Planning to advertise your business on Google? Amazing!
Google offers two primary platforms to help your brand advertise; Google Ads and Google Smart Campaign, formerly known as Google Adwords Express. In this blog, we will be discussing the differences and pros and cons of each platform.
Google Ads vs. Google Smart Campaign | Major Differences
What is the main difference between Google Ads and Google Smart Campaign? The one-word answer is “Control.”
Google Ads gives you complete control over your entire campaign, from ad formats, ad tests, keyword selection to location targets, budgets, bidding schedules, and conversion tracking. Conversely, with Google Smart Campaign, you only have limited control; this includes creating an account, building a single ad, selecting a business category, and setting up the budget.
Because it heavily leans on Google’s algorithm, you don’t have to do much work with a Google Smart Campaign as Google itself does everything for you. You can only view Google’s chosen keywords, and neither change them nor adjust them according to your business category or bidding needs. However, you do have some control over basic variables such as ad schedule and marketing goals.
Another major distinction between Google Smart Campaign and Google Ads is “time commitment.” Offering you complete control, Google Ads require consistent optimization, attention, and management. On the other hand, due to the limited control, Google Smart Campaign only needs 5 to 10 minutes of your time to analyze the campaign’s progress and the basic data entries, making it the ideal choice if you want a “set it and forget it” platform.
Last but not the least, the final difference between Google Smart Campaign and Google Ads is adjusting your marketing campaign with your business goals. Like everything else with Google Smart Campaign, your advertising goals are limited to a few predetermined constraints, which might not always align with the long-term goals of your business. In contrast, with Google Ads, you can set your own goals and also track leads and conversions such as product purchases, form submissions, and phone calls.
Google Ads | Pros and Cons
Starting with the pros, with Google Ads, you have multiple advertising options available (local, video, display, text, etc.) and a plethora of additional ad extensions, which helps in driving more conversions. Moreover, Google Adsfacilitates its users with an efficient data reporting system, allowing you to create custom metrics, align your campaign along with your brand goals, set up keywords, and manage them. Google Ads keyword-specific bidding makes it possible for you to limit your reach to non-profit generating areas and specifically target consumers using high-converting keywords. Lastly, the machine learning algorithm incorporated within Google Ads uses the user-defined conversion metrics to align your campaign in accordance with your goals.
However, there are some cons to using Google Ads. The first one is its complex nature. Setting up a properly structured campaign with pre-defined metrics requires experience and expertise. Secondly, because Google Adsoffers control, there is limited automation, so you must learn about the platform before using it.
Google Smart Campaign | Pros and Cons
Being a simple platform, the setup time of a Google Smart Campaign is typically around 15 to 20 minutes. It requires simple data entry about your products, services, and business. Additionally, with Google Smart Campaign, you aren’t required to spend ample time managing your campaigns as Google does it for you, according to your budget and needs.
The cons of Google Smart Campaign are the opposite of the pros of Google Ads. First of all, with Google Smart Campaign, you’re limited to selecting only one ad type. However, the Google algorithm does update your advertisements according to the optimization of your Google My Business Listings. Moreover, Google Smart Campaigns only show you limited data about your consumers (click-through rate, conversions, impressions, and clicks), and you cannot amend it. In short, almost everything from your keyword choice to optimization strategy is controlled by Google itself, meaning you cannot do much independently.
Final Thoughts
The difference between Google Smart Campaign and Google Ads boils down to how much control you have over your Google advertisements. If you are okay with giving up control, opt for Google Smart Campaign. However, if you want to keep track of your campaign, invest in Google Ads.
