One of the benefits of using Google Ads is the ability to run ad campaigns quickly. Usually, Google Ads distributes the ad campaign’s content in a way that maximizes the benefit for the advertiser over a certain period of time. If advertisers need to spend their budget in a hurry, there is an accelerated delivery option that gets ads out faster. However, Google Ads is removing the accelerated delivery option for search and shopping campaigns.
On Sept. 17th, Google will remove the accelerated delivery option for certain types of campaigns in Google Ads. Standard delivery will become the only ad delivery method for search campaigns, shopping campaigns, and shared budgets.
The decision was made because the accelerated ad delivery method didn’t deliver excellent results for certain campaign types. Advertisers expect a tradeoff when they choose accelerated delivery, where the budget would be spent quickly, but the conversion rate would be a little lower. However, Google found that for smaller campaigns, accelerated delivery isn’t worth the decline in conversions.
As Google stated in a post explaining the change, “While Accelerated delivery attempts to spend your budget faster than Standard delivery, it isn’t effective for campaigns that aren’t limited by budget. And for campaigns that are limited by budget, this method can increase CPCs due to increased competition early in the day, or unintentionally spend most of your budget in earlier time zones. Alternatively, Standard delivery takes into account expected ad performance throughout the day and is better at maximizing performance within your daily budget.”
Since Google makes more money when ads are clicked, they have an incentive to ensure that ads are served in a way that increases conversions. The fact that Google is removing the option for certain campaigns suggests that the company was losing money when accelerated delivery was used on these campaigns.
On Oct. 1, Google will switch the option in older search and shopping campaigns from accelerated delivery to standard delivery. Keep in mind that this change doesn’t affect display campaigns or video campaigns. These ad campaigns can continue to use accelerated delivery as an option. This decision suggests that the format still produces reliable results on these ad types.
Though accelerated delivery is no longer an option for certain Google Ad campaigns, there are other ways for advertisers to spend their budget quickly. Google recommends that advertisers that want control how are ads are delivered within a day use the ad scheduling feature. Ad scheduling allows advertisers to increase or decrease their bids during certain times of the day.
Google also recommends using the best, automated bidding options for a particular marketing strategy. For marketers whose goal is to maximize performance, Google recommends using Maximize conversions or Maximize clicks bidding for a campaign to stay within the advertiser’s daily budget.
For more recent news about updates to Google Ads, read this article on the official start of the beta test for new Gallery ads where companies can use multiple images in a single ad.