Google Ads news
Profit data pilot Google Ads
Felix Mayo just sent me this message that Google is going to test with profit bidding experiment in Q2 as a pilot.
Loyalty program available in Japan
Arpan Banerjee just sent me that the Loyalty program is now available in Japan.
Local sponsored ads
Khushal Bherwani discovered that Local pack ads are now appearing within the SERPs, not just in the dedicated local pack section!
Breaking news for responsive YouTube Ads
Niklas Hahn sent me that YouTube Ads have changed. You can now run up to 5 videos at once and show 5 calls to action, 5 headlines, and 5 descriptions. This is big news!
New extension test
Khushal Bherwani & Barry Schwartz found out that Google Ads offers a feature for call extensions where a QR code appears on the screen, allowing you to scan it from your phone to make a call.
Now, Google is also testing sending this number to your phone via text or email.
Goodbye UA
Arpan Banerjee got this message that on July 1, 2024 GA4 will fully replace Universal Analytics.
This means that Google will begin turning off all Universal Analytics services and APIs. Analtyics will be inaccessible from that point.
Automatic Quota increase Content API Shopping
The Content API for Shopping now adjusts your product and account quotas automatically as your account grows.
Static quota charts have been removed from the published limits guide.
To check your current quotas, use the quotas.list service. Some errors like “too_many_items” or “too_many_subaccounts” require manual quota increase requests.
Automatic quota increases apply only to products and accounts services.
For other services or temporary increases, contact support with your Merchant Center ID, methods hitting quota limits, estimated calls per day, and reasons for the increase.
The general quota policy advises updating products twice daily and checking accounts once daily. For questions or concerns, reach out via the forum.
Search Ads 360 connector
After April 30, 2024, you will no longer be able to create new reports from this connector. Start using the New Search Ads 360 connector.
Error notification in Google files
Natasha Kaurra found out that Google is showing error notifications now also in files. Before we only saw recommendations that would boost the opti score.
Slider Ads?
Alexander Hatala discovered these Multiple ads in top positions on mobile. I have never seen this before.
New recommendation
Arpan Banerjee just sent me this new recommendation from Google Analytics 4!
Upgrade to Consent mode V2 message
Google is sending messages out to users that have implemented Consent mode V1 and not V2.
Related to your search test
Barry Schwartz found out that Google is now testing with the related to your search label!
Roll-out Data Manager
It looks like Google is now fully rolling out Data Manager because all my accounts now have access to this future and I also see a lot of people writing about it.
With the use of Data Manager Google simplifies the importing and activation of first-party data, aiming to alleviate the complexity of sharing and utilizing such data through easy-to-use workflows.
It centralizes data management controls, facilitating revenue growth and improved business outcomes.
The benefits include centralized management across Google products, inline education on first-party data value, streamlined onboarding, and collaborative workflows.
Data Manager offers three tabs for consolidating data sources: Connected Products, Google Tag, and Conversion.
It supports various connectors for importing and activating first-party data, including Amazon Redshift, Google Cloud Storage, Salesforce, and others.
These data sources can be utilized for Offline Conversion Import and Customer Match, with Salesforce exclusively for Offline Conversion Import.
The State of PPC Global Report 2024
The State of PPC Global Report 2024 is out! Go check it out here.
Cloud retail destination
Kristian Maltzahn found out that the Cloud retail destination is live. This feature was announced one week ago.
No longer possible to target YouTube channels?
Bernt Muurling found this new content section where you cannot select the channels anymore…
Now Renan Sevillano reacted this is probably a true view for action campaigns.
After you launch it and get a certain amount of conversions, you can’t add new channel
Ads in different positions
Harrison Jack Hepp found Ads in these unusual positions between the organic results. Looks like they are testing things again. For the video check this post.
Image Ads in Pmax
Natasha Kaurra found this new setting in Pmax called image Ads.
What are image ads? An image ad is a type of advertisement that uses a graphic to promote your business.
These ads consist of an image provided by you featuring information about your business, services, or products.
Clicking anywhere on the ad directs people to your website. Image ads can appear on web pages and other places in the Display Network.
Your image ad can use a static image, animated image, or GIF, and can be in a range of sizes.
Shorter video enhancement
Felix Mayo found this new future in the video enhancement called shorter video.
With this feature, Google selects key moments in your video and creates shorter versions.
Sticky Label test
Gagan Ghotra & Barry Schwartz found out that Google is testing a sticky sponsored ad label for shopping!
Update on server-side error enhanced conversions
Matteo Zambon found out that the error was fixed. For more information about the error check this article.
Extra visibility Google Manufacturer Center
Casey Gill found out that Google Manufacturer Center is now showing under the sign-in menu alongside Merchant Center and Google Ads.
Conversion Funnel
Brent Neale discovered this new funnel segment a week ago.
But it did not work for that account.
He just searched for a new account and it works for that account!
Google announced a Fractional Uplift tool
Christoph Scherf posted about the new Fractional Uplift that offers an Uplift Modeling approach to identify customers who provide the right balance between incremental sales and cost, thus boosting their incremental ROI.
More information and details are available on GitHub.
New Merchant Center attributes and changes
Arpan Banerjee just sent me that starting April 9, 2024, Google is implementing several updates for Merchant Center:
– New product data specification attributes for AI-generated content in Shopping ads & free listings. Merchants must disclose text content created using generative AI using structured_title and structured_description attributes.
– Addition of loyalty_program attribute for setting up member prices and loyalty points, available in the US and JP.
– Introduction of auto_pricing_min_price attribute for setting minimum advertised prices.
– Updated guidance on installment-based offers, including a new downpayment sub-attribute.
– Addition of credit_type sub-attribute for vehicle ads under installment attribute to specify lease or finance( this is big for vehicle ads)
– Introduction of free_shipping_threshold attribute to indicate the minimum order value for free shipping, applicable globally.
– Updated guidance on the inclusion of government-imposed fees in the shipping attribute, advising not to include such fees
.The new attributes:
– [structured_title]
– [structured_description]
– [loyalty_program]
– [auto_pricing_min_price]
– [installment] (with sub-attributes: [downpayment] en [credit_type] [lease of finance])
– [free_shipping_threshold]
I will add these new attributes today to my Ads Settings Template!
CSS Summit 2024
Most important updates from CSS Summit 2024.
Google is testing with two new bidding solutions:
– Maximize profit bidding
– Smart bidding with discounts
Other changes and announcements:
– Google is testing search changes in different countries for shopping
– Google showed examples and results of FeedGen
– Talked about translation for feeds
– Google Shared trends for CSS
– CSS PDPS fully launched
For all the slides visit.
Bigger picture Ad
Bjorn Verbrugghe found this Ad, looks like Google is again testing with bigger pictures for Google Ads.
Changes Merchant Center
Changes Starting July 31, 2024:
Extension of delivery cost requirement to additional countries:
Delivery cost will now be mandatory and enforced in India and New Zealand. Offers without delivery cost will be disapproved in these countries.
Changes Starting September 1, 2024:
Optional pickup method for local inventory ads (LIAs): Merchants using LIAs with pick-up features will no longer be required to specify a collection method [pickup_method], simplifying inventory handling.
Removal of energy efficiency class attributes: The energy efficiency class attributes will be deprecated in favor of the certification attribute, aligning with updated EU energy efficiency labeling regulations.
Discontinuation of price attribute usage for deposits in combination with the installment attribute:
Previously, the price attribute was used for deposit pricing in installment payments.
With the addition of the deposit sub-attribute for the installment attribute, support for providing deposits via the price attribute will cease after September 1.
People also Consider
Anthony Higman found this new label on his brand ad called people also consider.
Small ad label test
Dario Zannoni found out that Google is testing with this very small Ad label!
Maybe this will work better 🤑.
BigQuery connection Google Ads
Ted Solomon found out that you can now connect BigQuery with Google Ads!
Get Phone number test
Mike Blumenthal found out that Google is testing with the Get Phonenumber call to action!
Retention Goal Pmax
Dario Zannoni found out that Google has updated Performance Max campaigns with the Retention Goal to boost customer loyalty and maximize lifetime value.
The goal is currently in beta.
Activation requires meeting specific criteria, including targeting purchase conversion goals, using a Google Merchant Center feed, and optimizing toward New Customer Acquisition Goals in “New Customer Value” mode.
Additional steps include defining a value for re-engaging lapsed customers and supplying a customer match list.
The Retention Goal’s support page is live, indicating an initial phase with limited access, with a broader rollout expected in the upcoming months.
<Review id>
Starting on July 8, 2024, a review id (<review id>) attribute will be required for all reviews when submitting a product review feed. A review ID is a permanent, unique identifier for a product review in a product review feed.
New Demand Gen Guide
Gokce Yesilbas has sent me a message that Google has shared what looks to be a new guide to create creative excellence. For more information visit this page.
Google Ads Similar product
Khushal Bherwani found this similar product shopping ad. Not sure if I have seen this before in a shopping Ad. But interesting to see.
New YouTube Ads video’s
This week Google has uploaded 4 new videos on their Google Ads Channel focused on smart bidding and Demand Gen! You can watch them here.
Ad group settings button
Thomas Eccel found out that Google has made an ad group settings button.
Before it was really hard to find the ad group settings, so definitely a positive change.
Goodbye Ad customizers
Navah Hopkins found out that Ad customizers will stop working for expanded text ads and dynamic search ads after May 31, 2024.
New Shortcuts GA4
Brais Calvo Vázquez found out that with the arrival of save comparison, GA4 gets new symbols to the interface:
– A new icon for comparisons that replaces the previous one and directly opens the new flow where we can choose an already saved comparison or create a new one.
– shortcut that allows you to open the interface reports directly
GA4 & Salesforce
GA4 has added Salesforce as a data source for Data Import.
New Ads for Adsense
Google has launched a new format for Auto ads called “ad intents”.
Ad intents is an intent-driven format that inserts links and anchors into existing text and pages on your site related to your content.
When a user interacts with a link or anchor, it triggers a dialog that displays users relevant, organic search results with ads, potentially boosting your earnings. Ad intents feature highly relevant ads that don’t rely on third-party cookies.
New Demand Gen features
Google has now introduced AI-powered creative features into Demand Generation campaigns to elevate visual storytelling.
These features include generative image tools that enable advertisers to create diverse and compelling image assets with ease.
Google aims to empower brands and agencies to craft engaging narratives in the digital landscape, particularly on platforms like YouTube, YouTube Shorts, Discover, and Gmail.
The generative image tools, powered by Google AI, allow advertisers to quickly generate high-quality image assets based on provided prompts or existing successful images.
Advertisers retain control over the selection of generated images for their campaigns.
YouTube is going after Ad blockers again
Google will go harder after Ad blockers!
New Google Ads videos
Google just added 3 new videos about finding growth with Google AI. Watch them here.
New account banner
Thomas Eccel found this new account alert banner. Avoid Campaign Disruption when UA shuts down on July 1, 2024.
New conversion annotations
Jagadish krishna just sent me this article about conversion annotations. I never saw them or heard about them!
Conversion annotations are used by Google to highlight customer history signals, such as ‘best selling’ or ‘1K shopped here recently’, within the shopping experience.
These annotations provide social proof to shoppers, and you have the option to opt-out of displaying specific numbers within Merchant Center.
Sharing your conversion data allows Google to be more innovative and creative in helping your business stand out.
Steps to enable conversion annotations
-In your Merchant Center account, click on the Settings and Tools icon:
– Select Conversion settings.
– If you have not set up conversion tracking, do that first by following instructions to set up conversion tracking.
– Once you have conversion tracking set up, click the second toggle to ON to opt into annotations.
Steps to disable conversion annotations:
– In your Merchant Center account, click on the Settings and Tools icon
– Select Conversion settings.
– Click the second toggle to OFF to opt-out.
– A pop-up window will appear. Simply click on “Turn off” to proceed.
Gemini update
Benjamin Wenner just discovered that:
– Gemini comes to BigQuery
– Gemini comes to LookerStudio
New Google Ads check box for AI
Daniel Nørgaard found this new check box where you can approve that your ads contain synthetic content that’s been digitally altered or generated and inauthentically depicts real or realistic-looking people or events.
Ads recommendations GA4
Thomas Eccel found out that Ads recommendations are now showing in GA4.
2023 Paid Search Advertising revenue
In 2023, paid search advertising revenue in the U.S. hit a new high, reaching $88.8 billion out of a total digital advertising revenue of $225 billion.
Although paid search remains dominant, its growth rate has slowed compared to other digital advertising formats.
Despite challenges like rising costs and decreasing transparency, advertisers continue to invest in paid search due to its effectiveness in driving results for brands and businesses.
Key points from the report include:
– Paid search maintains the largest market share of advertising at 39.5%, although it has decreased slightly from previous years.
– Year-over-year growth for search advertising is slower compared to the digital industry as a whole and most other ad formats.
– The overall state of digital advertising remains resilient, with advertising revenue continuing to grow despite factors like inflation and rising interest rates.Q4 of 2023 saw the highest growth rate in advertising revenue at 12.3%.
– Social media ad revenue increased by 8.7% year-over-year, reaching $64.9 billion in 2023, with significant growth in the second half of the year.
– Video advertising accounted for $52.1 billion, or 23.2% of all advertising revenue.
– Display advertising revenue remained high at $66.1 billion, although year-over-year growth decreased to 4% from 12% in 2022.
– Retail media networks experienced a 16.3% increase in revenue year-over-year, reaching $43.7 billion.
You can access the full report with registration here.
New AI-generated section
Hana Kobzová found this new AI-generated section in the overview section!
New YouTube Guide
YouTube has released a new best practices guide!
Google Ads API v14 sunset reminder
Georgi Zayakov just sent me this message that the Google Ads API v14 will sunset on June 5, 2024. Make sure to upgrade.
Looker studio update
Viewer role for team workspaces:
The Viewer role can now be assigned to members of a team workspace. The Viewer role lets users view existing assets in the team workspace, view folders in the team workspace, and view the team workspace Trash.
Pro feature:
New Viewer permissions to create scheduled report deliveries:
When sharing a Pro report, Pro users can now grant users with a Viewer role the ability to create scheduled deliveries of the shared report.
Goodbye Google Ads design
Natasha Kaurra found this update on the Google Ads design looks like it is going away soon…
GA4 – Plugin updates for Google Sheets
Brais Calvo Vázquez found out that Google has added the following features to the official Google Sheets add-on:
– Dimension & Metric Filters
– Report Scheduling
Privacy control guide GA4
Google has uploaded a guide for privacy control in GA4.
For more information visit this link.
Pmax Exclusions gone
Thomas Eccel and Meltem Balci found out that it looks like audience exclusions can’t be used anymore.
But wait! Navah Hopkins found a workaround:
1. Navigate to the campaign settings and click on “Customer Acquisition”
2. Depending on your account, you’ll get the option to “bid for new customers only” or to “bid more for new customers” and then “bid for new customers only”.
3. You will see the screenshot below and it will look like you messed up – don’t worry, you’re in the right place!
4. Click the red “Define existing customer list”
5. You will be allowed to add as many customer lists (i.e. consent-based lists) as you want Google to exclude from your campaigns.
6. Click save and you’re done (you’ll see a screen similar to the one I’ll post in the comments).
Campaign level assets
Hana Kobzová found out that Google is now showing Campaign level assets in normal RSA’s.
16 shopping ads
Barry Schwartz discovered this shopping SERP with 16 shopping Ads, could be an error or a test.
AI Essential recommendation
Harsh Saini found this new recommendation where Google is referring to a recommendation as an AI Essential.
New audiences GA4
Felix Mayo found these new shopping audiences in GA4.
New GA4 User data import
Brais Calvo Vázquez found out that Google just improved the import of user data so that users can use it immediately in audiences.
Additional user activity on the app or website is no longer required to qualify or add a user to an audience.
Update Healthcare Australia
In May Google Ads is updating the Healthcare and medicines policy for Australia.
RSA script
Francesco Greco has developed a custom Google Ads Responsive Search Ad performance script to simplify tracking of RSA’s
The main features:
– Exports your Google Ads RSA asset performance directly to Google Sheets for all ads
– See ad strength and headlines and descriptions performance for set dates at a glance
– Being able to drill down by campaigns and ad groups applying filters
Get the script here.
Cookie deprecation delay
The Cookie deprecation is delayed again. The new deadline is set to begin in 2025.
Political content policy update Brazil
In May 2024, Google will update the Regional Restrictions under the Political Content policy to include restrictions in Brazil.
Google Ads API v16_1
Google has announced the release of the Google Ads API v16_1.
Tinuiti 2024 Q1 Report
Tinuiti has released its 2024 Q1 report.
Some results from Google:
– Search ad spend is up 17%
– CPC is up 13%
– Temu is decreasing spend
– 89% of shopping is running PMax
– AOV only up with 1%
For more information visit this page.
Snackables
Georgi Zayakov got this mail that Google Snackables is now part of the Marketing Expert journey!
I did not find any documentation on this change so we have to wait for more information I guess.
Google 2024 Q1
Google has beaten expectations:
– 15% more revenue
– Google Network is losing again revenue
– YouTube is gaining revenue (20,8%)
– Advertising in general is up by 13%
Looker Studio update
Google has released new features for Looker Studio:
– new timeline char option
– create a looker studio report directly in Google Sheets
– create a Google Cloud project while subscribing to Looker Studio Pro
Google NewFront 2024
Arpan Banerjee sent me this message about Google NewFront.
With NewFront you can tune in to see how brands, agencies, and publishers are partnering with Google to reimagine their strategies in a new era of CTV.
NewFront will be held on 29 April at 16:00 CET.
Your Ads will go live after a review
Thomas Eccel found out that Google has launched a new info section that will tell that all ads are checked to ensure they’re safe and appropriate for everyone.
Focus on Ad strength
Karina Montenegro found out that Google is now focusing on Ad Strength in Gemini.
New Custom search terms
Anas Siddiqui found this new custom search terms section in video ads.
New Pmax features
Google has announced new ways to optimize your Performance Max campaigns:
1. Tailor campaigns towards acquiring and retaining high-value customers with new customer lifecycle goals.
2. Utilize account-level IP exclusions to filter out irrelevant traffic and focus on reaching relevant audiences.
3. Experiment in real-time within a single campaign to test optimization strategies, starting with Final URL expansion.
4. Gain insights into audience demographics, including age and gender, to better understand and target your audience.
5. Use budget pacing insights to track and optimize campaign spending in real-time, identifying areas for strategic budget adjustments.
Google has announced the April 2024 update to the Display & Video 360 API.
This update includes:Support for additional key performance indicator (KPI) types.Targeting support for new AppPlatform and Exchange values.The addition of a new YouTube & Partners bidding strategy type.
Limited Ad Serving
Natasha Kaurra found this new Limited ad-serving notification!
Pause low-activity keywords
Jon-Paul LaFerriere just sent me this message that Google Ads will automatically pause low-activity keywords.
Luckily for us, it is only after a keyword gets 0 impressions in 13 months. This should make your account cleaner.
Hopefully, they don’t make the timeframe shorter.
Changes Surcharge
Thomas Eccel found out that Google has changed the surcharge for Italy, Spain, and Turkey!
New submenus?
Thomas Eccel found these new submenus! Also, it looks like he is using the new Google Ads design 😲 .
Swiss users consent July 31
I just got this message from Zeeshan Ali that Google has just sent a message out that from July 31, 2024, advertisers will be required to obtain
Swiss users consent to the use of cookies or local storage, where legally required; and for the collection, sharing, and use of personal data used for ads personalization.
This is the existing requirement for European Economic Area (EEA) and UK users, and nothing is changing about our requirements for these locations.
I think that if you are using a CMP like Cookiebot this country will just be added to the EEA and UK area.
If you for any reason still have not implemented consent mode react with consent and I will send you the video.
Google Ads exam restrictions
Natasha Kaurra found out that Google has removed the strict restriction to take Google exams! Trevor Dewan found out that for other examens, Google still has more strict restrictions.