If you use AdWords regularly, you might have noticed a blue button at the bottom of the screen inviting you to try the new version. The User Interface (UI) has been given a complete redesign to make it easier to use and understand. So far it seems pretty decent, and they’ve added some extra functionality too.
The Look
The new UI is more modern and everything feels sleek and sharp. The darker shade of grey on the menu helps break things up and there are nicer visualisations showing performance on the overview and report screens. Who doesn’t love a good heatmap?
The current version of AdWords has a campaign tree on the left and a horizontal menu along the top. The new version has all the basic navigation on the left to make it easier to find things and reduce the number of clicks needed to get where you want to go.
More advanced options like the shared library and bulk actions are hidden in a ‘three-dot’ menu at the top right. If you’re a basic user, this gets them out of your way. This three-dot menu is also where you access account settings, set up conversion tracking and so on.
The new version seems faster too. The only real downside is that, for people who are used to the old interface, it can take a little time to find everything again.
New Features
As well as upgrading the look and feel of AdWords, Google have also added a bunch of new features. These include:
· Promotion extensions. These allow you to show a monetary discount on your ads, whether you’re offering a product or a service. You can do a blanket discount, or specify that it’s only on orders over a certain amount. You can even add a promo code!
· Better demographic targeting options. As well as age and gender, US users can now target ads based on household income and parental status. Hopefully this will come to the UK soon too.
· A new bid adjustment section. This makes it easy to view all your bid adjustments in one place.
The preview version of AdWords is in Beta and not visible on all accounts yet. Google are currently getting feedback and are expected to roll the new version out to all users by the end of the year.
Have you been using the new version? Hit us up on Facebook and let us know what you think.
