The SEO world is abuzz with the launch of new campaign update in AdWords known as Enhanced Campaigns. With this update the marketers will be able to  target the customers across multiple devices, locations as well as specific timings in an improved manner.

The new features included in the Enhanced Campaign allows the marketers to advertise on all devices in a more efficient manner. It is very true, that with the introduction of Smartphones and Tabs the laptops and PCs have lost differentiation. The fascination for smart-phones with high resolution screens  and tabs is growing at an exponential rate, more and more people are purchasing such devices every day.

Google AdWords Enhanced Campaigns: An Improvement Or A Nuisance For Marketers?

On closer look you will find a number of new features added to Enhanced Campaigns such as bid boosting, ease of sitelink management, new reporting tools related to conversions, as well as many other extensions. All of the newly improved features will provide the marketers with ease of campaign management and result in an improved performance.

Google AdWords further explains the update on their blog, “With enhanced campaigns, instead of having to cobble together and compare several separate campaigns, reports and ad extensions to do this, the pizza restaurant can easily manage all of this in one single place. Enhanced campaigns help you reach people with the right ads, based on their context like location, time of day and device type, across all devices without having to set up and manage several separate campaigns.”

All these new features looks promising, and they will benefit everyone in the near future. However,  the news that Google will be getting rid of device targeting functionality, is not at all well received. As of now the marketers have the option of selecting or excluding a specific device while pushing a campaign. With the removal of  device targeting functionality, the marketers lose this edge.

Enhanced Campaign has positive as well as negative aspects for the marketers.

The key positives are:

  1. Direct targeting:
    The marketers will now be able to run target specific campaigns as the new features allows them to push location specific ads and time them as per ones strategy.
  2. Sitelink Management:
    In simple words when a marketer makes sitelinks, he makes a block of maximum ten links. The performance analysis is available for the block and not for individual links. The new feature will allow the marketer to review the performance of each and every sitelink.
  3. Ease of Ad Management for smartphones:
    There are many marketers who have yet not explored campaign management for smart-phones. For such marketers, creating an ad for smartphone users will be much more simpler.

The key negatives are:

  1. No more Tab bidding:
    Yes, we agree with Google that over the years the number of laptop users will decline and tablet users will increase. But, there is still sometime before such a switch happens. The Enhanced Campaigns removes the distinction between tabs and laptops and the marketer will not be able to push separate bids for both the devices.
  2. One has to recreate mobile strategies in the newly implemented format:
    This increases the task for all marketers! The marketers will have to create a new mobile strategy when they migrate their former campaigns.
  3. No more campaigns only for mobiles:
    With the new features a keyword you want to run for your mobile campaign must also be used for the desktop campaign.

Is Enhanced Campaign available to all?
Google is rolling out this new feature update, and in coming few weeks every marketer will be able to use the new features. As of now, the marketers will have an option to choose between Enhanced Campaign and the current campaign feature. Those who choose the Enhanced Campaigns will have the option of exporting their current campaigns in the new formats. However, by middle of the year Google will the Enhanced Campaign features will be mandatory for all. In a way, Google is giving time to the marketers to understand the new features and get the hang of it, before they make it mandatory.

What’s in store?
Enhanced Campaigns has pros as well as cons for the marketers. Yes, people are switching to smart-phones and tabs and the marketers need to be ready for the switch. The main concern which will plague all marketers is that they will lose control at keyword level. Each keyword performs differently from the other, and taking away keyword control is not going to be a welcome change for marketers to accept.

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So, what’s your take on the new Google AdWords Enhanced Campaigns?

Read More: Enhanced Campaigns: What It Means For Search Marketers?