The new interface is finally here, and I’ve been lucky enough to test the Beta version out. Google recently stated it will be rolled out to every advertiser by the end of 2017. The reason for the change was to “make the platform faster and easier to use than the current version.”

In this article, I’ll walk you through some of the new features available with the updated interface. In general, it is much more visually appealing, fast & mobile responsive and also makes enhancements to existing features.

Here are the key features to look out for with the update.

 The New AdWords Interface - A pick of the Best Add Features

1. The Overview Page 

Once you open an account, the new overview page gives you the following insight sections:

  • A chart with the number of clicks, impressions, average CPC and cost over your chosen timeframe. You can easily swap out one metric for another with dropdowns
  • Information on the biggest changes in conversions, cost, clicks and impressions versus the previous time period for each campaign
  • A campaign overview detailing the cost, clicks and CTR for each campaign
  • Device breakdown for cost, impressions and clicks with a breakdown in the form of a bar chart for each device
  • Day & Hour chart which breaks down at what time or day the most impressions, clicks, conversions happen. It also breaks down the best conversion rate, average position and other metrics as well. This is particularly useful as you can view when your clicks are unusually high or low, so you can further investigate and take action from the information.

 

The insight sections are very visually appealing and give anyone managing an account a quick and easy way to get a high level look at performance.  What is pretty impressive is that the overview page dynamically changes to be relevant to the areas in which you have been navigating to in the account.

For example, if you were to view the searches, locations and ads in the account before returning to the overview page, you may find that the insight sections change to the most common searches, most shown ads, and top locations.


adwords interface overview

 

2. New Previews for Extensions & Extensions Filter

The extension preview is a useful feature that wasn’t available with the previous interface. It’s a sweet little addition that allows you to get an idea of what your ads will look like with the various extensions added onto them.  Think of it as trying on a pair of shoes before buying them, but for your ad campaigns.

Google also added a filter to the extension section that lets you select the extensions you want to see in a checkbox drop down and sort them by account, campaign, or ad group. So instead of viewing one extension at a time, you can view multiple ones – another handy addition to help with the workflow.

 

3. Promotion Extensions

This is probably one of the coolest new features included in the AdWords update. The Promotions Extensions feature is available to use for any kind of sales promotion.

You have the option to show the promotion extension during a holiday such as Mother’s Day, Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Halloween and any other special event, or you can simply pick the dates you want yourself and use the extension whenever your business is offering something that you want to promote.

This will be an extension that you will want to use to gain an edge on your competitors, and it means you may not have to include any special offers in your ad copy, and can make use of the descriptive text / headlines for other purposes.

 

4. Keyboard Shortcuts

These will become pretty useful… especially if you can memorize them all! The new AdWords UI has gifted users a guide to the various shortcuts that you can use to navigate around your account quicker. You can access the guide by typing the question mark (?) symbol on your keyboard. Here is a list of the various shortcuts you can use to improve workflow:

  • G then T – search for a page
  • G then S – go to Settings
  • G then O – go to Overview
  • G then C – go to Campaigns
  • G then J – go to Ad groups
  • G then A – go to Ads
  • G then X – go to Extensions
  • G then K – go to Search Keywords
  • G then Y – go to Opportunities
  • Shift + W – show or hide the navigation panel
  • Shift + A – see All campaigns
  • Shift + N – create new
  • Ctrl or ⌘ + C – copy
  • Ctrl or ⌘ + V – paste

keyboard shortcuts adwords

 

5. Ad Scheduling

Whereas the ad scheduling used to be located under ‘Settings’ in the previous interface, now you can find it in the main navigation section with easy-to-access links at the top of the page so you can access the day and hour without having to use the dropdown. Another great improvement to the workflow.

ad schedule new adwords

 

6. Demographic Targeting for Household Income

Although demographic targeting has been available with AdWords for a while now, a more accessible Household Income feature is now available with the new UI (this used to be hidden deep within location targeting).

You can now easily find this by navigating to the Demographics in the main navigation, and at the top of the page you can find Age, Gender and Household Income. It will then give you the option to exclude income groups from certain Ad Groups.

The options are as followed:

  • Top 10%
  • 21 – 30%
  • 31 – 40%
  • 41 – 50%
  • Lower 50%

 

There are also several new features in the works that will be rolling out to the new UI over the coming weeks, which is very exciting. These include landing page performance, Google attribution, custom in-market audiences and many more… Stay tuned!

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