It seems as though Google is focusing on giving customer-centric marketing a huge stamp of approval this year, with its latest AdSense updates. The search-engine giant recently started to build new ad formats that don’t look anything like ads, to help companies interact with customers who dislike the traditional approach to marketing.
Not too long ago, Google implemented a new update to the AdSense platform, which included native ad formats designed to reflect the experience of a publisher website. Now, Google is also introducing “Stamp”, which is their own version of SnapChat discover. Basically, using Stamp, companies will be able to create swipeable ads that feature photos, text, and video. It’s rumoured that the new ads will show up beneath the Google search bar.
The Human-First Approach to Marketing
The latest updates on AdWords appear to indicate a significant turning point in the ad world, from the old tradition of pop-up and flashing display ads, to an era when customer experience comes first. Today, about 63% of customers are frustrated by brands that continue to use impersonal methods of marketing, like displaying irrelevant content.
This is part of the reason why influencer marketing, and other less-disruptive mediums like chatbots have seen such significant success in recent months – they’re capable of giving the customers the experience that they want.
Google’s new AdSense native ads will include a range of different formats, which allow marketing media to appear in-article, in-feed, and in matched content advertisements. In-feed ads will simply fit into the list of products that appear on a website, while in-article ads will show up between paragraphs on a publisher page. Finally, matched content is a tool for recommendation which will serve up advertiser content beside appropriately related content.
Each of the new AdWords formats take on the overall essence of the site, to reduce browsing disruptions, and give customers a more seamless experience. Up until now, there’s not been much information released about “Stamp” advertisements, but rumours suggest that the solution will be built around the Google “AMP” or Accelerated Mobile pages.
Getting into the Content Game
Although Google might seem like a huge distribution channel in the world of content, the truth is that most marketers don’t rank the search giant as high as you would think. Up until recently, Google has been somewhat “late to the game” in terms of content distribution. However, Google are quickly trying to rectify this problem, and stake their claim on the $10 billion content business. Native ads and Stamp could be the perfect solution.
With Stamp, Google will be able to display advertisements directly within the most commonly-used search engine in the world. That means that Google has an instant advantage over competitors in the marketspace, who can only display advertisements in apps. The potential for Google is practically endless, thanks to the fact that they own so many different avenues, including Android, Gmail, Chrome, and more.
Broadening Reach
As the potential for organic social reach continues to decline, Google is giving brands a brand-new way to interact with their audiences. The web is growing larger, and attention spans are shrinking at the same time. There’s so much noise on the market today, that it’s difficult for any company to earn the attention they crave within their industry.
Fortunately, Google’s new solutions for AdWords, and the upcoming Stamp update, will serve as a reminder that modern brands need to put customer experience first if they want to stay ahead of their competition. Quality content, and quality experiences will always win the day.
