What is Google Discovery Ads?
When Google rolled out Discovery Ads in Beta form, they provided PPC practitioners with the ability to start targeting ads based on Google Discover features.
The purpose of these ads are to show your customers something they want before they even know they want it. So, rather than responding to a pre-existing demand, they generate demand, which is what search ads are typically utilised for anyway.
Despite their name, Discovery Ads don’t just appear on Google’s Discover app. They also show up on Gmail, which has over 1.5 billion monthly users, and YouTube, which is the second biggest search engine in the world.
When do Discovery ads drop?
Later this year! Google did not announce a specific date, but advertisers should look for the Discovery campaign type to pop up in the Google Ads UI soon. So if you’re already a cross-platform advertiser (or even if you’re not!), you can look forward to adding a shiny new wrinkle to your full-funnel playbook before the year is out.
What are the targeting options?
Much like the Google Display Network, Google Discover allows you to target custom, affinity and in-market audiences. You can also target remarketing audiences, which is a great way to re-engage with your existing website audience through the use of another medium.
The majority of the targeting rules of Google’s Display Network apply to Google Discover; with the idea being to target people based on their interests, or what they’re searching for. For example, if you’re a tour operator and want to advertise discounts for holidays to Croatia, then it makes sense to target people who are actively searching for trips to Croatia. Similarly, if you’re a seller of garden ornaments, then you’ll want to target people who are searching for garden furniture.
