isn’t going away any time s