POV: Google Ads Remove Accelerated Ad Delivery

Background:

Google has announced a change to ad delivery options in Google Ads that will be implemented October 1st.

Details and Implications:

Currently there are two different types of ad delivery available on Google campaigns, ‘standard’ or ‘accelerated’.

Using Standard Delivery, Google determines how often to show your ads throughout the day in an attempt to make sure that you don’t spend your whole budget in the morning, causing your ads to stop showing for the rest of the day. The risk with this option is that it can be more difficult to guarantee 100% delivery of your daily budget cap.

Accelerated Delivery removes Google’s control of ad delivery and shows your ads whenever an impression is available, until your budget is reached. The risk with this option is that your ads can stop showing early in the day if you had a limited budget which has been spent.

Google is removing the Accelerated Delivery option for Search and Shopping campaigns, as well as for campaigns with shared budgets - with Standard Delivery the only available option. There will be an automatic switch by October 1st for Search and Shopping campaigns. However, Accelerated Delivery will still be available for Display and Video campaigns, for the time being.

Typically, this would mean that for campaigns that have uncapped budgets, where they are achieving target outcomes, you would select Accelerated Delivery. This would be done to maximise opportunity and to ensure you can leverage available budget to drive maximum returns. With Standard Delivery, budget is paced throughout the day (or daypart selected) and Google states standard delivery has been improved to be more predictive: “Standard delivery takes into account expected ad performance throughout the day and is better at maximizing performance within your daily budget.”

To manage when and how clients’ ads are being delivered, ad scheduling can be used alongside bidding strategies like ‘maximise conversions’ and ‘maximise clicks’ within Google Ads. This will help maximise the opportunity available, similar to how Accelerated Delivery previously worked. Google has provided automated bid strategies that use machine learning to optimise for conversions or conversion value, called Smart Bidding. Within Smart Bidding, a feature that allows you to adjust in each and every auction, known as Auction Time Bidding will help ensure maximum outcomes for clients in the absence of accelerated delivery.

Summary:

The removal of Accelerated Delivery potentially affects the ability search practitioners have to specify the delivery frequency of search ads (especially during spikes in demand), with more reliance on Google’s machine learning to help make these decisions.

Further Reading:

Google Ad Delivery | Google Change Announcement | Google Ads Auction Time Bidding