What is a Universal App Campaign?

Google AdWords created the universal app campaign in May 2015, and it has just been released; it is basically a campaign for features such as display and video, but all on apps- which allows Android app builders to promote app installs across Google networks and platforms with ads that are dynamically served and optimised.  Universal App Campaigns were developed to help businesses who have built an app and want it to be optimised; with the Universal App Campaign, you would normally add a few lines of text, a bid with your billing information, and then the rest is optimised to help your users find you. 

Universal App Campaigns are named this because the ads instantly reach out to multiple sites, not just Google's property, sites such as: YouTube, Google's mobile app network AdMob on iOS and Android devices. The whole purpose of this campaign was for marketing developers to benefit from the execution and management Google has to offer.  AdWords will generate your keywords through sites like Google Play to discover phrases that have connected people to the company's app- Google will match your ad with a query that is relevant to your app.

"Mobile has changed the game for both consumers and brands. Consumer expectations for immediacy and relevance are higher than ever, and successful brands are those that connect with people in the moments that matter most to them- the I-want-to-know, I-want-to-go, I-want to do and I-want-to-buy moments. Google is a company built on meeting people's needs in the moment. Through our ad innovations, we've brought that ability to business large and small" writes Sridhar Ramaswamy in a recent blog post, Senior Vice President, Ads and Commerce at Google.  

How the Universal App Campaign benefits a business

Google has a massive advantage to connect consumers with your business in the most relevant and popular ways. Here are a few ways that will dramatically benefit your company's online marketing strategies by using Google's Universal App Campaign:

• The main point of why it was constructed was for it to be extremely simple, yet still offering the quality scale Google can offer. To set up your campaign all you start with is linking your app, which is as basic as searching the name of your app and highlighting it. It has also been made easy for the consumer to reach for the business as it extended onto so many ad platforms. 
• Mobile apps are an upcoming marketing strategy; spending to promote app installs is expected to increase from 1.47 billion in 2014 to 3 billion this year (figures from eMarketer).
• They offer a variety of placements across Google search, the AdMob network, mobile sites and YouTube. 
• Clear, open and reliable measurement solutions: Google has extensively teamed up with numerous dominant ad platforms and tracking systems to give the user a pleasant experience and also strengthen the whole mobile apps ecosystem; all wanting to achieve the main goal of making developers more successful. Though you are able to track  the performance of your mobile app on Google Analytics, Google has built partnerships with over 20 ad networks including InMobi since launching iOS conversion tracking late last year. Data integration with these partners gives an extensive insight of app value across networks based on the metrics developers care about, ultimately guiding the consumer to make decisions on where to spend the company's money. To increase measurement accuracy, Google has also teamed up with several third parties, ensuring your data is reliable and accurate. 
• 70% of online customers think that the quality, timing and relevance of a brand's message impacts their perception of a company. This highlights the affect Universal app campaigns have from their wide range of platforms for marketing. 

Your ads are qualified to appear on the user's search results that are relevant to the app. AdWords will optimise where your ads appear to get you the biggest number of conversions at your appointed CPA bid (cost per install bid).  Always remember, AdWords places your ad most suitable for achieving the most clicks or where it is most likely to be installed. 

^{featured image: techcrunch.com}