Search Network with Display Select(SNDS) Update & Migration

Guess you may have received email from Google about the migration from "Search and Display Campaign" to "Search Network with Display Select"(SNDS).

It is AUTO(FORCE) MIGRATION if you are running the hybrid campaign and the deadline is 16 September 2014.
If your campaigns are “Search Network only“, “Display Network only" only, there is nothing gonna change.

Here are a few further details about SNDS and my experience of running it.

How my ad is shown?

1. It's not difficult to guess it's basically contextual targeting as we only have keywords in the campaign. What makes the targeting different from the legacy Search and Display Campaign is that system applies smart pricing and a number of additional signals. In SNDS, we should see a higher conversion rate.

2. If your campaign is CPA enabled, system will optimize by considering the conversion data defined in the account only.

What are the limitations?

1. Your ad impression will be limited by above factor. And more on that, SNDS campaign will try to reserve the budget for search and allocate the remaining to display part. It tackles the existing hybrid campaign spending split problem(display always dominates the spending) but you can foresee the impression will be lower, even low enough that spending can't reach the daily budget. You have to beware the huge change due to migration.

2. According to my SNDS campaign running account, the result spending of display part was up to 70% in terms of cost and it couldn't reach my daily budget.

3. As mentioned by the post, the bidding can't be separately set, it leads to very high CPC in display where the average CPC for same set of keywords in the pure display campaign are just 30% of it.
Note: Google official data claimed that according to past 8 months data, SNDS campaign acquired 35% more in CTR and 35% less in CPC.

Who should use SNDS?

I would say SME and agency.

A one click to opt-in display is for small usage users to extend other ad in a quick and easy way as some users look for click as KPI and couldn't brother the setting on display. Sounds good to agency who manage hundreds of accounts.
Separated search and display campaign still provides you the greatest flexibility on control. Sophisticated users should keen on the best way to control their ad.


For product background, you can refer to Search Network With Display Select – Should Small Businesses Use It?