Did you know that Google’s Search Ads 360 platform contributed to a remarkable 106% increase in click volume for Zoopla? If Zoopla can understand the true potential of this platform and use it in the best way, so can your enterprise.
Search Ads 360 (SA360) provides an enterprise-level one-stop shop for managing all search engine ad campaigns under a single interface. It is a top search management tool that is part of the Google Marketing Platform.
What is SA360? How does it operate? What are some of its best features? How can you create an account with it? Keep scrolling to investigate.
Table of Contents
- What is Search Ads 360 (SA360)?
- Features of Search Ads 360
- Benefits of Using Search Ads 360
- How to Set Up an Account on Search Ads 360?
- Conclusion
- FAQs
- 1. How is Search Ads 360 different from Google Ads?
- 2. How does Search Ads 360 integrate with other platforms?
- 3. Is Search 360 free?
- 4. Why should advertisers use SA360?
- 5. What types of campaigns can be managed in Search Ads 360?
- 6. How does Search Ads 360 enhance ad and keyword performance monitoring?
What is Search Ads 360 (SA360)?
Being a part of Google Marketing Platform Suite, Search Ads 360 (SA360), previously known as DoubleClick Search, is a leading search management platform. It can assist agencies and marketers in effectively handling large-scale search marketing campaigns across different search engines and media platforms.
The platform works like an agency setup, where businesses can handle many advertising accounts and campaigns together in one network. Each separate advertising account has its own set of paid search engine accounts and search campaigns.
Business organizations can use it to work with Google Ads and other search engines, including Yahoo! Japan Sponsered Products, Microsoft Advertising, Baidu, and more from one place. It uses direct connections through APIs to exchange information like campaign settings, keywords, and ads with these search engines.
As a result, it is capable of handling search engine marketing at a large scale but with flexibility and cost-effectiveness. But remember, SA360 isn’t free. Advertisers have to pay a fee to use it. This fee mainly includes a platform fee plus an extra amount based on how much they spend on ads.
Search Ads 360 VS Google Ads
Now, one may wonder, how is it different for Google Ads? Here is a side-by-side comparison of both Search Ads 360 VS Google Ads, which at first glance seem all too similar:
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Features of Search Ads 360
Search Ads 360 offers a wide range of features. It is slightly different from Google Ads. These features are bid management, omnichannel search capabilities, ad copy testing, and more. Here are some more details about the most notable features of this platform:
Campaign Management: Google Search Ads 360 brings out the best in campaign management. It uses an all-in-one interface that helps manage campaigns and even optimize across various search engines. The ‘One Interface’ for several platforms serves advertisers as the tool for managing their marketing budgets. They can even manage keywords and ad creatives to make the workflow easy and consistent.
- Bid Management: The platform offers intelligent automated bidding tools. These tools are based on a variety of parameters, such as bid prices and keywords. The advertiser can set up bidding standards like conversion rates, clicks, or any custom KPIs. All thanks to machine learning technology, the tool readjusts bids in real-time, thereby improving campaign performance and the return on ad spend (ROAS).
- Detailed Reports and Analytics: Search Ads 360 offers comprehensive reporting and analytics. So, marketers now have access to reports that include key metrics to measure campaign performance, attribution analysis, and cross-channel analysis.
- Easy Integration with Other Tools and Platforms: One of the most amazing features of Google Search Ads 360 is that it is part of the Google Marketing Platform platform. Hence, it can collaborate with Google Analytics 360, Google Ads, Display & Video 360, and other third-party data sources. This leads to access to a unified data platform and more effective cross-platform operationality.

Benefits of Using Search Ads 360
Zoopla, one of the main property websites in the UK, increased its advertising success by using SA360 inventory campaigns. They introduced a dynamic keyword list that tracked inventory to show current property listings. This approach resulted in a 40% growth in the click-through rate.
Implementing inventory campaigns allowed Zoopla to tailor its ads in real time based on available properties. This dynamic approach significantly improved campaign performance and user engagement.
Besides improved click-through rate and click volume, there are many other advantages of using Search Ads 360 to control your marketing campaign. These are as follows:
- Provide More Efficiency in Managing Campaigns: Search Ads 360 simplifies the campaign management process by allowing users to track many accounts and campaigns from just one interface. This saves time and reduces the cost of using different platforms, so only one platform remains.
- Better Optimization of Campaign Performance: The platform’s smart bidding algorithm and built-in optimization functions make bids fluctuate with real-time data, improving ad visibility and cost-effectiveness manyfold.
- Data Insights and Decision Making: Search Ads 360 provides detailed analytics, offering valuable insights into campaign performance and audience behavior.
| Did you know that you can also check the performance of your Google Ads account? Here’s a detailed guide on Google Ads Audit. |
How to Set Up an Account on Search Ads 360?
To get started with Google Search Ads 360, you must set up a Google Ads engine account. Each engine account has a specific ID and date from which Search Ads 360 started managing it. This account will also connect SA360 with the search engines on which you’re running your paid marketing campaign.
Follow these steps to set up an Ads engine account:
Step 1: Sign in to your Search Ads 360 (SA360) account and go to your advertiser, which will contain the engine account by clicking on the navigation bar.
Step 2: Open the Engine accounts tab.
Step 3: Click on the New ▼ button and choose Google Ads (this will bring up the settings panel for the new engine account).
Step 4: Provide a name for the account (up to 100 characters).
Step 5: Optionally, specify a Launch date.
Step 6: Enter the required engine settings, including Google Ads customer ID, enable Google Ads auto-tagging, and configure sync details and URL templates.
Step 7: Save your changes by clicking the Save button.

Next, Link Your Google Ads customer ID to Search Ads 360
You will receive a link request to your Google Ads account after you create your engine account in Search Ads 360. Accept this request and complete the account connection process by following these steps:
Step 1: Sign in to your Google Ads account.
Step 2: Click on the gear icon and choose Account Settings.
Step 3: Navigate to Account access in the left navigation pane.
Step 4: Look for a linking request from “dart_search_google_mcc_ds3” in the Client managers table. The number represents the link between Google Search Ads 360 and your Google Ads account.
Step 5: Select Accept request to grant Search Ads 360 access to your account from the Actions menu.
Step 6: Confirm by clicking OK in the note that describes the account’s access level.
Step 7: Return to Search Ads 360 and click Save once more.
After completing these steps, Search Ads 360 will successfully create the engine account. You’ll find the new engine account listed in the engine account table and accessible under Account in the account navigation bar.
Google Marketing Platform Academy, with the help of product experts with the help of product experts, offers many resources. These are mostly on-demand video sessions on how to use Search Ads 360 effectively for new users.
New users can register on the platform to stay updated with all new content uploaded on the platform.
Cost Considerations
Every month, Search Ads 360 cost calculates fees based on the rates outlined in your contract and usage metrics like the number of search engines supported, total usage, etc. Based on this, it generates a monthly invoice.
Your monthly invoice will contain two key components: % Media spend and Fee Adjustments. Fee Adjustments are extra items on the invoice that can be either charges (debit) or partial refunds (credits).
Conclusion
Search Ads 360 has been a game-changer for companies like Scotiabank (25.8% boost in mobile transactions), Dune London (80% growth in traffic and 84% increase in sales), TUI UK (13% higher ROAS with 25% cost savings), and others. It has tremendously improved their search engine marketing efforts by increasing conversion rates and, ultimately, their ROAS.
Search Ads 360 uses sophisticated tools like smart keyword lists and excellent bidding strategies to help businesses achieve their marketing goals and get maximum ROI.
FAQs
1. How is Search Ads 360 different from Google Ads?
Search Ads 360 and Google Ads are often confused as one and the same. Google Ads is a baseline PPC marketing channel for Google. SA360 is a complete search management platform. It manages paid marketing campaigns running simultaneously on all different search engines under one interface.
2. How does Search Ads 360 integrate with other platforms?
SA360 is a platform by Google that connects search engines like Google Ads, Microsoft Advertising, and others using Application Programming Interfaces (APIs). This allows users to bring the entire handling process and the campaign tracking system into a single location. SA360 allows users to make any changes that are automatically spread to these engines, as well as any changes made on these engines that will reflect on Search Ads 360.
3. Is Search 360 free?
No, Search Ads 360 is not free. As mentioned in your contract, it typically charges per month based on search engine account usage.
4. Why should advertisers use SA360?
Advertisers and enterprises should invest in SA360 because it makes managing ads on several search engines easier, not just Google. Furthermore, this platform can merge all paid social activities for reporting and set minimum and maximum limits for ROAS and CPA. All these reasons make SA360 a complete search management platform worth investing in.
5. What types of campaigns can be managed in Search Ads 360?
When we say SA360 is a complete search management platform, we mean it in every sense. This platform can support different types of campaigns like manual campaigns, universal app campaigns, smart shopping campaigns, and standard shopping campaigns. These types of campaigns help users optimize their search engine marketing efforts in various ways.
6. How does Search Ads 360 enhance ad and keyword performance monitoring?
Google Search Ads 360 lets users track ad and keyword performance within its interface. It shows important metrics such as clicks, cost per action, and conversion rates and provides valuable insights to refine marketing strategies.
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