Google Keynote – Changes Coming in Mobile First, Last Click Strategies

Technology is ever-changing, why shouldn’t your digital marketing efforts follow suit? Consumers are expecting a relevant and seamless experience when they use a mobile device to find, do, or buy something. According to Google, 93% of smartphone users who use a mobile device for research go on to make a purchase, whether it is in-store or online. Google held their annual “Google Ads, Analytics And Double Clicks Announcement” this week and emphasized the importance of their machine learning along with utilizing mobile targeting in your digital marketing strategy.

As technology changes, so do people’s expectations. The faster a mobile landing page loads, the better experience a user will have. Google has a simple formula – “Speed + Simplicity = Revenue.” Studies show that a load speed between 1-7 seconds almost doubles a bounce rate, and for every 1 second delay, conversions can fall up to 20%.

This simple statistic shows the importance of not only a fast load speed, but also a quality, mobile-friendly, landing page. Faster landing page experiences also can have a major effect on ad rank and quality scores used by Google AdWords. Google has announced a Beta supporting fast loading AMP (Accelerated Mobile Pages) landing pages for search ads. With this Beta, AMP landing pages that are linked to search ads will load near instantaneously. This new Beta now gives the performance benefits of faster mobile pages to search campaigns.

Google is continually improving their machine learning not only for everyday things like organization of photos on your phone, but also to better identify past, current, and future customers. Sixty percent of influential ads leading to a purchase are seen on a mobile device. While most purchases are still done in a brick-and-mortar store, people are increasingly using their smartphones or tablets to do research before a final purchase. Google will soon be introducing “store sales measurement” at the device and campaign level. This will give you the chance to measure in-store revenue and store visits brought on by Search and Shopping ads. In the coming months, Google also will be introducing a more comprehensive “Google Attribution” platform.

The platform will allow advertisers alternatives to simple “Last Click” attribution, providing more data to find out which path the user took to make a purchase or sign up. This will allow an advertiser to determine whether or not a consumer started their journey on a mobile device, and to optimize their campaigns based on this insight.

The whole idea Google is trying to get across is that time matters. A split second can be the difference between a conversion or a bounce. With increased technology in their machine learning, partnered with higher load speed and quality mobile landing pages, user experience is on the forefront of their minds. We use our smartphones to learn and research products and services multiple times a day. People will expect better as technology progresses, and the mobile experience is no exception.