This is the year of AI and that was on full display at Google Marketing Live 2023. The majority of the announcements focused on new AI-powered innovations for Google Ads and other search products. The digital marketing space is constantly changing and evolving and AI is a powerful tool that can help marketers stay on top of changes while improving their marketing strategies.
To this end, Google has introduced several new tools that harness the power of AI to maximize growth and profitability. We’ve organized some of the main takeaways homebuilders should know about around Google’s theme of the Three C’s: customer connection, creative, and confidence.
Customer connection
Marketing is all about reaching the right people with the right creative at the right cost. But how do you reach people who are searching in ways you don’t expect?
Better control with broad match: the best way to keep up with how people search is by using broad match keywords. Google’s Large Language models continue to learn how people use language in search queries and can now match ads to the meaning of these queries – not just the words in them. You can add broad match at the campaign level with new brand controls so you can specify which traffic to reach while still benefitting from the reach of broad match. Google reports that advertisers who switch from phrase match to broad match with target CPA campaigns can see 25% more conversions.
Performance Max: Google’s new and improved search term insights report allows you to see how Performance Max is driving results. You’ll gain valuable information on what’s driving changes in performance and how specific creative assets are performing so you can refine your campaigns even further. Google will be including more search term categories to improve visibility into what types of keywords are triggering ads.
Google also introduced new customer acquisition optimization goals for Performance Max. Currently in beta, you’ll eventually be able to optimize your campaigns to target high lifetime value customers or re-engage with customers who haven’t interacted with your brand recently. With the help of AI, Google will bid higher for these valuable segments so you only pay for interactions with customers who are predicted to have a higher value to your business.
New campaign types: The trend for being video-first has been going on for some time and Google is beginning to put this thinking into ads as well. In response, two new campaign types were announced that may be useful for home builders: Video Views and Demand Generation.
Video view campaigns leverage a mix of ad formats, including skippable in-stream ads, in-feed ads, and YouTube Shorts ads, to deliver maximize views.
Demand Gen campaigns use Google AI to engage and drive action on visually-driven platforms like YouTube (Shorts, in-stream and in-feed), Discover, and Gmail. Instead of using lead form assets, calls-to-action sends traffic to the website. AI-powered lookalike audiences, tailored audience segments, and insightful data can boost your brand’s online presence and drive customer engagement.
Creative
One of the most exciting updates is the new conversational experience in Google Ads. We have all heard of all the fun ways we can use AI conversation tools to brainstorm and create new elements for all sorts of marketing efforts. Google is bringing this directly to ads by allowing marketers to use chat functionality to help create new campaigns. By entering the landing page URL, Google AI will summarize the page and generate keywords, headlines, descriptions, images, and other assets – all of which can be adjusted to best fit your brand vision.
Google has made creative asset creation easier with Ads Creative Studio. This new tool streamlines asset creation and sharing for advertisers and creative teams. You will be able to build ads and creative assets inside of the platform for easier storage, sharing and customization. This platform will also provide trend insights in terms of creative being used across your industry.
Google also introduced Product Studio, an AI-powered image generator. This tool allows advertisers to create AI-generated backdrops and some light editing (i.e., enlarging or rotating images, and increasing resolution) for product images. While this tool is geared toward product-based businesses, it’s still something to keep an eye on.
Confidence
Measurement and analysis are the only way to truly understand how your marketing efforts are working. That’s where Google Analytics 4 comes in. With Google AI at its core, GA4 bridges measurement gaps, uncovers detailed customer insights, and even predicts future consumer behavior. Armed with this knowledge, marketers can create effective, data-driven strategies that maximize leads and sales.
A new update announced by Google is the ability to build GA4 audiences straight from Google Ads while building campaigns rather than having to build them in GA4 and importing them into the platform. Additionally, Google’s AI will help to identify which audiences will be more likely to convert, making ad delivery more efficient.
There’s a big opportunity for marketing to become even better and drive results with the help from AI-powered solutions. This is the chance for marketing to thrive and become a true engine of growth for your brand.
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