Google Search Ads 360 (SA360) starter guide

Since its rebranding in 2018, Google Search Ads 360 has continued to be a powerful tool for PPC advertisers. However, many marketers still struggle to understand its full potential.

This confusion often leads businesses, agencies and corporations to miss the benefits of integrating it into their marketing strategies.

This article will address some of the most common questions about Google Search Ads 360 and help clarify how it can enhance your marketing efforts.

What is Google Search Ads 360?

Search Ads 360, or SA360, is a tool created by Google to manage multiple paid ads accounts and platforms in one interface. 

Search Ads 360 has a direct API connection with several search engines, allowing you to view all your campaign data in one place. This streamlined access helps you make informed strategic decisions without consulting multiple sources, saving you time and money.

Once you link Search Ads 360 to a search engine, you can create and manage your search marketing campaigns within the platform. Any changes you make can be automatically copied back to the engines. 

You can also make adjustments directly in the search engine’s ad platform and easily import those changes back into Search Ads 360.

Currently, SA360 supports the following platforms:

• Google Ads.
• Microsoft Advertising.
• Yahoo Japan sponsored products. 
• Baidu.
• Other third-party search engines.

You might remember SA360’s predecessor, DoubleClick or DoubleClick’s main product line, known as DART (Dynamic Advertising, Reporting and Targeting). 

Google acquired DoubleClick in 2007 and integrated it into its offerings as DoubleClick Campaign Manager (DCM). The tool was renamed Search Ads 360 in 2018 – the same year Google AdWords became Google Ads. 

How does Google Search Ads 360 help marketing efforts? 

And what does Google Search Ads 360 have that regular ol’ Google Ads doesn’t? 

Multi-platform campaign management with add-on cross-channel integration

Search Ads 360 allows you to manage and optimize search ads across multiple platforms, such as Google and Microsoft Ads, all from a single interface. 

On its own, SA360 streamlines your advertising efforts and saves you time. 

When integrated with other tools in the Google Marketing Platform, like Display & Video 360 and Campaign Manager 360, it allows you to develop cross-channel strategies that seamlessly combine search, display and video advertising for a more unified and consistent marketing approach.

Advanced audience targeting

With Search Ads 360, you can use advanced audience targeting features to reach specific segments across platforms. 

Since it integrates with multiple search engines, you can consistently create and target audience segments across platforms like Google, Bing and Yahoo. 

This ensures your message is relevant and reaches the right people no matter which search engine they’re using, thus improving engagement and ROI.

Time-saving automation

Beyond bidding, Search Ads 360 offers automation for many campaign management tasks, such as real-time budget pacing, scheduling and reporting. 

Again, since it integrates with multiple search engines, you’ll have the ability to set up and manage automated rules across all your accounts and platforms. 

This helps you and your marketing team to focus on strategy and analysis rather than repetitive tasks.

Dig deeper: Search Ads 360: 3 best practices for advanced PPC marketers

Why would you want to use Google Search Ads 360 instead of Google Ads?

At the time of publication, many features that used to be exclusive to Google Search Ads 360 have been integrated into the Google Ads platform. 

Automated bidding, advanced reporting and ad copy testing all used to be unique to the Google Search Ads 360 platform. 

While Search Ads 360 still boasts additional desirable features and flexibility, such as direct integrations with third parties and real-time reporting, the most widely-used features have also been migrated over to Google Ads.  

Today, the biggest reason to use Google Search Ads 360 instead of Google Ads is the size of your marketing efforts. 

If you’re a marketing agency managing hundreds of search campaigns across several accounts in Google and Bing, a centralized base of operations probably sounds pretty appealing. 

SA360 makes it easier and faster for strategists to make changes across multiple campaigns on multiple platforms. 

I liken it to comparing Google Ads Editor to the Google Ads UI via browser. The former simply makes my job easier and enables me to finish optimizations faster without needing to waste time navigating to the page I need. 

Another reason to use SA360 over Google Ads is its integration with other Google tools. 

SA360 is designed to interact with Display & Video 360 (DV360) and Campaign Manager 360 (CM360). 

This trifecta of SA360, DV360 and CM360 gives you a streamlined approach to search, video and display across the web, apps, YouTube and even connected TV and offline data sources. 

If you’re sorely lacking visibility in how your ad dollars translate to sales or leads and you’re ready to invest in your marketing analytics for a complete user journey, SA360 and its partner products could be the right choice. 

Dig deeper: Google SA360 now supports Microsoft automated bidding

Why would you not want to use Google Search Ads 360 instead of Google Ads?

Cost 

If you’re working with a limited marketing budget, you are likely not a good candidate for SA360. 

In addition to being charged a platform fee plus a percentage based on your spend to access SA360, most advertisers and even agencies are simply not spending enough to justify upgrading. 

Single-platform vs. multi-platform

One of the biggest benefits of SA360 is seeing all your data and performance across multiple channels and platforms.

If you’re only using Google Ads for one account, another interface to combine multiple data sources simply isn’t necessary. 

Complexity 

SA360 has several advanced features that can overwhelm even the savviest of PPC strategists and are likely unnecessary for most advertisers. 

The traditional Google Ads platform makes using campaigns with a straightforward purpose and aim simple.

At the same time, SA360 offers a highly sophisticated set of tools to help marketers manage complex campaigns with varying strategies and goals. 

Google Search Ads 360: Your key to multi-platform advertising success

Google Search Ads 360 is a powerful tool for big businesses and agencies managing complex, large-scale or multi-platform search campaigns. 

It offers advanced features like cross-channel integration with other Google Marketing Platform tools, cross-platform audience targeting and enhanced time-saving automation. 

These attributes make it ideal for marketers with big budgets who need a comprehensive solution. 

However, for small and medium-sized businesses or those operating within a single platform, the complexity and additional cost of SA360 almost certainly outweigh its benefits. 

Understanding when and why to use SA360 can help you decide if it’s the right fit for your marketing strategy. This will ensure that you maximize efficiency and ROI for your business or your clients. 

Dig deeper: Google Search Ads 360 gains retail media capabilities