Google launches an enhanced Display Network platform within AdWords

Google has recently begun to rollout the long-awaited overhaul of its Display Network. This is a significant development for all AdWords users, from individuals to professional marketing agencies, as the changes involve an entirely new platform that has been built from the ground up, specifically to run targeted campaigns across the third-party display network.

The Google Display Network (GDN) allows advertisers to display their ads on websites that are relevant to their product. Originally though, Google Ads (AdWords) was built for search advertising and the display capabilities were built into it after that. Due to this, many marketing professionals felt that their ability to use the display network’s capabilities to target adverts on other sites effectively was restricted.

So Google has recently addressed this concern by giving a much-needed overhaul to this Display Network’s interface within AdWords and by improving its targeting. This is being done through the introduction of an overhauled contextual engine that’s used to match display adverts to website content, which in effect will combine the reach of display with the precision of search.

A new Display Network tab within AdWords is being rolled out to accommodate this. This new interface includes ‘Next-Gen Keyword Contextual Targeting’ that enables similar features to those only previously available when running advertising campaigns through the search network. That is, the ability to assess and adapt performance at the keyword level, which will make it much easier to successfully manage and precisely target this type of campaign.

This enhancement in the control over the level of keyword targeting will be complemented by allowing marketers to reach more specifically defined target audiences. Please see the following article in this newsletter that defines these in more detail.

The control of the management over these campaigns will be improved with additional tools, such as the Display Campaign Optimiser and it will be possible to copy over search campaigns to use for GDN. Unlike search campaigns however, the keywords will only be broad matched, which may prove to be still slightly too wide a net to cast. It will certainly be an improvement over the previous level of targeting though, that involved having to use themed ad groups and will result in more in-depth performance analysis.

It is the opinion of some online marketing experts that there will be “more clarity into reporting and better data”. But further enhancements to the product are already eagerly anticipated, including reports that combine keyword performance and site placements, as well as search query reports, so advertisers can see the queries against which they were contextually matched.

These new management features, combined with the introduction of a visualisation tool (that shows how particular targeting decisions could affect the reach of the campaign), sound very promising. They should be a notable leap in the evolving accuracy and performance levels of the Google Display Network, although even more in-depth reporting features will be required in the future.

If you’d like to know more about how this new GDN platform can enhance the effectiveness of your online marketing campaigns, contact us for more information.

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