Over the years I’ve had a couple of opportunities to work with companies that had AdWords Express accounts. Often times they had set up AdWords Express themselves and then moved to regular Google Ads when they outgrew AdWords Express. While the accounts were connected, it always was a hassle to get to one from the other.
I won’t spend a lot of time here, but I have never liked AdWords Express personally.
It always seemed like a dumbed down version of the product designed to more easily get SMBs to part with a little budget. Control was virtually non-existent and reporting was lacking.
Also, with the launch of Smart campaigns in Google Ads I got a very strong AdWords Express vibe. Like they were taking the model and moving it into Google Ads. And it would appear that my PPC spidey sense on that was spot on.
AdWords Express Now Part Of Google Ads
This was a notification I came across in one of my accounts.
As you can see, Google will move all AdWords Express campaigns into Google Ads and they are now Smart campaigns (and it’s kind of funny that there are 2 “Got It” links. I’ve even seen a screenshot of one with 4) As stated in the Google Ads Help section:
Smart campaigns have all the same benefits as AdWords Express campaigns, but with improved features. All your campaigns are now in a single spot, making them easier to track and manage.
What Does This Change Mean for Advertisers?
For the record, I think this is a great idea.
First off, it allows Google to unify these two offerings into the same UI. I’m not a developer, but I do know that maintaining two unique interfaces that are managing virtually the same thing isn’t a good use of resources.
Second, this is a win for AdWords Express advertisers. If they like the product it will keep behaving just like it does now with very little change. Smart campaigns are an upgrade over AdWords Express if you can believe that. But this isn’t the biggest win.
The big win here is that it will expose these AdWords Express advertisers to the possibilities of the full Google Ads platform. They’ll see how much reporting they’ve been missing out on. How many additional opportunities there are. How much more control they could have (but don’t need to use if you’re comfortable with Google’s increasing portfolio of machine learning/automation features.)
I’m hopeful that these advertisers will get more out of the platform and have reasons to spend more there. I really do, so good move Google and good luck!
How do you feel about this update? We’d like to hear your thoughts in the comments below!
