Google ads, in general, is an uber-successful platform. When looking at Gmail as a separate entity entirely, there are a ton of reasons why you would want to interact with customers using Gmail. We’re going to define Gmail advertising, explain how Gmail ads work, and show you how to successfully run Gmail ads yourself. 

Read on and see if this digital advertising space is the perfect addition to your brand’s advertising or marketing strategy. 

What is Gmail Advertising?

Gmail ads happen to have several different names associated with them. Whether they are considered to be Gmail Sponsored Ads, Gmail Sponsored Promotions, or Gmail Sponsored Promotion Ads, these ads are best defined as immersive advertisements that are paid and seen in a target’s email box. 

They are often found at the top of a user’s Gmail account and sorted within the social or promotion tab. Once selected, the email opens into a full ad that is often disguised as any other email including a subject line, media, and the options to forward and save the message.  

This is How Gmail Ads Work

When interacting with a Gmail ad yourself, this is what you can expect to see as you look through the active campaign. 

• Potential conversions seen with click-throughs 
• The emails (ads) are saved in the user’s inbox, which can be done by selecting “Save To Inbox” 
• The email or ad can be forwarded to someone else 
• It can be closed without taking any action at all 

This is How to Run Gmail Ads

Now that Gmail advertising can be better defined and understood on how it works, we can now look to see how to run our very own ads and campaigns. Take a look to see how you can run successful ads by following these helpful steps and tips below.

Starting July 1, 2021 Gmail ads campaigns will become “read only”. This means that after this date, advertisers will not be able to create new Gmail campaigns or make changes to existing Gmail campaigns, including edits to existing Gmail ads.

To continue serving ads on Gmail, we recommend that you create a Discovery campaign. Discovery ads allow you to expand your reach from Gmail to other Google owned surfaces, including YouTube and Discover, reaching 3 billion people globally. Learn more about creating and managing Discovery ads

Name your campaign and set the budget/bidding

First and foremost, it’s super important to make sure that the campaign is named. This will ensure proper organization. As for the budget and bidding, these two aspects are vital in order to stay on top of the budget and track your spending. 

Design the ad’s creative display

For the sake of the overall display, utilize all of the following template options for greater ease in your design process. 

High-Quality Engaging Gmail Image

A banner ad that links to a landing page 

Single Product Gmail Ads

This will include a call-to-action button for a landing page 

Multiple product Gmail Ads

While it is considered to be a more advanced template, it allows you to display more than one product with links to the same landing page. 

Upload Custom HTML Code

This specific template will give you the access to upload YouTube videos and create the CTA you need in order to get users to a landing page. All you have to do is upload a zip file. 

Carefully Target Users

Like any platform that is advertised on, targeting is such an important element that needs to be met in order for the running of a successful campaign. It’s essential to do the research and then look into demographics, topics, and interests before nailing down who will be targeted. 

Analyze the reports and make edits as needed

It’s a great feature when campaigns are measurable for the advertiser. Without measurability, you won’t be able to have your advertising grow or be edited in the ways you need in order to be more profitable. 

When looking at the results, make sure to analyze where the target market may be dropping off and not ultimately purchasing. Ask yourself if they’re clicking on the landing page and then exiting out of the site or if they’re not interested in clicking on the landing page altogether. This is vital in looking to see where the changes need to be made and why. 

Our Final Thoughts

To advertise with Gmail or not, that is the question we’ve hopefully been able to answer for you. After defining and taking you through the process on Gmail, let us know if this is the right advertising strategy for you and the brands you currently represent.

From the target markets you have in mind to the information content you choose to run in the campaigns, Gmail advertising has great potential to be able to serve multiple different needs for the business.