The Latest AI Advancements

In this article, discover ways you can leverage the latest AI advancements in Google Ads. Explore how AI can transform the way businesses can increase conversions, reach broader audiences as well as better manage and optimize campaigns.

Introduction

Technology advancement has always been at the core of the Search Engine Marketing (SEM) industry. Today, Artificial Intelligence (AI) is inevitably one of the most significant forces driving the evolution of this sector. AI features are rapidly transforming various Google Ads features, as well as how campaigns are managed and optimised in 2024.

AI-enhanced targeting efficiency and accuracy

If manual bidding were the norm back in 2021, the newest generations of SEM specialists might never need to put a bid adjustment on a keyword ever again! Google’s Smart Bidding now analyses large datasets and user behaviour in real-time to set optimal bids for every auction based on the advertiser’s chosen objectives, such as traffic, conversions, ROAs and more. Gone were the long hours spent analysing data across Excel sheets.

And the best thing yet? AI-enhanced algorithms translate to more efficient budget allocation, increased conversions, and a significant edge over manually managed campaigns, giving advertisers more time to look into less obvious improvement areas and formulate better-tailored solutions for each ad campaign.

The introduction of Audience signals and the revamped Similar Audiences feature allows Google to delve deeper, leveraging machine learning to identify potential customers with similar characteristics and online behaviour to your existing high-value customers. This opens doors to highly targeted campaigns that reach the right audience at the right time, even with limited campaign lifetime data or with audiences that tend to have longer converting cycles and are harder to target via only keyword targeting.

What to do: Ensure your conversion tracking system is set up properly and completely, including necessary integration between your website, tagging and tracking platforms and Google Analytics 4. Define your KPIs and assign value to different touchpoints and conversions in the user journey of your customers, and opt-in to data-driven attribution.

Creative asset creation and optimisation made easy

One of the most visible changes that allows smaller businesses to manage and own their ad account with less time and effort is AI’s assistance in creative creation and optimisation. AI-powered tools in Google Ads now actively suggest compelling ad headlines and description lines based on performance data and popular search queries, while also recommending the best images to use alongside the ad copies you selected.

For e-commerce brands or brands with large product variety but yet to integrate Google’s Merchant Centre, Dynamic Search Ads’ ability to automatically generate headlines and landing pages could save businesses hours of ad creation for individual product variants. For businesses wanting to test Performance Max without video assets, Google also offers dynamically created videos. (However, ADMATIC does not recommend Performance Max’s automatically generated videos at this stage – Q1 2024).

Beyond asset creation, Google’s algorithms also automatically test different combinations of ad assets across audiences to find and show the most optimal ad combinations. The better AI can understand human language and intents, the better these copies and creatives will get, as ad text is dynamically adjusted to cater to individual search queries, user’s digital behaviours and predicted purchase intents – all in a matter of seconds.

The rise of more advanced AI-powered campaign types and ad formats 

It would not be right of us to discuss Google Ads’ AI-driven success without mentioning Performance Max. Before any advertiser can fully understand how it operates, Google’s latest campaign type has risen above the controversy of being a highly automated campaign type to make its mark across multiple successful case studies published by Google.

Combining all possible placements owned by Google and turbo-charged with AI-powered audiences and bid strategies, Performance Max is an ideal campaign for brands with border service and products who want to expand their reach across a wide variety of Google’s placements.

How we leverage AI advancements in Google Ads At ADMATIC

At ADMATIC, driving real business results is at the heart of our work. AI-powered automation frees up valuable time for us to focus on more strategic planning and analysis, but also treated with high caution to ensure data privacy, creative quality and brand images don’t get compromised.

Similarly, each AI-powered test and learning opportunity in Google Ads is carefully considered and curated to our client’s business requirements and campaign objectives. Our top 3 most cost-effective and beneficial Google Ads tests that have been successfully deployed for our clients are:

1. Broad Match Keyword Test: Expand search queries discovery to identify new and high-value terms, while ensuring rigorous negative keyword exclusion to ensure streamlined traffic.
2. Performance Max Campaign Test: Explore Performance Max with budget efficiency to pinpoint the ideal audience, creative formula, and investment tactics for optimal results.
3. Audience Tests: Leverage audience signals and segmentation strategies to uncover potential customer profiles and tailor creative strategies towards these audiences.

Want to embrace the ever-changing nature of the advertising landscape, adapt to new technologies, and leverage external resources to remain at the forefront of the game? Get in touch with an ADMATICian to leverage the latest AI advancements today!