A World of Pending Automation
Automation. Smart Campaigns. These are things that we as digital marketers can no longer write off as Google and other platforms continue to push for AI to lead the way. It seems that in a few short years we will simply be campaign builders as AI takes over the optimization and strategy. Google claims it is worth it claiming for example that their Smart Shopping campaigns will alleviate hours of management time while delivering 20% more sales for a similar cost. Sounds pretty ideal if you ask me. In this blog we will review Smart Shopping and try to give perspective on if it is right for you to finally test, and what you need to be aware of prior to launch.
Smart Shopping campaigns have been around for years, but many people (myself included) have been hesitant to launch or test because of one major factor: the complete lack of control. This isn’t just a Type A personality thing, it was a roadblock to testing because I was unable to give my clients the level of reporting or control that they desired at that time - which I will explain in detail below. If you have strict reporting needs you should be fully transparent with your clients prior to launching Smart Shopping about the benefits and limitations of these campaigns. Here are some important things to review with them.
Smart Shopping Considerations:
Historical Data Limitations: Smart Shopping must have 20 conversions over last 45 days on Standard Shopping campaigns prior to being launched. If your shopping program is very small, there might not be enough data for the Smart Shopping AI to be successful
No Device Control: No modifiers are allowed to control device bids
