Google Discovery Ads 101

Discovery ads were introduced by Google in 2019 and in 2020 were made available to all advertisers globally.

The idea behind their introduction being a fresh way for consumers to discover and engage with new brands as they scroll through content across various interfaces.

For advertisers, Discovery ads represent an opportunity to run a single, user-friendly campaign that can reach broad new audiences across multiple Google feeds.

According to Jerry Dischler, Google’s Vice President/ General Manager, Ads, “For the first time, you can reach up to 2.9 billion people as they explore their interests and look for inspiration across multiple Google surfaces.”

“86 percent of online consumers say they’re on the lookout for shopping ideas as they watch videos or explore content across the web. With Discovery ads, you can rely on Google’s understanding of consumers’ intent across our properties to engage these audiences as they scroll through their favourite Google feeds—no search query needed.”

 

What Are Discovery Ads (And Where Are They Shown)?

Discovery ads are personalised ads that are shown to consumers on the YouTube app, the Google search app and the Gmail app. They’re meant to reach consumers in the moments when they’re most ready to discover new products and services.

Google uses customer intent signals to determine when they’re most likely to engage with a brand and serves Discovery ads in their feeds in these instances.

YouTube: Discovery ads are shown in the Home and Watch Next feeds in YouTube

Google: Discovery ads are shown in the Google Search app feeds of hundreds of millions of users.

Gmail: Discovery ads are served to Gmail users as they scan the Promotions and Social tabs in their Gmail inbox.

 

How Are They Different?

Discovery ads differ from other types of Google ads in several ways. They incorporate high-quality images, so from a consumer’s perspective they’re more visually-orientated in nature.

For advertisers, the biggest differentiating factor between other types of Google ads is that Google’s uses their AI knowledge of users to control headlines, images and messaging in order to determine which combinations convert best.

 

Benefits To Advertisers

Discovery ads work well for retargeting, as the same users that Google determines are the right fit for your brand are served ads across multiple feeds. This leads to users becoming more familiar with your brand’s products and/or services and allows brands to build trust faster.

Creating a Discovery campaign allows you to serve consumers visually rich ads natively across various Google platforms at scale. Discovery campaigns can allow you to unlock a new level of consistency in your advertising, as Google’s powerful user knowledge and rich streams of data ensure that your ads align with the right users more than ever.

 

What Do You Need To Set Up A Campaign?

When setting up a Discovery campaign, you’ll need to upload the following creative assets:

Headlines: Three to five headlines up to 40 characters long.

Descriptions: One to five descriptions up to 90 characters long.

CTA, Final URL, Business Name: One of each.

Images: At least one landscape image, one square image and a square logo, each up to 5MB.

Let’s Get Started

ClickedOn are always here to help if you have any questions around digital marketing.

Call us on (02) 8386 7500

Email us at info@clickedon.co

Fill in our client questionnaire to see how we can assist you achieve your business goals.