For several years, Google has been working with advertisers to extend their email marketing strategies and test ways to bring more relevant offers to users with native Gmail ads. Starting September 1, these native Gmail ads will be made available for all advertisers directly in AdWords.
Rich and interactive ad formats
In the process of developing Gmail Ads, Google has made a few improvements to its formats. It has removed standard text ads from Gmail to show fewer, higher-quality native ads that integrate more seamlessly with the inbox experience.
The advertisers can manage native Gmail ads right in AdWords by setting up a Display Network campaign and creating a Gmail ads format in the Ad gallery. The ad has two main parts:
- The collapsed ad that users initially see that matches the look and feel of the Gmail inbox. Users can click on this to expand it and get more details.
- The expanded ad unit is triggered by a click on the collapsed ad. This is a full-page native ad that recreates the informational and visual richness of a landing page. After users click to expand, any subsequent clicks on your content are free, including clicks to save the ad to your inbox or forward it to others.
Advertisers can choose from several customizable Gmail ads templates for the expanded ad unit. They can feature a single image, highlight a promotion that combines an image with a description and call-to-action button, or showcase multiple products at once. The custom HTML format offers the greatest amount of flexibility in how you configure your assets and allows you to create an even richer ad experience by including videos, forms, phone numbers, and multiple links and calls-to-action.
Reach your audience with advanced display targeting
You can use most of the display targeting options you’re already familiar with like keywords, affinity audiences, demographics, and topics. For example, a sports apparel advertiser could select relevant topics like ‘Fitness’ and ‘Sporting Goods’ or reach people in the ‘Health & Fitness Buffs’ or ‘Running Enthusiasts’ affinity audiences.
Giving users control over the ads they see
As Gmail ads have evolved, Google has continued to give users the ability to actively control the types of ads they see. As with other Google ads, users can manage their ad settings to remove unwanted ads from specific advertisers. They can also opt out of interest-based ads entirely.
Source: Google AdWords blog
