Google announced a bunch of Google Ads updates to app based advertising, where you want to push people to your apps. The goal with these updates is to drive people back into your mobile app and increase engagement in your app.
Google App campaigns on desktop
Now, on desktop search, you can drive people to download your Android apps directly to their Android phones - without them having to be searching on their mobile device. Google said App campaigns uses machine learning to find the right users across Search, YouTube, Play, Discover and our network, and now for the first time, Google is extending its reach to desktop versions of Google.com and the Google Display Network for campaigns running on Android
If a user clicks on your app ad in her desktop browser, she will be directed to the Google Play Store desktop website. From there, she can choose to install your app directly onto any Android device linked to her Play account. No additional action is required if you are already running App campaigns on Android today. Desktop traffic and performance for your app ads will automatically show under “Computers” in your campaign reports.
Here is a GIF of it in action:
Google Analytics for Firebase updates
Google made upgrades to Google Analytics for Firebase for event creation & modification. Now it allows marketers and developers to create and edit custom in-app events -- like logging a “purchase” at a confirmation screen -- without any code. You can change an event name or parameters, or create new ones without any developer resources required.
Deep linking validator and ROI tool
Google added a new deep linking validator and other tools for your app campaigns. Google said deep linking helps bring users directly to a specific destination or landing page within an app, but requires tedious technical work. With Google's new tool, developers will be able to easily fix deep links that aren’t working, and understand the ROI for implementing deep links on from their Google Ads.
Here is the deep link validator and here is the impact calculator.
To get started, you can reach out to your account manager to sign up for the beta or visit the Google Help Center.
Forum discussion at Twitter.
