They’re at it again.

Google flipped the digital marketing world on its head when it announced it would rebrand the DoubleClick and AdWords products as a part of a larger reimagining of the search engine giant’s digital platforms.

The two products, along with Analytics 360, are now known as Google Ads, Google Marketing Platform, and Google Ad Manager.

Highlights from the Google Marketing Live Keynote

Google detailed its latest changes on July 10 during their Marketing Innovations Keynote presentation (which you can watch in its entirety here).

Here’s our overview of the main points discussed regarding changes to ads, analytics, and platform innovations:

• Google AdWords is dead, rebranded to Google Ads. The platform will still offer the same features AdWords had, along with new campaign choices – namely Smart Campaigns, which are simplified campaigns designed for small business users.
• DoubleClick display advertising is merging with Google Analytics 360 to create the new Google Marketing Platform. This will be a new central hub where digital marketers can plan, buy, measure, and optimize digital media, campaigns, and user experiences.
• DoubleClick for Publishers and DoubleClick Ad Exchange are also being combined into a single entity – Google Ad Manager, a platform for publishers that helps manage programmatic ad content.
• Finally, Google is also merging DoubleClick Bid Manager, Audience Center, and Campaign Manager into Display and Video 360. A feature available through the Google Marketing Platform, Display and Video 360 helps creative media agencies manage all media campaigns from its single intuitive interface.

Why rebrand Google AdWords now?

Considering the evolution of AdWords over its 18 year existence, it was sensible to rebrand Google’s search engine advertising platform.

As technology and consumer behavior evolved over 20 years, AdWords has shifted in response to meet market demands. Remember, the original premise of AdWords was to ‘enhance advertising messages on search results and online text when selected keywords were used in a query’.

AdWords offers more than ads appearing solely from keywords – it now includes mobile, social media, video, and other forms of display advertising. Rebranding to Google Ads consolidates all platforms, and reinforces Google’s advertising offerings in a growing, competitive market (ie. Amazon’s recent announcement of advertising options for Alexa).

Key Takeaways for Digital Marketers

Google says the main objective of their rebranding is to help us advertisers be more assertive and more successful, while providing value to customers via relevant ads and better user experiences – all achieved through their suite of new (renamed?) tools and platforms.

Sridhar Ramaswamy, Senior VP of Ads at Google, sums up the premise of their rebranding: “People used to seek quick answers. Now they expect meaningful assistance.”

Check out the key takeaways from Google’s Live Keynote for digital marketers, and how they can help us marketers be more effective, build better experiences, and drive more results.

Smart Campaigns

The most exciting new feature of the new Google Ads platform is Smart Campaigns.

Think of it as a replacement for Google AdWords Express. Smart Campaigns is a type of campaign that’s almost completely automated, making it much easier for small businesses to create campaigns without dedicating tremendous focus and resources on them.

Smart Campaigns continually improve the management of campaigns; for example, ad delivery methods are automated depending on the advertiser’s goals. Smart Campaigns will work with Google My Business, too, pulling images, phone numbers and addresses – or, eliminating the peasant work for small business owners.

Maybe the best feature for small business owners is Google taking out the development work behind converting mobile landing pages – this is a godsend for business owners who don’t have a website, or a mobile-optimized site. Google will create optimized landing pages with all the relevant content for you!

Responsive Search Ads

Writing search ads that are relevant, useful, and unique is an ongoing challenge for digital marketers and copywriters.

Now, Google’s responsive search ads will alleviate the chore with its Machine Learning systems. It’ll deliver the best and most relevant ads to someone at the perfect time – all you’ll need to do is provide 15 ad headlines and four descriptions. Google will mix and match the headlines and descriptions until it finds the best, most relevant ad combination.

These flexible ads will simplify the ad creation and testing process, while delivering better results. Bypass A/B testing and let Google figure out the best ad combinations!

Landing Page Speed Score

We all understand the importance of site speed and its effect on user experience. Slower load times means it’s more likely for a user to bounce, impacting marketing performance, etc.

Google’s making it easier to gauge landing page speed with a 10-point scale score available through Google Ad reports. The rankings will be based on a number of factors. This will also account for the speed of the landing pages on mobile in particular, with today’s average consumer typically opting for mobile over desktop.

With the scores updated daily, you can focus efforts on the landing pages that require the most attention.

Cross-Device Reporting and Remarketing

Google hasn’t forgotten about its Analytics platform! In fact, this may be the most helpful new feature for digital marketers.

Digital marketers understand the challenge of today’s world when it comes to marketing – namely the boom of mobile usage, and users playing on multiple devices a day. This blurs data for marketers, with nothing concrete on which devices to focus on.

The new cross-device report in Google Analytics aggregates user data, allowing us to link moments and trends. Data that was previously unavailable will now help us understand which devices are most effective for our goal, allowing us to engage with customers more effectively on their preferred device.

Machine Learning is the Future

Maybe the biggest takeaway for digital marketers is recognizing the shift in what users want, how they want it, and when they want it.

So, how do we provide the right product, service, or information to the right person, at the right time?

Google believes the answer lies in machine learning.

Doomsday believers and Terminator fans wince at the idea of machine learning, but it’s actually integrated in a number of Google products already, including each newly rebranded platform. Marketers must trust and embrace machine learning going forward, as it’ll surely enhance marketing performance in the future.

Were you prepared for Google’s mass rebranding of marketing platforms? If you’re unsure how to maximize the potential of Google’s new platforms, our digital marketing team is already leveraging Google’s latest features to get our clients ahead of the competition.

With the power of the new Google Ads platform, we can provide better ads, better user experiences, and better results for your business. Get in touch with us today and let’s get started on your new Google Ads campaigns.