The Google Ads platform has rapidly evolved over the last few years with the implementation and widespread use of artificial intelligence (AI). People naturally start to worry about the future of their careers with the large-scale increase in the use of AI. While the amount of artificial intelligence has grown, that doesn’t mean the end of humans in digital marketing. The primary purpose of artificial intelligence is to make life easier for all of us, primarily digital marketers.
The Role of Artificial Intelligence In Google Advertising
Google Ads loves using AI. The Ads developers have rolled out various features and uses over the past few years. Some of the primary features that are still relatively new are Smart Campaigns and Smart Bidding.
The creation of Smart Campaigns was one of the earlier instances of using AI to handle all the bidding for your campaigns. All you would need to do is define your geography, some keyword themes, and write one advertisement. Then, you can let Google take it from there. By referencing the user data they collect, Google will start showing your ads to more relevant audiences without you having to adjust demographics, bids, or search terms. Google will handle almost all the leg work aside from setting your monthly budget, which falls to the ads manager.
Smart Bidding is also relatively new and available outside of using Smart Ads. If you’re currently getting roughly 30 conversions a month, you can apply the Smart Bidding strategy to your standard Search and Display campaigns. Some types of Smart Bidding available for use are Target CPA, Target ROAS, and Max Conversions. Each of these has a different way of working which means choosing one depends on what you hope to accomplish with your campaigns.
How Do Smart Bidding Strategies Work
Target CPA
When you use smart bidding with a target CPA, Google will set bids in a way that maximizes your conversion rate without going over your maximum spend amount. CPA stands for cost per acquisition/conversion. It uses a range of factors, including device, location, and time of day, to adjust your bids in real-time. It aims to make your average cost per conversion hit your target CPA.
Target ROAS
ROAS stands for return on ad spend. With smart bidding, Google will attempt to give you the best ROI while maximizing the number of conversions you’re getting. As with target CPA, Google will use a range of signals to determine your bids for each ad.
Max Conversions
With this strategy, Google adjusts your bids to drive as many conversions as possible within your budget. Before setting up max conversions smart bidding, advertisers should know that Google will almost certainly spend your whole budget if given a chance. If you currently underspend, this bid strategy may work out more expensive than you’re used to.
Why Artificial Intelligence Is Good For Ads
Now that we’ve seen how AI is used to help make ads more efficient, it’s clearer why it’s a good thing for those managing PPC campaigns. With all the data that Google collects from users, it makes it much easier to let the AI handle the bidding so that you can focus on more significant tasks. It’s also extremely good at finding quality leads. With all their data, it’s easy for Google to locate and advertise to users based on their actions and past search history.
The Takeaway
The key takeaway is that AI shouldn’t be a scary idea for those in the digital marketing world. This significant step in software development will make life much easier for advertisers and allow us to reach more relevant users with less leg work. As long as you have sufficient data from your current PPC campaigns, you can switch your bidding strategy to a smart bidding strategy to help you make your ads more efficient and effective.