5 Lesser-Known Google Ads Features that Can Dramatically Improve Your Campaign Performance

In the ever-evolving world of digital advertising, tapping into Google Ads’ hidden gems can yield substantial results. We’ve gathered insights from Marketing Managers and Digital Marketers on how lesser-known features can turn the tide of a campaign. From leveraging audience expansion to incorporating time-sensitive ad customizers, discover five transformative strategies that have made a real difference.

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Leverage Audience Expansion

Google’s Audience Expansion feature has become a real game-changer when it comes to broadening your reach to similar audiences that you may not have considered before. Additionally, diving into Google’s ad variations tools can be a great tool for refining your message, testing different elements within the ads, and boosting the results of your campaign.

Nicole Denson, Marketing Manager, Big Leap

Personalize with Ad Customizers

In one specific campaign, the use of Google Ads’ ‘Ad Customizers’ feature dramatically improved performance. This feature is often overlooked but incredibly powerful for creating highly relevant and personalized ad experiences at scale.

The campaign in question targeted multiple geographical locations, each with distinct consumer behaviors and preferences. Traditional ad campaigns would require creating separate ads for each location, a time-consuming and inefficient process. However, with Ad Customizers, we were able to use a single ad template that dynamically altered text based on the user’s location and other contextual data.

For instance, we set up ad customizers to change elements like the product price, promotional details, and call-to-action based on the viewer’s city. This was particularly effective for a service-based client offering quotes and their services in specific areas. The ads displayed tailored content such as “[Our Service] in [City Name]”—a tactic that directly spoke to the local audience’s context and opportunities.

The impact was immediate and significant. The campaign saw a 20% increase in click-through rate and almost a 30% boost in conversion rates compared to the previous, non-customized approach. The use of dynamic content made the ads more relevant to each viewer, significantly enhancing engagement and reducing the need for numerous individual ad variations.

This success highlighted the power of leveraging lesser-used features in Google Ads to optimize campaign results, demonstrating that customization and relevance are key drivers of digital advertising efficiency.

Charlie Worrall, Marketing Manager, Imaginaire

Optimize with Ad Scripts

Ad scripts are an effective tool that I occasionally use to dynamically customize my ad content based on user behavior, time, location, and other variables. I used to oversee a Google AdWords campaign for an e-commerce customer. We were having trouble generating the appropriate click-through rates and conversions, despite our best efforts. That’s when I made the decision to investigate ad scripts’ possibilities.

We were able to craft highly customized ad copy that connected with specific users based on their search queries by putting ad scripts into place. For example, based on the user’s prior interactions with the client’s website, we customized the ad messaging to highlight particular product features. Ad script usage, I observed, significantly increased click-through rates and generated a notable boost in conversions.

Kartik Ahuja, Digital Marketer, kartikahuja.com

Tailor Messages Using IF Functions

I used the “IF functions” feature in Google Ads, which is somewhat lesser-known but highly effective for tailoring messages to specific audience segments. This feature allows advertisers to insert a specific message in their ad text based on criteria like the device the viewer is using or their audience list.

In this campaign, the goal was to increase the conversion rate by making the ads more relevant to users who had already interacted with the brand. I set up IF functions to display a different call to action (CTA) for users who were already on the remarketing list compared to those who were not. For example, the ad for new users might say, “Discover our exclusive deals!” whereas the ad for users on the remarketing list would say, “Come back for 20% off!”

By implementing this change, the ads resonated more with users who had prior engagement with the website. This small but impactful adjustment led to a significant increase in click-through rates and conversion rates for the remarketing segment, proving that personalization can be highly effective. The campaign performance improved dramatically, with a noticeable reduction in cost per acquisition and an overall higher return on investment. This was a great example of how a lesser-known feature could make a big difference in digital marketing outcomes.

Dan Taylor, Partner, SALT.agency

Target with Custom Intent Audiences

Absolutely! We leveraged Google Ads’ Custom Intent Audiences feature, which is not as widely used but incredibly powerful for targeting. By creating audiences based on specific keywords and URLs related to luxury travel and private jet charters, we could directly target individuals who were actively researching or showing interest in these areas. 

This strategic focus significantly improved our campaign’s click-through rates (CTR) and conversion rates, as our ads were now being shown to a highly relevant and interested audience, thereby optimizing our ad spend and boosting overall campaign performance.

Fahd Khan, Director of Marketing and Technology, JetLevel Aviation

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