Recently, I went to an Innovations in Search Marketing networking event put on by SEMPO San Francisco where some major players from Google, Yahoo and Marin Software presented how marketers and businesses can use new search marketing features to reach their audience better. There were lots of reps from huge corporations in the audience: brand name companies with big marketing budgets. One thing I realized is that there was nothing in the presentations that small businesses couldn’t learn to use just as well as the big corporations. All the new tools that search engines are rolling out to make search more relevant for the user are things that you use to market better and lower your bottom line. Note that some of them are still in beta testing, so it may be a couple of months until they are available to everyone.

1. Mobile Ads- The growth of mobile search has been exponential in the last couple of years and shows no signs of slowing down. Considering that Google controls 97% of the mobile search market, it’s no wondering that they’re seeking to offer ad space wherever possible. Mobile Ads are incredibly easy to enable. Set them up by logging into your Adwords account, going to the Campaign Settings tab, and clicking on Devices.

2. Mobile Coupon Plusbox- This Google feature is in limited beta testing right now, so I don’t have any screen shots of it, but it’s meant to be a feature on mobile search where a coupon is embedded into mobile advertisements, and consumers can redeem the coupons directly by showing them in store. This is part of Google’s effort to track online to in-store conversions. This feature will soon be available for all verified local merchants. Merchants can enable the feature by logging into their Local Business Center, adding a coupon, and then syncing up their local addresses with their Adwords account under the Campaign Settings Tab.

3. Product Extensions and Rich Ads- Ever wonder why some Adwords ads run pics next to them? As an advertiser, you don’t have much control over when this feature shows up and when it doesn’t, but you can set up your campaigns so that they are optimized for it. Just load up your products to your Merchant Center Account, and then take your Merchant center ID and sync it in Adwords under the Campaigns Settings Tab. And the best part is, rich ads don’t cost anything extra, just your basic CPC rates.

4. Location Extensions- Enable the Click to Call features (also under Campaign Settings in Adwords) where high-end smart phone users can click on your phone number in your ad or local business listing and call the store location closest to them automatically

5. Dynamic Pricing- Beyond dynamic keywords, Google is rolling out the ability to have dynamic pricing in ads. When you change a price of a product on your website, it will automatically change in your advertisements without having to edit the creative. According to one of the presenters from the SEMPO event, his research showed that having the price of a product in the first line of an ad increases their click-throughs by 25%! This feature can only be added through the API and cannot be ended from your Adwords panel.

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