Google held its annual Performance Summit yesterday and as always, there are some major changes, news and updates coming to Google Analytics and Adwords. Fear not, Goose Digital has you covered on what you should be aware of. Here are some of the key takeaways from yesterday’s annual event.

1.Text Ads are Getting Longer

Google has actually been testing and experimenting with longer text ads recently and during the performance summit, confirmed that the character limit for these ads will indeed be longer. Users will now be able to create two longer headlines capped to 30 characters (up from 25) accompanied with a description line of up to 80 characters (up from 70). The increase in character limits is most likely a direct response to the removal of right-side ads on SERPs. Although you may think that a 5 and 10-character limit increase to titles and headlines might not be much, consider the fact that Adwords has been using the 25-35-35 limits character structure for their entire history. Expect the expanded text ads to be available later this year.

 2.The Changing Landscape of Device-Level Bidding

With most people now preferring the comfort and convenience of mobile and tablet use, advertisers have been wondering if Google would introduce separate bid adjustments for smartphone and tablets.  In today’s Google Performance Summit, Google announced that users will be able to set their own individual bids for each device medium. As a result, users will now have a wider range to adjust bids, and let you adjust your bids according to what’s most valuable to your business. Just like the extended text ads, this update will take place in the coming months.

3.Promoted Locations Coming to Google Maps

As mentioned earlier about the increase in mobile and device usage, we truly are living in a mobile first era. Google continues to acknowledge this and introduced ‘promoted pins/locations’ at todays summit. What this essentially means is that you’ll be able to see branded and promoted pins along the location you’re nearby. It represents a very nice opportunity for local businesses to get their name and brand out there, in addition to your normal Adwords campaigns and Google My Business page. Google is currently experimenting with different formats currently. Below you can see an example of a promoted pin accompanied by a revamped profile page. Google is offering businesses to include more content about their services including inventory, promotions and discounts all for the convenience of users.

4.Other Notables

Google announced some interesting and astonishing facts at todays conference that we feel we couldn’t leave out.

Google handles at least 2 trillion searches per year!

To say that Google impacts our lives would be an understatement.  Furthermore, this reiterates the fact that implementing proper SEO tactics as well as designing a well-built responsive website are necessary must-haves in sticking out in the competitive search landscape. To put this statistic in perspective, 2 trillion searches in 2016 represents a 2x increase from the reported 1.2 trillion searches recorded in 2012, a stretch of just four years!

Adwords has a big impact on store visits

Since implementing store visit tracking on Adwords, Google has estimated that more than 1 billion store visits have occurred worldwide, showcasing the power and impact online advertising has.

Overall, this years Google Performance Summit was jam-packed with new statistics and updates. We are excited to see some of the changes noted above, take place throughout the year. If you’re looking for help in taking your online campaigns to the next level, contact us today and we will help your digital marketing programs take flight. Be sure to also follow us on Twitter and Facebook for our latest updates.