Google Introduces Smart Campaigns for SME’s

Google Introduces Smart Campaigns for SME’s
Campaign ad creation, audience targeting, ad delivery across Google channels — and soon landing page creation — are automated based on the advertiser’s goal. The first new solution to debut under the new Google Ads brand is designed specifically for small businesses. Google announced the launch of Smart Campaigns on Wednesday.

A driving force behind the rebranding of Google’s advertising products is to simplify things for marketers. Simplicity is also the impetus behind Smart Campaigns, the new campaign type in Google Ads. Smart Campaigns are designed for small and local businesses that don’t have dedicated marketing staff and may not even have websites.

Smart Campaigns will be the default campaign type for new advertisers in Google Ads. The campaigns are almost entirely automated, from ad creatives to delivery optimization, based on the product or service being advertised and the goal the advertiser sets. Campaign goals include phone calls, website visits and requests for directions.

Creating easy solutions to appeal to more small businesses makes sense for Google — and is an area in which Facebook has been very successful. Google shared in a press briefing on Tuesday that it connects users to nearby business 9 billion times per month, including 3 million direction requests. Kim Spalding, who leads Small Business Ads at Google and is a former small business owner herself, said two-thirds of small businesses use digital marketing but face challenges and are looking for easy solutions.

Smart Campaigns are built on AdWords Express technology, and Spalding says the company will continue to develop on it. (Fun fact: AdWords Express was originally called Boost.)

Google’s lead generation product for home services providers, Local Services, is also aimed at small businesses but is separate from   AdWords Express. “Local services continues to grow and we’ve recently expanded to 60 markets,” Spalding told Search Engine Land.

Similar to Universal App Campaigns, Smart Campaign ads can be delivered across Google’s properties, and users do not have the ability to turn off channels. Targeting optimization is automated, and Google’s machine learning algorithms aim to show ads to the right audiences using behavioral, location, device and other signals.

Spalding says early results show Smart Campaigns are three times more effective at reaching a business’s target audiences than AdWords Express campaigns. One early tester cited by Google is Honest Soul Yoga in Alexandria, Virginia. The business says it doubled the number of intro offers in 60 days with Smart Campaigns.