Today, the biggest reason to use Google Search Ads 360 instead of Google Ads is the size of your marketing efforts.
If you’re a marketing agency managing hundreds of search campaigns across several accounts in Google and Bing, a centralized base of operations probably sounds pretty appealing.
SA360 makes it easier and faster for strategists to make changes across multiple campaigns on multiple platforms.
I liken it to comparing Google Ads Editor to the Google Ads UI via browser. The former simply makes my job easier and enables me to finish optimizations faster without needing to waste time navigating to the page I need.
Another reason to use SA360 over Google Ads is its integration with other Google tools.
SA360 is designed to interact with Display & Video 360 (DV360) and Campaign Manager 360 (CM360).
This trifecta of SA360, DV360 and CM360 gives you a streamlined approach to search, video and display across the web, apps, YouTube and even connected TV and offline data sources.
If you’re sorely lacking visibility in how your ad dollars translate to sales or leads and you’re ready to invest in your marketing analytics for a complete user journey, SA360 and its partner products could be the right choice.
Dig deeper: Google SA360 now supports Microsoft automated bidding
Why would you not want to use Google Search Ads 360 instead of Google Ads?
Cost
If you’re working with a limited marketing budget, you are likely not a good candidate for SA360.
In addition to being charged a platform fee plus a percentage based on your spend to access SA360, most advertisers and even agencies are simply not spending enough to justify upgrading.
Single-platform vs. multi-platform
One of the biggest benefits of SA360 is seeing all your data and performance across multiple channels and platforms.
If you’re only using Google Ads for one account, another interface to combine multiple data sources simply isn’t necessary.
Complexity
SA360 has several advanced features that can overwhelm even the savviest of PPC strategists and are likely unnecessary for most advertisers.
The traditional Google Ads platform makes using campaigns with a straightforward purpose and aim simple.
At the same time, SA360 offers a highly sophisticated set of tools to help marketers manage complex campaigns with varying strategies and goals.
Google Search Ads 360: Your key to multi-platform advertising success
Google Search Ads 360 is a powerful tool for big businesses and agencies managing complex, large-scale or multi-platform search campaigns.
It offers advanced features like cross-channel integration with other Google Marketing Platform tools, cross-platform audience targeting and enhanced time-saving automation.
These attributes make it ideal for marketers with big budgets who need a comprehensive solution.
However, for small and medium-sized businesses or those operating within a single platform, the complexity and additional cost of SA360 almost certainly outweigh its benefits.
Understanding when and why to use SA360 can help you decide if it’s the right fit for your marketing strategy. This will ensure that you maximize efficiency and ROI for your business or your clients.
Dig deeper: Google Search Ads 360 gains retail media capabilities
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