This year’s Google Marketing Live keynote was full of exciting announcements for the world of advertising, but the one that we are taking special notice of is the upcoming arrival of gallery ads in mobile search. By combining search ads with the creative of an image gallery, this ad format has the power to become a strong marketing tool for brands.
With Google’s new gallery ads, advertisers will be able to choose anywhere from four to eight photos to feature in a swipeable carousel format, similar to the layouts we have seen on Instagram and Facebook feeds. Along with the photos, advertisers will be able to add a 70-character description and up to three testable headlines. On the last photo in the carousel, a call to action can be placed on top of the photo, encouraging users to continue to the ad’s landing page.
As of now, Google’s gallery ads will only show on the top spot of Google search results in mobile, however Google will soon be experimenting with adding these ads to desktop as well. These ads will be competing in the same auction as regular text ads, and Google will charge advertisers in one of two ways: on a cost-per-click basis or if a user swipes to the third photo.
With gallery ads, you are not only adding a visual to a search ad but also an interactive element, which can capture users’ attention quicker and more effectively than regular text ads. In fact, Google has already announced that test gallery ads resulted in 25 percent more interactions than text ads. Whether you are looking for an ad that can showcase your products, tell your brand’s story, or more, Google gallery ads have the ability to boost engagement by users and stick in their memory better than text ads. Gallery ads are set to roll out to all advertisers later this year.