Massive Changes Coming to Google AdWords

Google launched AdWords over 18 years ago when they saw an opportunity to monetize the ability to serve people the relevant information they were searching for, in the form of sponsored links. Over this time a lot has changed. The frequency of Google searches continued to sky rocket, year after year. As mobile was introduced it only added fuel to the fire and forever changed the way consumers access and use information.

To keep up with the adaption in data consumption, Google has continued to update and introduce new features to their advertising lineup. Last week, Google posted on their blog about updates and changes that are on the way. Below we will break down what we find most notable.

One of the biggest changes announced was that Google is completely ditching the 'AdWords' brand and replacing it with "Google Ads". This includes a consolidation of Googles products into a new Google Ad Manager, Google Ads, and Google Marketing Platform.

Which only makes sense because AdWords has evolved immensely from the time it was solely based on keywords and searches. Their range of advertising products now encompass video, search, shopping, and the display network likely prompted the branding change.

In addition to a new brand feel and logo, Google also announced the launch of Smart Campaigns, which are targeted towards small businesses and new advertisers. They claim it will combine machine learning and data based on the users business to help assist in the campaign creation process. Google hopes to attract and encourage more advertisers to use Google Ads by making campaign setup as easy as possible.

The new Google AdWords interface (or as Google calls it: Experience) has raised much controversy since Google began rolling it out over a year ago. While the new interface is designed to be quicker and more user friendly, for many experienced advertisers it causes much frustration. Many features have been missing from the new interface causing you to jump back and forth between the previous version and the new to accomplish your daily optimization tasks.

Up until recently, those who weren't a fan of the new experience were able to use the previous version with no issues. However, the day has come when Google recently began displaying the following message across every account:

"The previous AdWords experience is going away - The previous AdWords experience is going away soon. After it does, you'll access your account in the new AdWords experience. Learn more "

As times change and advertising evolves, us marketers must adapt and embrace the changes in the industry. While the new platform has some kinks to be worked out and a definite learning curve, we are confident that as long as Google gives us full control of our campaigns, having more functionality and options is a good thing. Stay tuned for more in depth reviews on new features to come to Google Ads.

If you would like to stay up to date with everything mentioned above as well as additional updates we encourage you to sign up to watch Google Marketing Live stream below:

"We’ll be sharing more about these changes—and many other new Ads, Analytics and Platforms solutions designed to help you grow your business—at Google Marketing Live. Register now to watch live on July 10, 9:00 a.m. PT / 12:00 p.m. ET."