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Google Marketing Live is now one of the most popular events in the industry. This year, we attended alongside 5,000+ digital marketers, the Google team, and industry leaders in San Francisco, California.

We were introduced to the new features that Google will be rolling out this year. Some of these changes could significantly improve performance for advertisers across the board. A common discussion are the roles that Machine Learning and automation are playing in digital marketing, and how to leverage the several tools Google has to offer to enhance the user experience.

Discovery Ads

Discovery Ads is a new ad format that will allow advertisers to capture customers in the moments when they are most receptive to new experiences and products. These ads will be served on YouTube, Gmail, and Google’s Discover Feed and are displayed to the consumers most likely to take action at that particular moment in time.

Gallery Ads

Gallery Ads will now offer advertisers to showcase a gallery of images in the search results. These ads are displayed in a carousel format, and allow advertisers to entice the consumer with visuals within the search network.

YouTube Bumpers

Bumpers are probably the best example of how far Machine Learning and AI have come. These ads are automatically generated into a catchy 6-second ad format based on existing video content. The bumper machine, as Google calls it, will turn any video under 90 seconds into 6-second bumper ads that can be used across the video network.

Smart Bidding and Conversion Tracking

Significant changes are coming to the way conversions are tracked. This will allow for more effective smart bidding options such as conversion actions being available at the campaign level, and optimizing campaigns based on conversion sets. Rather than treating the account as a single conversion driver, this allows the algorithm to focus on the right goal for each campaign. Another exciting policy change that’s been made applies to seasonality bidding. You can now set specific adjustments based on seasonality, to get the most out of your spend.

Google Shopping Revamp

Google will now allow shoppers to make purchases directly from the shopping interface where users can view product images, reviews, price comparisons, and even unboxing videos.

Local Campaigns

With a focus on increasing store visits and in-store purchases, Google is pushing local campaigns. This will allow local advertisers to leverage machine learning and automation to increase traffic to their stores.

Apart from all the new features presented this year, Google Marketing Live allowed us to meet and connect with partners across the country to discuss the industry trends and the most significant opportunities out there.