Google Ads: 5 possibilities to advertise

Google Ads (Adwords) is the most important, but also the most complete advertising network.

They allow targeting users when they search for a given term, but also targeting specific behaviour.

Google's platform is a perfect mix of Native Advertising and Display, and targeting by interest and behaviour.

It is very easy to get lost in this world, because the targeting features cross and intersect.

It is important to consider your advertising goals and to display the right ad to the right user at the right time. Nothing is more frustrating than being targeted by an ad that doesn't concern you.

It should also be understood that digital advertising is not "mass" like a billboard, for example.

Good advertisers can very well target their audience. Do business with pros!

All digital campaigns on Google Ads can become very powerful when you work with audience lists. There are two big families:

Behaviour and interests

These lists allow you to reach potential customers while they actively browse, search or compare the types of products or services you sell.

They allow you to connect with the users most interested in what you have to offer, using specific segments that rank users according to their market behaviour and purchase intent.

You can literally target users who show interest in some of your competitors.

Users who have interacted with your brand

These lists are fed by your team, by connecting your CRM, Google Analytics or another source.

It allows you to remarket by targeting users who have visited your website or to target individuals from a list you have purchased.

Search

A classic!

This is probably the best-known network of Google Ads. Advertising on the search engine result page (SERP) is very powerful since it allows users to be targeted when they search for specific or broad subjects using keywords or key phrases.

Many are tempted to use their competitor's brands in the hope of subtracting potential customers. Be aware that this strategy can be very expensive. I suggest you use a remarketing list and an incentive to win back that user.

Even a brand like Orléans Express uses this method. First a visit to their website search on one of their competitors will provide you with a 50% reduction on the initial price tag.

Very useful for the "very urban no car regular on the road Montreal-Quebec" travel buffs!

Display

Google's Display network, like many similar networks, meets the standards of the Interactive Advertising Bureau.

The formats are standardized and enables your ads to be displayed on websites outside Google’s properties through their extended network.

The upside of this network is that it allows you to display your advertising on several websites, without having to negotiate with each and everyone of them. So you can target potential customers throughout their web browsing.

Shopping

Shopping advertising is very similar to the search network: it is displayed mainly on the search results page using keywords. The price and the name of the merchant can easily be displayed for better conversion rate.

In addition, Google's API integrates with e-commerces, product information management systems (PIM) or inventory management systems.

The API enables the automation and management of digital campaigns. You can create ads for single products and disable them automatically when you are out of stock.

Even more, by using the Display network and audience lists, you can remarket products viewed or abandoned in the shopping cart.

Video

Yes, advertise through video with Google Ads.

You can mainly advertise on YouTube and the Display network.

On YouTube, the video format is known as TrueView. It allows users skipping the ad after five seconds. However, almost half of viewers watch ads until the end, even though they can skip them.

This format is called: Pre-roll, and is displayed prior to the upcoming video YouTube is very powerful when targeting options are well leveraged and configured, additioned to a good quality video.

A new format has emerged lately: the bumper. Like TrueView, it’s a pre-roll, but it lasts only six seconds and does not skip advertising.

The ideal way to increase brand awareness is to use both formats. First, you show an advertisement of at least 30 seconds, then, in the second time you punctuate with the bumper format to add touchpoints with users without saturating them.

YouTube advertising is not very expensive if you compare to television, but you still have to consider the cost of producing the video.

Universal App

Do you run an iOS or Android application?

You can reach millions of Google users with a mix of Native and Display.

New possibilities

Are you in tourism? A new type of advertising will emerge with the recent redesign of Google Ads: Hotel Ads.

Some of you may be aware of this format, but it was not integrated into the Adwords platform.

Hotel Ads will launch in beta version for some advertisers this year. An opportunity for actors in the field!