Week 34 Google Ads news
Outdated Ads
Even Google is running outdated ads! Found by Arpan Banerjee
Crazy Bug
Felix Mayo texted me that Google for one day showed a small amount of ads traffic from other Merchant Centers in his account! Crazy bug.
Real-time bidding depreciate
Georgi Zayakov just send me that The Google Real-time Bidding protocol is deprecated and will sunset on February 15th, 2025. As previously announced, Google plans to no longer send bid requests to endpoints configured to use that protocol after it is sunset!
Further rollout of WhatsApp assets for Google Ads
Aleksejus Podpruginas discovered that Google is further rolling out WhatsApp assets to However, this exciting extension is only available in:
๐ฆ๐ท Argentina
๐จ๐ด Colombia
๐ญ๐ฐ Hong Kong
๐ฎ๐ฉ Indonesia
๐ฒ๐พ Malaysia
๐ฒ๐ฝ Mexico
๐ต๐ช Peru
๐ธ๐ฌ Singapore
๐น๐ญ Thailand
A few months ago it was only available in Brazil and India!
Are your YouTube videos optimized for success?
Catherina Tindal posted that Google launched a new open-source solution called the ABCDs Detector. This tool shows you how well your videos align with best practices for effective YouTube campaigns (โABCD principlesโ) in an automated way.
Pmax Modification form
Hana Kobzovรก discovered that Google made some changes to the Pmax modification request form! In March they already changes excel file, that change was found by Natasha Kaurra.
Holiday 2024 best practices
Craig Graham posted that Google will hold the Holiday 2024 best practices on September 10. You can join here.
Video Lineups
Emirhan Bayutmuล discovered that you can now select “Video Lineups” also in “Video view” campaign! Before you could choose only it in Youtube Select campaigns.
Smart matching bug
Ginny Marvin stated that this smart matching bug happened after a small traffic experiment between 8/13/2024 and 8/14/2024 that incorrectly attributed traffic under this previously turned down โSmart Matchingโ designation. Advertisers will not be charged for these clicks, and Google has reverted the change!
New Pmax Design change
Zeeshan Ali discovered that the Google ads have a new design for Pmax! The final URL is now above the asset generation.
GCD Parameter change
Simo Ahava discovered that the “gcd” parameter in Google tag requests, which encodes the flags and settings for Consent Mode, seems to have been updated recently with a new flag “9l”.
New installation method GA4
Himanshu Sharma discovered that Google now recommends the manual installement function.
v202408 Google Ad Manager API
Google announced that v202408 of the Google Ad Manager API is available starting today, August 21, 2024.
This release brings support for setting contextual targeting with ContentLabelTargeting and VerticalTargeting.
It also adds AdsTxtService for reading MCM supply chain diagnostics.In reporting, the VIDEO_PLACEMENT_NAME dimension has been replaced by the VIDEO_PLCMT_NAME dimension which reflects the updated IAB definition.
For the full list check this page.
Shopping Feed Learning Series
Google Shopping Feed Learning Series is being held on 27 of August at 11:30.
This session aims to guide brands on leveraging Google Merchant Center Feeds for business growth.
Google Video Partners
Thomas Eccel discovered a new Demand Gen feature called ๐๐จ๐จ๐ ๐ฅ๐ ๐๐ข๐๐๐จ ๐๐๐ซ๐ญ๐ง๐๐ซ๐ฌ.
This new feature allows Demand Gen campaigns to appear not just on Google-owned properties like YouTube but also on various publisher websites.
This expansion potentially increases ad reach by allowing campaigns to participate in auctions outside of YouTube, which may be lower-rated.
However, this increased reach could come with a trade-off in terms of traffic quality…
Netflix Inventory
Google announced that Netflix inventory is now LIVE in Display & Video 360 (DV360). You can now gain direct access to Netflix inventory through private marketplaces in DV360, and youโll soon be able to leverage the power of Netflix ads through programmatic guaranteed. Read more here.
New GA4 Audience
Felix Mayo discovered this new audience in GA4 called Arts & entertainment!
Open beta Microsoft automated bidding
Google announced a new open beta for Microsoft automated bidding. Now all advertisers will have access to the feature in Search Ads 360!
Crypto change policy Switzerland
In September 2024, Google will update the Cryptocurrencies and related products policy to clarify the scope and requirements for the advertisement of cryptocurrency related business and services.
Looker Studio update
Conditional formatting for collapsed pivot table charts
You can now apply single-color conditional formatting to collapsed pivot table charts.
Partner Connector launch update
The following partner connectors have been added to the Looker Studio Connector Gallery:
Adobe Commerce (Magento) By Supermetrics
CTM: Call Log By CallTrackingMetrics LLC
Piano Analytics By Catchr
ClickUp By Bay Leaf Digital
TikTok By Gladior B.V.
WooCommerce By Data Bloo
Semactic SEO Data By Semactic
Piwik PRO Analytics By Piwik PRO
Metrihub By Metrihub
Klaviyo By Power My Analytics
Similarweb website analysis By Similarweb
Start pausing low-activity keywords
Found by Scott Carruthers, Google has started pausing low activity keywords in accounts…!
GA4 Update
Google now processes the session_start event more completely when your property is linked to Google Ad Manager and you use the send_page_view=false configuration. The change will help you more accurately measure user sessions.
Merchant Center Rollout
Google has announced that by September 2024, all retailers will be upgraded to the new Merchant Center Next platform, which will replace the classic Merchant Center.
This updated platform offers several enhancements, including: Product Studio: An AI-powered tool to help retailers create marketing content more efficiently.
Enhanced Insights: A new analytics tab that provides comprehensive data and reports, including pricing insights, competitive visibility, and retail-specific search trends.
Improved Usability: The platform is designed to be more user-friendly, with easier navigation, streamlined website verification, and pre-populated product information to save time. Advanced users can also customize the platform with additional features.
These updates aim to make it easier for businesses to manage their product presence across Google and gain valuable insights into their market performance.
Display & Video 360 Update
- Sunset of Oracle Audiences: As of September 30, 2024, all third-party audiences from Oracle (including BlueKai, Datalogix, and AddThis) will be removed from Display & Video 360. This includes their removal from any targeting within campaigns, and any line items relying solely on these audiences will be paused. Advertisers will also lose the ability to share first-party CRM audiences onboarded by BlueKai.
- Transition from Bidswitch: Display & Video 360 will transition from using Bidswitch for select sub-exchanges to direct integrations with certain premium exchanges. These include Kargo, Media.net, Sharethrough, Nexxen, and Yieldmo. Current targeting through Bidswitch will automatically migrate to these direct integrations.
- New Insertion Order Objectives: A new feature for insertion orders will allow the selection of specific objectives, which will determine the default KPIs, line item types, and bid strategies. This will streamline the setup process and enable AI-driven optimizations aligned with the selected KPI. Existing orders will default to “insertion order without objective,” but users can choose to set a specific objective later.
These updates aim to improve campaign management and targeting efficiency in Display & Video 360.
New design test
Thomas Eccel discovered two new design tests this week:
– Carousel Image Assets in Local Search Ads (Pmax)
– URL greyed
Search Ads
Ankit Saxena discovered that Google is testing a new search ad format that resembles Google Maps sponsored ads with added features see business information.
YouTube has announced an upgrade to its partnership with Shopify.
Eligible Shopify Plus and Advanced merchants in the U.S. can join the YouTube Shopping affiliate program.
With this update more merchants can make their products available for creators to tag in their shopping content
Remarketing Audience for YouTube viewers
Georgi Zayakov discovered that when creating a remarketing audience for YouTube Viewers you have the option to “Select a video made by a YouTube creator”!
Google can disable your conversion tracking!
Starting from April 2024, Google has begun to ramp up its consent audit program to ensure compliance with our longstanding EU user consent policy.
This consent mode requires consent from users in the EEA for the collection, sharing and use of personal data for personalisation of ads.
Make sure you have implemented consent mode because advertisers who fail the audit will face enforcement actions such as: suspension of remarketing lists or disabling conversions tracking.
This will impact:
– Reach potential customers
– Measure the effectiveness of your campaigns
– Optimise performance
– Understand your return on investment (ROI)
Still need to implement Consent mode? Send me a personal message I will send a video + a 10% discount code on Cookiebot.