Google Ads News
New Dating and Companionship Ads policy
On December 4, 2024, Google announced a new Dating and Companionship Ads policy that requires advertisers running dating or companionship-related ads to undergo a mandatory certification process.
Key Updates:
Enforcement Timeline Change: The original enforcement date of March 4, 2025, has been moved to April 9, 2025.
After this date, uncertified advertisers will not be allowed to run ads.
Aggregator Policy Update:
From April 9, 2025, aggregators promoting dating and companionship content (as per the policy) can continue running ads if certified.
These ads will fall under a restricted category and will be subject to age and country limitations on Search.
Certification for aggregators will begin on February 25, 2025.
Other dating and companionship advertisers can continue to apply for certification.
Additionally, minor editorial changes have been made for clarity.
New GA4 Update
Google Analytics has simplified cost data imports by requiring only three fields: source, medium, and date.
The campaign_name and campaign_id fields are now optional but recommended for more detailed reporting. If omitted, cost data will be aggregated when reporting by these.
Healthcare and Medicines Policy Update
In March 2025, Google Ads will update its Healthcare and Medicines Policy to allow the promotion of recovery-oriented drug and alcohol addiction services in Canada.
Key Points:
Advertisers must be certified by LegitScript’s Addiction Treatment Certification program to promote these services.
After obtaining LegitScript certification, advertisers can apply for Google certification once the policy update takes effect.
Policy violations will not result in immediate account suspension—a warning will be issued at least 7 days in advance before any suspension.
Gambling and Games Policy update for Angola
On February 18, 2025, Google Ads will update its Gambling and Games Policy for Angola, allowing ads from licensed operators registered with the Instituto de Supervisão de Jogos.
Key Points:
The update applies to sports betting, online games, and gambling-related lotteries.
Advertisers must be certified before running ads. The policy page will be updated when the changes take effect on February 18, 2025.
Gambling and Games Policy Update for the Philippines
On February 17, 2025, Google Ads will update its Gambling and Games Policy for the Philippines, allowing ads from state-licensed entities in addition to state-run entities.
Key Points:
Allowed with limitations: Online gambling ads for casino games, lotteries, bingo, and sports betting from state-run or state-licensed entities.
Not allowed:Location-based (“brick-and-mortar”) gambling ads
Online non-casino games involving real money or valuable items
Advertisers must be certified before running ads.
The policy page will be updated when the changes take effect on February 17, 2025.
New in Looker Studio – Modern Charts
Siavash Kanani & Brais Calvo Vázquez discovered that Looker Studio is updated with Modern Charts. This feature improves the design and customization of the charts
What is new:
– New color themes- Rounded edges on bars and columns
– Gradients in lines and time series
– More control over transparencies and axes
How to turn it on:
File > Theme and Layout > Activate Modern Charts
New Open-Source Tool Causmos Automates Causal Impact Analyses
Google launched a new open-source web app, Causmos, which is set to simplify Causal Impact analyses for marketers.
Built on Google Cloud, the tool automates data gathering, validation, and reporting, allowing users to measure the true impact of their campaigns no coding required.
Causmos streamlines the analysis process, making data-driven decision-making more accessible. The project is now available on GitHub. Learn more here.
E-barometer January
The latest ProfitMetrics.io E-Barometer for January 2025 confirms that November and December remain the peak months for e-commerce activity, with consumer demand stabilizing in January after two intense months.
While turnover, gross profit, and orders continue to grow year-over-year, ad spend is rising at an even faster rate. This is leading to a decline in ROAS (Return on Ad Spend) and POAS (Profit on Ad Spend) as competition and media prices keep increasing
.These insights are based on a robust dataset covering over 29.1 million orders across a diverse range of businesses, providing valuable trends for the e-commerce industry.
New Attribute Vehicle Ads
Google keeps adding new attributes for vehicle ads! This time it is the body style of a car.
Netflix Ads Are Going Programmatic
Andres Valderrama posted that starting February 24th, advertisers in select European countries will be able to activate Netflix Ads programmatically through Google DV360 and The Trade Desk.
Alphabet Reports $96.47 Billion in Q4 2024 Revenue, Up 12%
Alphabet posted $96.47 billion in Q4 2024 revenue, a 12% increase from last year.
Net income rose to $26.54 billion, driven by AI advancements in Search, Cloud, and YouTube.
– Google Ads: $54.03B (up from $48.02B)
– YouTube Ads: $10.47B (up from $9.2B)- Google Cloud: $11.96B (up from $9.19B)
– Subscriptions & devices: $11.63B (up from $10.79B)
CEO Sundar Pichai highlighted AI-driven momentum and announced $75B in capital investments for 2025.
Poor example of generative AI
Michael Knudsen sent me this poor example of the newest background optimizer from Google..
GDN Image Creator
Aleksejus Podpruginas discovered that Google is testing with this new GDN Image Creator Powered by Your Website!
New feature?
I know that the ad group organizing tool has been live for some time, but have not seen this button before. Found by Selina Naomi Patel.
Default Search Engine
Frederik Boysen discovered that users are now asked to choose their default search engine on iPhone!
Forecast & Book Masthead
Google uploaded a new page on how to check forecast and book inventory for YouTube CPM Masthead campaigns!
New Update: Bad landing page? Your ad will be shown less
Google has updated its ad quality systems to enhance user experience by ensuring that Search ads lead to relevant and easily navigable landing pages.
This change aims to reduce frustrating experiences where users click on an ad but struggle to find what they are looking for, such as being directed to a promotional page instead of a login page.
To address this issue, Google has introduced a new prediction model that better evaluates the navigation quality of landing pages.
The system now prioritizes ads that lead to expected and user-friendly destinations, reducing instances where users must return to search results due to poor navigation.
If you are an advertiser, and your landing pages are not currently navigable, Google recommends improving navigation on your site to enable people to get where they want to go.
Demand Gen Update
Thomas Eccel discovered that Google rolled out the short video optimization with opt-in!
Verify Account
Arpan Banerjee discovered that you now need to verify your identity before you can discuss your Google Ads account.
OCI for Apps update
Arpan Banerjee just sent me that Google Ads requires advertisers using Offline Conversion Import (OCI) to now include the ‘conversion_environment’ parameter in data uploads by April 30, 2025.
This ensures accurate attribution for in-app conversions, enabling smarter bidding and better campaign performance.
Key Benefits:
Optimized Performance: Correctly attributing web vs. app conversions improves Smart Bidding and results.
Valuable Insights: Unlock the “Ad Destination” report for deeper campaign analysis.
Seamless Support:
Essential for Google’s troubleshooting and assistance.
Without this parameter, Smart Bidding app signals will be disabled for web campaigns, reducing conversions.
Start including ‘conversion_environment’ before April 30, 2025, to maintain performance and bidding accuracy.
Google Ads is pushing YouTube into Demand Gen
Joey Bidner discovered that when setting up a new Video campaign, Google Ads now automatically defaults to Demand Gen, requiring a manual switch back to traditional Video campaigns.
Announcing iOS Google Mobile Ads SDK 12.0.0
Google Mobile Ads SDK 12.0.0 is now available! Upgrade now for the latest features and performance improvements.
Updates:
Swift API Changes:
– GAD prefix removed.
– GAM renamed to AdManager.
– GADM renamed to Mediation.
– Swift 6 Concurrency: Initial support added for ad format delegate methods.
– Xcode Requirement: Minimum version now 16.0.
Deprecation Notice:
– SDK 10.x.x deprecated, sunsetting Q2 2026.
– SDK 9.x.x and below sunset on June 30, 2025.
Looker Studio update
Looker Studio Documentation Update The Looker Studio documentation has been relocated from the Help Center to Google Cloud. Visit the new documentation site to learn more about this transition.
Modern Charts in Public Preview The new Modern Charts public preview introduces enhanced chart styling, new default configuration options, and additional settings that give report creators more control over data curation and presentation.
Partner Connection Launch Update New partner connectors have been added to the Looker Studio Connector Gallery, including:
- Refinaria by Totvs (TOTVS S.A.)
- Prestashop Connector (SOLEDIS)
- Magento (Catchr)
- TikTok Ads CMMNDR Private (Kondiment Worldwide SRL)
- GA CMMNDR Private (Kondiment Worldwide SRL)
- IG Insights CMMNDR Private (Kondiment Worldwide SRL)
- FB Insights CMMNDR Private (Kondiment Worldwide SRL)
- Google Ads CMMNDR Private (Kondiment Worldwide SRL)
- FB Ads CMMNDR Private (Kondiment Worldwide SRL)
- TT Organic CMMNDR Private (Kondiment Worldwide SRL)
- Piano Analytics (Piano)
- BigCommerce (Catchr)
- Snapchat Ads (Reporting Ninja)
- Gravity Forms (Windsor.ai)
- LinkedIn Company Pages (Adzviser)
- LogicGate Risk Cloud® (LogicGate)
Campaign Manager 360 Expands Partnerships
Campaign Manager 360 is enhancing its capabilities to help advertisers navigate the evolving digital landscape, especially in CTV (Connected TV), through new partnerships and integrations.
Updates:
Streamlined Creative Workflows
Adobe GenStudio for Performance Marketing: Enables seamless creative asset transfer from Adobe to Campaign Manager 360, improving collaboration between creative and marketing teams.
Typeface Integration: Uses generative AI to rapidly create personalized, on-brand content for multi-channel campaigns.
Simplified Campaign Activation
Direct integrations with The Trade Desk & Google Ads eliminate manual ad tagging, allowing direct tag transfers for efficient campaign setup.
Enhanced CTV & Streaming Insights
Netflix Ads Integration: Enables ad serving and reporting for Netflix’s ad-supported inventory within Campaign Manager 360.
Cross-Media Reach Reporting: Uses Comscore data to compare digital video and linear TV campaign reach, optimizing audience targeting.