On July 24, AdWords becomes Google Ads. Campaigns, keywords, budgets, billing and history carry over untouched, and nothing needs doing on the day. AdWords Express is being replaced by Smart campaigns, starting in the United States.

What was announced

Google announced yesterday that AdWords will be renamed Google Ads after nearly eighteen years, with the change rolling out over the coming weeks. Google's help pages give July 24 as the day the new name appears.

Two other brands change at the same time. The DoubleClick tools for large advertisers join Analytics 360 as Google Marketing Platform, and the tools publishers use to sell ad space become Google Ad Manager.

For small advertisers there is a second change. AdWords Express, the simplified version aimed at small businesses, is being replaced by Smart campaigns, built on the same technology.

Smart campaigns launched in the United States yesterday, and Google says they will reach other countries later this year.

What stays the same

Almost everything that affects results.

The fifth is the one worth stating plainly. The tags that record a call or a form from an ad are not renamed or replaced, so there is nothing to reinstall and no gap in the figures.

What changes

The name and the logo, across the interface, the help pages and the emails Google sends you.

Invoices and receipts are likely to change too, and the description on a card statement may follow. Tell whoever does your books, so a charge under an unfamiliar name in August is recognised rather than disputed.

The address you log in at may change as well. Keep the old bookmark until you have checked where it leads.

The interface was already changing

The rename arrives in the middle of a longer change.

Google has been moving advertisers from the old AdWords screens to a redesigned interface since last year. Many small advertisers are still finding settings in new places, and the rename itself will not move any of them again.

If the person who manages your account has been putting off learning the new screens, the old ones will not be around much longer, and that is the change worth preparing for.

Smart campaigns, briefly

Smart campaigns ask for a goal, such as calls, visits to your premises or actions on your website, along with a description of the business and a budget. Google then places the ads and manages the bidding.

That is the same bargain as AdWords Express: less work, and less control. You choose broad themes rather than exact keywords, and reporting is mostly at the level of the whole campaign.

Standard campaigns remain available for anyone who wants the control. Smart campaigns deserve a closer look once they reach Canada; until then, nothing changes for an AdWords Express advertiser here.

A worked example

A two-crew tree service company had an AdWords Express campaign set up four years ago during a phone call, and had barely looked at it since.

The owner read about the rename and wanted to know what had to be done. The honest answer was nothing on July 24, and a little now.

Logging in, they found a former office manager still listed as a user with full access. That login was removed.

They wrote down the current settings: the budget, the ad text, the services chosen and the area served, so there would be something to compare against when Smart campaigns arrive and the campaign changes form.

And they told the bookkeeper the charge would carry a new name from late July, so it would not prompt a call to the bank in August.

Emails that use the news

Any rename is useful to fraudsters, and this one is unlikely to be an exception.

Expect emails saying your account must be migrated, verified or updated to Google Ads before a deadline, with a link to a convincing login page.

Nothing about the rename requires you to log in through a link, re-enter card details or pay anybody. If an email worries you, open the account from your own bookmark and look there.

What to update on your side

A short list, most of it paperwork.

Staff instructions, training notes and anything else that tells somebody how to find the account or what it is called.

The privacy page on your website, if it names AdWords as the source of remarketing or conversion cookies. The wording should say Google Ads once the change takes effect.

And any monthly report that goes to an owner or partner, so the new name does not look like a new expense.

Worth checking while you are logged in

Since the rename gives everyone a reason to open the account, use it.

Look at where the ads send people. In July, Chrome starts marking every plain HTTP page as not secure, and that includes landing pages you are paying to bring visitors to.

Check the budget against what the business can handle in its busy season, and look at where display ads are appearing, a setting often left on its default.

The counter-case

For an advertiser with a well-run account, this is a change of letterhead and little more.

Nobody needs to rebuild campaigns, rewrite ads or call anyone because of the name, and a business that does nothing at all will find its ads running as normal on July 25.

The changes that matter are slower ones: Smart campaigns arriving later in the year, and the old interface leaving.

Change the paperwork, ignore the urgent emails, and use the occasion to look properly at the account.

Before July 24

  1. Log in and confirm who has access.
  2. Note which campaign types you run.
  3. Write down current settings for AdWords Express campaigns.
  4. Tell your bookkeeper about the new name.
  5. Update staff instructions and the privacy page.
  6. Check landing pages load over HTTPS.
  7. Ignore emails demanding urgent migration.

Step one is the one that matters most. Every other step assumes the business can get into its own account, and a rename is a common moment for owners to discover it is held by somebody who has left.

Where display ads end up when that setting is left alone is covered in display ads on apps nobody meant to target.

Frequently asked questions

When does AdWords become Google Ads?

Google's help pages give July 24. The change itself was announced on June 27, alongside new names for its tools for large advertisers and for publishers.

Do I need to do anything on the day?

No. Campaigns, keywords, budgets, billing settings, conversion tracking and history all carry over untouched, and ads keep running through the change without interruption.

What will actually look different?

The name and logo across the interface, help pages and emails, and in time invoices and possibly card statements. Tell your bookkeeper so the new name is recognised.

What happens to AdWords Express?

It is being replaced by Smart campaigns, built on the same technology. They launched in the United States first and are expected in other countries later this year.

Are emails about migrating my account genuine?

Treat them with suspicion. The rename needs nothing from you through an emailed link, so open the account from your own bookmark and check there instead.

Is this a good time to review the account?

Yes. Check who has access, write down your current settings, and make sure landing pages use HTTPS before Chrome starts marking plain HTTP pages as not secure in July.

West Coast Media Solutions Inc. provides web design, web development, hosting, digital marketing, and business consulting to organisations across Canada, drawing on more than twenty-five years in the field.

AdWords account nobody has opened lately?

Let us look before July 24. We will check access, settings and landing pages, and tell you what needs attention.

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