Adsmurai - News and articles

Discover Google Search Ads 360: how it works and key features

Written by Cristina Møller | Jun 12, 2025 2:01:55 PM

In an increasingly complex marketing ecosystem, filled with channels, campaigns, and KPIs everywhere, Google Search Ads 360 (SA360) has become the ideal copilot for teams that not only want to scale, but also have complete control and visibility into what they do. If you're still wondering how it can change your day-to-day, read on. Spoiler alert: this isn't "just another Google Ads . 

Discover how SA360 redefines advertising management to deliver exceptional results in an increasingly competitive environment.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

What is Search Ads 360?

Search Ads 360 is a search engine ad management platform that helps advertisers manage advertising campaigns across different search engines and advertising channels.

The platform not only makes it easy to create and manage advertising campaigns on Google, but also analyzes search engine ads and, in turn, improves campaign results.

Without Search Ads 360, each account manager would have to manage ads and keywords across all search engines, making it more difficult to analyze campaign performance across search engines.

The key? A unified platform for:

  • Control campaigns across multiple search engines.
  • Apply powerful automations and custom rules.
  • Gain insights with real-time data.
  • And connect with other GMP tools such as Display & Video 360 or Campaign Manager.

 

How Search Ads 360 works

With Search Ads 360, it is possible to manage the search and social media campaigns of multiple advertisers in a single account (agency network).

Each advertiser has its own set of search accounts and campaigns, as well as its own set of users, who have access to view reports and edit settings. 

Reporting can be done at the level of specific Search accounts, individual clients or even for the entire network of advertisers, depending on the permissions granted to the Search Ads 360 user account. 

Search Ads 360 provides real-time response through up-to-the-minute data and bid optimisation, and creates linked campaigns so that in one place you can see the results your Search ads are achieving across all channels.

 

Key features of Search Ads 360

Search Ads 360 (SA360) offers a variety of key features designed to improve the management and optimisation of search engine advertising campaigns. Here are some of the key features:

Cross-Channel centralization

Search Ads 360 provides a centralised platform to manage campaigns across multiple search engines, allowing advertisers to simplify their efforts and maintain consistency.

✦ Smart Bidding Enhanced

SA360's automated bidding strategy goes beyond Google Ads. It uses real-time signals combined with Floodlight data, offline conversions, or custom audiences to maximize results .

Case study: A retail brand that worked with Adsmurai migrated its bidding strategy to SA360 and achieved a 20% increase in conversions with the same budget . All thanks to cross-platform bid automation.

✦ Automated workflows

With rules, labels, alerts, and scheduling, you can do things like:

  • Pause campaigns when stock is low.
  • Change creatives based on events or seasons.
  • Enable aggressive bidding only during certain times of the day.

✦  Bid management and optimization

Advanced bidding strategies and algorithms help advertisers optimize keyword bids based on specific objectives such as cost per click (CPC), cost per acquisition (CPA), or return on ad spend (ROAS).

Main features that make it stand out

  • Custom tagging : Group campaigns by objectives, audiences, locations, or whatever you want.
  • Powerful Reporting : Advanced real-time analytics without having to deal with impossible spreadsheets.
  • Floodlight and Analytics 360 integration : achieve more accurate and flexible attribution.

Bulk Campaign Management : Upload and edit thousands of ads and keywords in seconds.

Reports and analysis

It is a reporting tool that provides detailed information on campaign performance, allowing advertisers to analyse key metrics, identify trends and make data-driven decisions.

 

Integration with other Google marketing platforms

Search Ads 360 integrates seamlessly with other Google Marketing Platform products, such as Google Analytics and Google Display & Video 360 providing a unified view of marketing performance across channels.

Cross-channel audiences with Search Ads 360

Cross-channel integration is a fundamental aspect of digital marketing that enables consistent collaboration and data exchange between different channels or search engines such as Google, Bing or Yahoo. This makes it easier to compare results across channels or even refer audiences to other platforms. 

In the case of Google, Search Ads 360 integrates with other key Google platforms, such as Google Ads, Google Analytics and Google Display & Video 360, to improve the overall effectiveness of digital advertising strategies. Here's how SA360 integrates with these platforms:

 

Integration with Google Ads

  • Campaign coordination: Search Ads 360 allows advertisers to manage and optimise search campaigns across multiple search engines, including Google. Integration with Google Ads allows search campaigns to be coordinated within a unified platform.

  • Bid management: Advertisers can leverage SA360 to set advanced bidding strategies and manage keyword bids. The bid management process is linked to Google Ads, ensuring alignment with overall advertising objectives.

 

Connection with Google Analytics

  • Unified data: SA360's integration with Google Analytics provides advertisers with a more complete view of user interactions and conversions. This unified data provides a better understanding of how users interact with the brand across channels.

  • Attribution model: Search Ads 360 assigns the full value of each conversion to the last-click attribution model that directs the customer to the website. Google Analytics data can be used for SA360's advanced attribution model. This helps to assign credit to different touch points in the customer journey, allowing more informed decisions to be made about campaign effectiveness.

 

Synchronisation with Google Display and Video 360

  • Unified ad campaigns: SA360 seamlessly syncs with Google Display & Video 360, allowing advertisers to create and manage display and video campaigns alongside your Search campaigns. This integration facilitates a holistic approach to digital advertising.

  • Multi-channel reporting: Advertisers can access multi-channel reports within SA360, providing insight into the performance of display and video campaigns alongside search campaigns. These unified reports simplify analysis of overall campaign effectiveness.

Google Ads vs. Search Ads 360: What's the difference?

Although both products are Google's own, they play in different leagues . Google Ads is perfect for getting started, but if you manage complex structures, you need something more robust, and that's where SA360 comes in.

Feature

Google Ads

Search Ads 360

Platform

Individual, Google-centric

Part of Google Marketing Platform (GMP)

Supported search engines

Only Google

Google, Microsoft Ads, Yahoo! Japan, Baidu, and more

Multi-account management

Limited (depends on MCC)

Native and centralized for multiple engines and accounts

Smart Bidding

Only with data from Google Ads

Cross-optimization with Floodlight and Analytics 360 data

Flow automation

Basic (rules and scripts)

Advanced (custom flows, scheduling, labels)

Cross-channel audiences

Limited to Google Ads and Google Display

Complete cross-channel with DV360, CM360 and Analytics 360

Custom attribution

Model limited to the Google Ads ecosystem

Floodlight tracking + multi-channel custom models

Feeds and campaign management at scale

Manual or with scripts

Bulk upload, dynamic rules, integration with advanced feeds

Reports and analysis

Standard, partly customizable

Multidimensional reporting, export to BigQuery, Looker, etc.

Integration with other GMP channels

Partial or null

Total: Display & Video 360, CM360, GA360

Ideal for…

SMEs, small teams, local or simple campaigns

Big brands, agencies, complex and multi-channel campaigns

 

In which scenarios does each one shine?

🟢 Google Ads

Perfect if:

  • You have one or a few advertising accounts.
  • You only work with Google.
  • You want a quick and functional solution.
  • You don't need advanced automation or cross-reporting.

🔵 Search Ads 360

Shine if:

  • You manage multiple accounts or search engines.
  • You need to unify and scale campaigns quickly.
  • You want to connect with Display, video, CRM or offline sales.
  • You are looking to automate flows and gain operational efficiency.
  • You want attribution and reporting beyond the "last click."

Google Search Ads 360 is an essential tool for any advertiser looking to optimize their search campaigns in an increasingly competitive, multi-channel digital environment. Its ability to centralize management, automate bidding, offer real-time reporting, and its integration with other Google platforms make it a powerful solution for maximizing performance and return on advertising investment.

Can you imagine running a display campaign only for people who've searched for your products more than three times in 24 hours and haven't purchased one? With SA360, that's no longer a future; it's a programmable reality .