Will Google ads be part of your holiday marketing process?
The search giant remains a key source of product discovery, and with additional shopping tools and eCommerce options being launched throughout the year, Google does indeed look set to remain an essential connector for many purchases throughout the coming season.
If you’re looking to optimize your Google marketing approach, then this will help – this week, Google has published a new, 30-page guide to its various ad tools and options, which provides a range of valuable insights and pointers to assist in your strategy.
You can download the full guide here, but in this post, we’ll take a look at some of the key highlights.
First off, Google notes that ‘helpfulness’ is a key expectation that all brands need to consider:
“People report that helpfulness is their top expectation of brands since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, with 78% saying a brand’s advertising should show how it can be helpful in everyday life.”
Google’s guide focuses on this element, with creative best practices across its ad tools that can provide more guidance and assistance.
The guide looks at four key elements, providing in-depth overviews and insights on each.

Each section includes practical tips, illustrated simply, with a heap of small pointers that can have a big impact.

There are also specific best practice notes and stats:

And recommendations relating to Google products, including variable display options and tools:

And while a lot of the notes are things you’ve likely read before, having specific data and insights for each, in a single overview, is helpful, with key pointers like this likely to stick in your mind:

It’s a good, valuable guide, which you can download and distribute as you need.
And really, what you do need right now is practical, actionable advice, which is where Google’s explainer is really strong – there’s less overview and executive summary, and more specific notes on what drives better performance, that can help maximize your approach.
It’s definitely worth a look, even if you’re not advertising on Google specifically.
You can download Google’s “Build better creative for your performance marketing” guide here.