Google Announces New Features for App Advertisers

Google‘s app usage research shows that 63% of consumers will continue to seek out the best app experiences even once stores reopen. Moreover, 75% of consumers are more likely to purchase from brands whose apps allow them to transact quickly.

In order to help app advertisers reach more prospective users, Google has created some new ways to help advertisers reach more prospects and optimize their app campaigns.

New: Deliver App Ads on Desktop

App campaigns are eligible to run on Search, YouTube, Google Play, Discover, and over three million other sites and apps but were previously only shown on mobile.

Now, advertisers targeting Android users will be able to reach prospects on desktop, as well as mobile, on the desktop version of the SERP as well as the Google Display Network.

While the app ads will link to the Google Play store desktop website, the store will allow users to install the app directly onto the device linked to their Play account.

Android app advertisers will be automatically opted into desktop beginning in June so no additional action is required for advertisers already promoting Android apps.  Advertisers can monitor the performance of desktop within the device section, as with any other campaign.

Create Custom In-App Events in Google Analytics

In-app performance analysis is important for most app campaigns, which relies on the ability to set up in-app events. Previously with Firebase, coding and an app update were required in effort to create a custom in-app event, such as tracking orders when folks complete a purchase. Google has now announced that event creation and modification will be possible within Google Analytics’ interface – without requiring any code updates.

Advertisers will no longer need developer assistance to create events or adjusting existing events. Advertisers will be able to create new events and change event names and parameters within Google Analytics.

Making Deep Linking Easier

Google’s app research indicated that 74% of consumers are likely to be loyal to a brand if the brand’s app is “seamless and easy to use”. Deep linking goes a long way to create a good experience for prospects and, in turn, improving conversion rates.

To make it easier for advertisers to implement deep links, Google announced the deep link validator, a tool that helps advertisers validate deep links for their entire Android app. Using the tool, advertisers can send, and download a detailed report that contains all the checks the tool performed on your link, and how the missed configurations should be fixed.

Google also announced the Impact Calculator, which provides a list of all the missing URLs advertisers may want to consider implementing as deep links and the estimated missed conversions from not implementing them.

Deep Linked Data-Driven Attribution

Google also announced data-driven attribution (DDA) for deep linked campaigns to help advertisers understand how specific mobile web ad clicks drove customers to complete purchases within the app in order to improve bidding decisions for web-based campaigns.