Since its rebranding in 2018, Google Search Ads 360 has remained a powerful tool for PPC advertisers. However, many marketers continue to struggle with understanding its full potential.
This uncertainty often means that businesses, agencies, and corporations miss out on the benefits it offers when integrated into their marketing strategies.
This article will address some frequently asked questions about Google Search Ads 360 and help clarify how it can enhance your marketing efforts.
What is Google Search Ads 360?
Search Ads 360 (SA360) is a tool created by Google to manage multiple paid ad accounts and platforms through one interface.
With a direct API connection to several search engines, SA360 allows you to view all your campaign data in one place. This streamlined access helps facilitate informed strategic decisions without consulting multiple sources, saving you both time and money.
By linking Search Ads 360 to a search engine, you can create and manage your search marketing campaigns within the platform. Any changes you make can be automatically mirrored on the respective engines.
Additionally, you can adjust campaigns directly on a search engine’s ad platform and easily import those changes back into Search Ads 360.
Currently, SA360 supports platforms such as:
- Google Ads
- Microsoft Advertising
- Yahoo Japan sponsored products
- Baidu
- Other third-party search engines
You might recall SA360’s predecessor, DoubleClick, which featured a main product line known as DART (Dynamic Advertising, Reporting, and Targeting). Google acquired DoubleClick in 2007 and integrated it into its offerings as DoubleClick Campaign Manager (DCM). The tool was renamed Search Ads 360 in 2018, the same year Google AdWords was rebranded to Google Ads.
How does Google Search Ads 360 help marketing efforts?
What additional benefits does Google Search Ads 360 offer compared to Google Ads?
Multi-platform campaign management with add-on cross-channel integration
Search Ads 360 lets you manage and optimize ads across multiple platforms, such as Google and Microsoft Ads, all from a single interface.
By itself, SA360 streamlines advertising efforts and saves time. When integrated with other tools in the Google Marketing Platform, such as Display & Video 360 and Campaign Manager 360, it enables cross-channel strategies that seamlessly combine search, display, and video advertising, leading to a more unified and consistent marketing approach.
Advanced audience targeting
With Search Ads 360, advanced audience targeting features can help you reach specific segments across platforms.
Since it integrates with multiple search engines, you can consistently create and target audience segments across platforms like Google, Bing, and Yahoo, ensuring your message is relevant and reaches the right people regardless of their preferred search engine, thereby improving engagement and ROI.
Time-saving automation
In addition to bidding, Search Ads 360 offers automation for numerous campaign management tasks, such as real-time budget pacing, scheduling, and reporting.
Thanks to its integration with multiple search engines, you gain the ability to set up and manage automated rules across all accounts and platforms, freeing your marketing team to focus on strategy and analysis rather than repetitive tasks.
Why would you want to use Google Search Ads 360 instead of Google Ads?
Since the time of publication, many features once exclusive to Google Search Ads 360 have been integrated into the Google Ads platform. Automated bidding, advanced reporting, and ad copy testing, which were once unique to the Google Search Ads 360 platform, are now integrated into Google Ads.
However, Search Ads 360 still offers additional features and flexibility, such as direct integrations with third parties and real-time reporting. The main reason to use it over Google Ads is the magnitude of your marketing efforts.
For marketing agencies managing numerous search campaigns across several accounts on Google and Bing, a centralized base of operations may be very appealing.
SA360 simplifies the process for strategists to make changes across multiple campaigns on multiple platforms.
Another reason to choose SA360 over Google Ads is its integration with other Google tools.
SA360 is designed to interact with Display & Video 360 (DV360) and Campaign Manager 360 (CM360), creating a streamlined approach to search, video, and display across various web platforms, apps, YouTube, and even connected TV and offline data sources.
If visibility into how ad dollars translate to sales or leads is lacking, and you’re prepared to invest in marketing analytics for a full user journey, SA360 and its partner products could prove a worthwhile choice.
Why would you not want to use Google Search Ads 360 instead of Google Ads?
Cost
If you have a limited marketing budget, SA360 may not be a suitable option.
Besides the platform fee and a percentage based on your spending to access SA360, most advertisers and agencies may not have the volume of spend necessary to justify upgrading.
Single-platform vs. multi-platform
One of the major benefits of SA360 is viewing data and performance across multiple channels and platforms.
If you’re using Google Ads for a single account, combining multiple data sources through another interface would be unnecessary.
Complexity
SA360 comes with advanced features that can be overwhelming even for savvy PPC strategists and are likely unnecessary for most advertisers.
The traditional Google Ads platform offers simplicity for campaigns with clear, straightforward purposes, whereas SA360 provides sophisticated tools for managing complex campaigns with varied strategies and goals.
Google Search Ads 360: Your key to multi-platform advertising success
Google Search Ads 360 is a powerful tool for large businesses and agencies managing complex, large-scale, or multi-platform search campaigns.
It offers advanced features like cross-channel integration with other Google Marketing Platform tools, cross-platform audience targeting, and enhanced time-saving automation.
These features make it well-suited for marketers with large budgets who need a comprehensive solution.
However, for small and medium-sized businesses or those focusing on a single platform, the complexity and additional cost of SA360 likely outweigh its benefits.
Understanding when and why to use SA360 can aid in determining whether it fits your marketing strategy, ensuring maximum efficiency and ROI for your business or clients.
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