It comes as no surprise that Google is constantly shifting and evolving. At times, updates and changes are swept under the rug and replaced with larger news, from the American Presidential Election to the release of Pokémon Sun and Moon. Here are some updates or changes you may have missed in the past month!

Bids by Device

With this new update, businesses are now able to place bids by devices. This feature allows for a complete management system, where you can choose which device, namely tablets, mobiles, or desktops, will remain your most prioritized tool for advertisement. This new update stems from the massive increase in performance for mobile surfing, where some businesses have customers mainly surfing through their phones. The system itself operates like this: You can set a default, or base bid for one device while also having the opportunity to set bid adjustments for the other two. This can range from -100% to +900 percent. If you decide not to set bid adjustments, everything will remain the same as it was before.

Online Ads

Approximately 30% of smartphone users who visit a webpage will buy something in a store within a 24 hour period. To encourage more of this activity, Google is attempting to bridge the gap between online ads and offline sales. Google implemented the location extensions and store visits measurement for the Google Display Network. Put simply, the feature displays your online business address and location whenever a customer is engaging in one of your ads. It also made improvements to its remarketing tool, where customers can be reached through multiple devices. For instance, you can reach a potential customer through their mobile as they travel to work, and also expose them to your ads on their desktop at work. These changes are sure to make advertising easier for businesses around the globe.

Click-to-Text Testing

Perhaps the most significant change happening is the testing of a new extension that gives customers the option of texting you and your business. This however, has its limitations. Customers are unable to text whatever they want, but are instead given a prefilled message ranging from interest of a company’s product, to questions about payment options. Needless to say, it looks like clients will be bound to a couple of text options that may be provided by the company itself. It is worth noting that this extension is still in its experimental stage and is subject to many changes before it is complete. Despite this, companies are already capitalizing on the feature, providing Google users with a way to send and receive texts from your desktop via an app for your phone. You can unlock this option through a small fee.