Getting to Know Gmail Sponsored Promotions

About two years ago, Google opened Gmail Sponsored Promotions, also known as GSP, to all advertisers. Gmail Sponsored Promotions are advertisements that show up in personal Gmail boxes in the social and promotions tabs.

The advertisements in Gmail accounts consist of two elements: teaser portions of the ad that appear above your own email, which are shown above, and an expanded ad that pops up when you click on the teaser, which you can see below and to the left.

The expanded ad gives you the option to forward the information to a friend, or save it to your inbox. You can also click directly on the ad and you’ll be sent to a landing page.

Advertisers are charged when a user clicks on the teaser to open the expanded ad.

Gmail Sponsored Promotions are managed through Google Adwords and offers the following advertisement options:

• A single image
• An image or video with text
• Several images with text and a call-to-action button
• More descriptive text and multiple call-to-action buttons

Once you’ve chosen a format, you simply provide the information to create the advertisement. There are also options to target certain Gmail ads so you reach the right people. Some options include “Customer Match” audiences, which uses a list of emails you’ve collected from customers. You can use “similar audience targeting” based on the Customer Match audience you create, and even add keywords to reach people with certain words or phrases in their inbox. Additionally, you can target based on domain email, which means that you can target a your competitors’ customers directly.

According to Statista, in February 2016, Gmail had 1 billion active users worldwide. A study done by Adobe revealed that people spend 6.3 hours per week checking their email – 3.2 hours checking their work email, and 3.1 hours checking their personal email. Because of GSP’s specific targeting methods, this approach will certainly raise brand awareness and potentially drive qualified leads to your website.