Google is pushing towards voice search platform

Despite the talk that apps will replace mobile Web search, Jerry Dischler, VP of Product Management at Google, has said that "the mobile Web isn't dead". Mobile advertising, search and display in apps and on the web are still very important focuses for Google. Meanwhile, voice search is an emerging platform that Google is working hard towards. Dischler points out that voice search volumes are continuing to rise and Google's ideas for the future are new ad formats around voice and "pure voice dialog".  

by Laurie Sullivan @lauriesullivan, December 10, 2015

"The mobile Web isn't dead," says Jerry Dischler, VP of product or management at Google, after explaining all the chatter he has heard about how apps will replace mobile Web search. He told attendees at the MediaPost Search Insider Summit Thursday the company will invest in search ads running on Google Play and Universal App Campaigns, as well as develop more effective methods for app re-engagement and cross-channel reporting on conversions.

Mobile advertising, search and display, on the Web and in apps -- remains a major focus for Google, especially when it comes to metrics and measurement. One area of measurement that search marketers want access to -- the swipe on a mobile device -- has not been integrated into Google AdWords. Google is testing the metric in AdWords for automotive ads, measuring the value of swipes.

Once the product goes live, based on customer demand, Google would evaluate adding it to Adometry. At the moment, however, there are no plans to include swipes data in the Adometry platform, which aims to solve the complex challenge of integrating, measuring, and optimizing marketing data across all channels both online and offline.

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"We don't offer bidding, reporting or any other metrics on swipes," Dischler says. Engineers went into beta with new metrics two weeks ago, but results are not available in Adometry. Not yet anyway. "Once we release this officially it will ripple down the stack," he says.

Google, which acquired Adometry in 2014, is "actively" working to integrate AdWords and DoubleClick to provide better data transparency, but Dischler says there are privacy issues to overcome.

Dischler also calls voice search an emerging platform that Google continues to work on. "I have long-term plans for advertising," he says, adding that voice search volumes continue to rise, and Google has ideas for the future when the queries become "pure voice dialog."

A more common approach today, he says, is a multi-modal experience where someone conducts a voice search and Google serves a regular ad format that serves on the device. In the coming year, expect to see some new ad formats around voice, he says.

Alex Edlund, director of search marketing at Marriott International, wants the option to dig down into the data to understand the keywords driving cross-device behavior in order to make more informed bidding decisions. Improving cross-device insights is something Google is working on, while respecting user privacy. Customize-automating bidding is available in beta for AdWords and will become available soon, Dischler says.