Google’s keynote annual event, Google Marketing Live, heralded the announcement of a raft of updates to Google Ads.

Automation, video ads and new technologies were the main focus of the keynote, which told us about an impressive array of new changes.

There’s a lot to get through here, so let’s not waste any time.

New video ad campaigns

YouTube Shorts will now host Video action campaigns and app campaigns. While both features are being rolled out gradually, they will be available across the globe. Product feeds connected to campaigns will also be integrated with Shorts, making video ads more shoppable than ever before.

Shorts are time-limited to just 60 seconds, so advertisers need to keep their videos tight, light and engaging. That said, this could be an exciting development, and it’s one to keep an eye on.

With TikTok working hard to monetise video for creators, Google has now joined the arms race, and it’ll be interesting to see who can convince people that the future lies with them.

Google Discover will also feature short video ads that work around organic content, while Display & Video 360 can be used for TV campaigns to reach audiences across YouTube and other connected TV apps.

Automation insights

Performance Max is also getting some snazzy updates:

• Experimental tools like A/B tests will let marketers make data-driven decisions about their Performance Max campaigns.
• Beefed up support will be available for Search Ads 360 and via the Google Ads mobile app, while support for store sales goals should help advertisers boost in-store sales.
• Burst campaigns can be set for a specific time period and should help stores meet their seasonal goals.
• New insights such as audience and auction insights and attribution will let marketers know what’s driving performance so you can make better decisions than ever before.
• Recommendations and an optimisation score will let you improve your campaigns.

Insights upgrades

Google’s updated Insights page could prove to be helpful to marketers. It uses machine learning to analyse billions of searches and millions of signals to identify new areas of customer demand and provide marketers with trend data valuable to them.

• Attribution insights show marketers how adverts work across Google’s various platforms like YouTube or Search to drive conversions.
• Budget insights work hard to save you money by showing how your spending is tracking vs budget goals and offering new ways you can optimise your budget.
• Audience insights for first-party data show marketers how customer segments are driving campaign performance.

Responsive search ads improved

Google has stated that it wants to be ‘the most helpful company in the world’, and while that might sound a little Big Brother, it does mean they’ve started to deliver products such as automatically created assets for responsive search ads.

Opting in lets Google Ads create assets for you based on your existing ads and landing page. The system will then display the best performing to save you time and (hopefully) increase ROI.

Responsive display ads are getting a further juicing via mobile-first layouts that will help marketers show full-screen portrait ads, while more scrollable ads and videos based on your product feed will be rolled out across the globe by the end of 2022.

A new Asset Library will help marketers store and access all their digital assets, and video creation will be streamlined via YouTube-optimised templates.

Lead form and integration improvements

Google says marketers will be able to drive more sales with improvements to lead form extensions and new CRM integrations.

Marketers can choose from over 2,500 questions for their lead form extensions, while suggestions can be submitted to Google.

Automation app Zapier is being integrated into Google Ads, which should help marketers understand the journey of leads more effectively, while improved reporting will help advertisers understand how ‘leads are being generated and progressing to sales.’

Search and YouTube marketing

Lastly, Google wants to make shopping on Search easier and is trying to help customers explore products in more visual ways.

Later in 2022, U.S users can see Shopping ads in Search results (for apparel brands only) – while augmented reality will allow brands to display 3D models of their products in Google Search.

Furthermore, loyalty programs can be integrated with Google Ads to let consumers see when they could be rewarded for shopping with you.

There’s a lot to unpack from the keynote. Some of it will be of great interest to marketers – especially those engaged in video advertising – while some won’t. But either way, it would be a good idea to familiarise yourself with them over the coming weeks.

As ever, roll-outs and timelines will vary, but for businesses in 2022, going into 2023, there’s a lot to like about Google updated and expanded marketing products.