This week Google announced 3 new ways for mobile marketers to promote their apps with Universal App Campaigns, which helps create ads for your app that are dynamically served and optimized to show across the Search, Display, and YouTube Networks.

But, before I start with the 3 new features introduced by Google, let me give a quick refresher on the existing methods to promote your App via Universal App Campaigns

1. First, with Universal App campaigns you do not need to design ads unlike your AdWords campaigns, here Google uses your assets from your app store listing and your ad text ideas to dynamically design and optimize ads to be served across various formats and networks.
2. Bids and Ads are optimized for installs or in-app conversions basis your objective for the app.
3. Your ads are eligible to appear across various Google properties, like –
   • Google Search
   • Google Play (This is property can’t be used for promotion of iOS apps)
   • Google search partners
   • Youtube
   • Google Display Network – Other apps and mobile websites of news channels, blogs, etc. that are part of the Display network.

Now, coming back to the 3 new features that would help your app campaigns more effective via Universal App Campaigns.

1) Automated video ads with ‘AutoDirector’

We know how effective & engaging videos are, but at times it’s difficult to create a video for ads due to time and cost involved in doing so. So, Google has come up with a new product called ‘AutoDirector’ that selects the best images, picks ratings and descriptions from Google play or App store and adds music to create an immersive video for your app to be used as a promotional video on Youtube and Google Display Network. Below is one good example of these video ads by OLX Brazil that helped them increase conversions manyfold.

2) Promote your app in ‘You might also like’ app list on Google Play

Now you can increase your app visibility by showcasing your app in ‘You might also like’ carousel app list. This a great way of getting your app discovered as almost 50% of users discover new apps while searching for apps in their play stores.

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Note: This is ad placement works only in Google play

3) Targeting potential users who will make in-app purchases

Getting an install for your app is easy, but getting engagement/ repeated in-app purchases is the hard part.

To ease out this struggle Google introduced this new feature for Android apps using in-app billing. With this feature, you can automatically track in-app purchase/ subscription post a users action on your ad and automatically find more similar users who are more likely to make an in-app purchase in future using the Universal App Campaigns.

Universal App campaigns are a great way to increase app discovery for installs and engagement and extremely easy to use.

Another good way to is Mobile App install campaigns. How is it different? How to use it? Let me cover this in one of my next blogs.

Anshul Agarwal

Anshul is a seasoned marketer with a decade of experience in marketing, branding, growth hacking, sales, and product development. At present, he is spearheading the marketing function for, Brand, Marketing (with a specific focus on Digital Marketing) & Strategic Innovation globally for a reputed Indian MNC.

Apart from living and breathing marketing, he is an Automobile aficionado who loves to Travel, is a nature lover, a blogger, F1 motorsports enthusiast and a curious soul who loves to learn new stuff and ideate.

Education: MBA with a major in International Business & Marketing and a certified digital marketer.