Engagement Ads: How to Only Pay for Interactions in Google AdWords

In AdWords campaigns, it's not always about the click. When it comes to brand building and increasing brand awareness, interaction with a display ad can be valuable. Google acknowledges this with a new feature: since last December, there are “Engagement Ads.”

What are “Engagement Ads”?

In Germany, Engagement Ads are known under the somewhat cumbersome term “Interaction Ads.” These are interactive ad formats that are billed not by clicks or impressions, but based on interactions (cost-per-engagement or CPE). You only pay for customers who view your ad and send a positive signal by “interacting.” According to Google, “interaction” is defined as the movement of the mouse over the ad. To prevent mischarges, a duration of two seconds is considered an interaction.

You can only create Engagement Ads for the Google Display Network, and even then only on websites where it's enabled. It's also important to know that while the ads are designed for multi-screen, according to Google, they are geared towards users with high-speed internet access.

To increase the interaction rate, ads are automatically shown more frequently to users who are deemed likely to be interested and engage with the ad.

Creating Engagement Ads

For Interaction Ads, an Engagement Campaign needs to be set up. The campaign type must be “Display Network only” and “Interaction.” Under “Bids and Budget,” you'll notice that unlike traditional display campaigns, only the option “Focus on interaction, custom maximum CPC bids” is available.

You then create the ads from a template. There are six customizable rich media formats available:

• Expandable Standard Ads

• Hover-to-play Ads (plays only on mouseover for at least two seconds)

• Standard Lightbox

• Masthead Lightbox

• Catalog Lightbox (from which purchases can be made directly)

When evaluating interaction campaigns, the columns “Clicks” (number of users who interacted with the ad), the interaction rate in the “CTR” column, and the “Average CPC” column indicating the average cost-per-engagement are particularly important.

Tips for Using Interaction Ads

Engagement Ads, as the name suggests, are focused and optimized for interactions – unlike campaigns optimized for clicks and conversions. You should therefore be aware that this is primarily about branding and that the value of an interaction is harder to determine than, for example, a click leading to a purchase. So in advance, you should consider how much an interaction is worth to you.

You should also have graphic resources such as videos or product catalogs as creating appealing ads in AdWords is not optimal and does not replace a designer.

Further important information is provided by the technical requirements for expandable standard ads, lightbox ads, and hover-to-play ads directly from Google.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wEnnyQiqZUw

Interaction ads sound promising, but are you unsure how to start successfully and efficiently? Our certified AdWords experts are happy to assist you. Just get in touch with us!