By Scott
Google is one of the most innovative, forward-thinking companies in the world. (Its parent company, Alphabet, is also now the world’s most valuable company.)
When it comes to certain niche services, however, Google can also be head-scratchingly slow.
Google+, the tech giant’s failed social network, was late to market and never caught up to Facebook, its direct competitor. That lateness was compounded by its tardiness in developing a sound mobile strategy for Google+; again, Facebook beat them to the punch.
Even the Google products we love can sometimes be frustratingly behind the times. I’m a huge fan of AdWords – one of the most powerful tools in an organization’s digital arsenal. AdWords is highly targeted and exceptionally cost-effective, especially compared to traditional marketing. It’s a great way to get your message out to the precise audience you’re trying to reach, without having to break the bank. That’s doubly true for nonprofits, which have access to Google’s fantastic Grants program.
But for us iPhone users, running an AdWords campaign on-the-go has been a pain, because Google never bothered to release an app for iOS devices.
Now – a full year after launching an app for its own Android devices, Google has finally released an AdWords app for iPhones and iPads. It’s pretty slick, with a great user interface and easy opportunities to adjust budget and change keywords on the fly.
That said, it’s not meant to replace a browser experience – you can’t start a new campaign from the app, only manage existing ones. That’s invaluable, though – sometimes campaigns need quick tweaks to maximize budget, and now we can offer that immediate response for our clients, even if we’re en route somewhere and without our laptops.
AdWords is absolutely vital to today’s marketing efforts, and we’re glad to see Google giving it the attention it deserves.
Scott is Google AdWords certified