Google Ads News
New YouTube Shorts Guide
Just came across a new help page from Google: “Your guide to YouTube Shorts ads.”
It explains how Shorts ads work, which campaign types support them, and how to create effective ads.
A quick summary:
YouTube Shorts ads are short, vertical, full-screen video ads that appear between organic Shorts.
They’re designed for mobile and can be skipped by swiping.
Advertisers can use them to reach a mobile-first audience with quick, engaging messages.
Supported campaign types include Demand Gen, Video View, Video Reach with the efficient reach goal, YouTube reservation, Performance Max, and App campaigns.
The page also covers creative best practices like using vertical video, trending audio, and strong calls to action.
Performance reporting is available to track engagement and optimize results.For more information read this page.
Landing pages just got a bit more important
Thomas Eccel discovered that Demand Gen just got a new feature called final URL screenshot.
With this change, the look of your landing page can be shared in your ad. This makes it even more important to have a good landing page!
Looker Studio update
Brais Calvo Vázquez discovered that Looker Studio now supports responsive reports that adapt to different screen sizes.
You can choose between freeform or responsive when creating a new report. Responsive reports use sections, support block-level filters, and offer device previews.
Existing reports can’t be converted to responsive.
Roblox X Google Ads
Google is expanding Immersive Ads to more publishers on AdMob and Ad Manager, with a new partnership between Ad Manager and Roblox.
These ads blend naturally into gaming environments like billboards or big-screen ads during virtual events—offering engaging, in-the-moment experiences.
Since last year’s testing, video formats and easier implementation have been added. The Roblox partnership is key to scaling immersive ad formats like Rewarded Video for brands in the near future.
API Change
Starting April 28, 2025, Google Ads API version v19.1 will return a new error code, DEVELOPER_TOKEN_INVALID, when a request includes an invalid developer token making it clearer than the previous generic OAUTH_TOKEN_HEADER_INVALID error.
Older versions (before v19) will continue to return DEVELOPER_TOKEN_NOT_APPROVED for this case.
Developers using v19 must update their client libraries after the v19.1 release. This change mainly benefits new developers and won’t impact existing, correctly configured integrations.
Looker Studio update
Looker Studio Updates Modern charts are now generally available.
They include new styling, default theme colors, chart configuration options, axis customization, and settings that give report creators more control over data presentation. Modern charts are the default for all new reports.
Existing reports need to be upgraded manually. Classic themes are still available in the Themes panel.
The Looker connector now supports connections to private IP Looker (Google Cloud core) instances using the instance ID, whether through Private Services Access or Private Service Connect.
Query result variables allow you to insert data directly into text elements by selecting a cell from a table.
The inserted value stays updated automatically.
As of March 31, 2025, YouTube changed the way views are calculated.
New Customer Bid Setting
Brent Neale discovered this new customer retention setting in his account.
Looks like they are giving more users access! Note that this feature is not new, but more users like Brent Neale are now getting access to it.
This feature is still in beta.
With this feature, you can Win Back Lapsed Customers.
If you want to use this tool you need to have a Customer Match list of lapsed customers uploaded!
Other requirements:
– Optimize for purchase conversions
– Use a Google Merchant Center (GMC) feed
– Include the NCA goal in New Customer Value mode
New GA4 update
Arpan Banerjee discovered that Google has launched Generated Insights.
Generated insights in Google Analytics appear directly in detailed reports, offering clear, plain-language summaries that explain data fluctuations.
For example, if “Purchase” events spike on specific dates, AI analyzes all possible data combinations to uncover and explain the cause like a colleague highlighting the key takeaways.
This helps you make faster, more informed decisions.
Demand Gen Channel Reporting is now possible even on ad group level.
Segment by network at campaign level and get clear performance data for YouTube, Discover, Gmail, Display, and more.
No more guessing. Just clean insights for better creative testing and budget decisions.
You can access the data by:
– Campaign level
– Click Segment
– Segment by Network
Credit to Thomas Eccel for finding this out.
Double serving YouTube
Anthony Higman discovered that Google is now also showing double servings on YouTube Ads.
Location Manager
Is this Location Manager new? Yesterday, I found that Google released some new documentation on this.
YouTube
Anthony Higman discovered that YouTube is testing a new feature where certain ads in the YouTube Discovery feed expand to show “Watch” and “Visit Site” buttons.
These buttons appear when users either interact with product images below the ad or watch the video preview for 3–5 seconds.
pMaximizer
Google Introduced pMaximizer, an open-source dashboard built on Google Cloud to help optimize Performance Max campaigns.
It provides insights into asset, product, and campaign performance, and highlights areas where best practices are not followed.
More details and access on GitHub.
New Looker Studio dashboard combines Search Console and Google Analytics
Google has released a new Looker Studio dashboard that brings together data from Search Console and Google Analytics.
With this dashboard, you can:
Track how users find your site (search impressions, clicks, queries)
Analyze what they do on-site (pageviews, on-page clicks, conversions)
Visualize both data sources in one unified view
The update includes guidance on:
Merging data and resolving discrepancies
New data visualization options in Looker Studio
Additional tools to support your integrations
Check it out:https://lnkd.in/eZsn-tth
More Shopping
Sachin Patel & Barry Schwartz discovered that Google is testing a show more button for Shopping Ads!
General Account Setting
Arpan Banerjee & Dario Zannoni discovered there’s a new option under General Account Settings in Google Merchant Center that lets Google use your existing marketing content (like newsletters, social posts, and promos) to enhance visibility across Google services such as Search, Shopping, and Maps.
When enabled, Google may extract:
– Social media links and content
– Sales and promotion info
– Brand imagery and videos
– Brand tone, voice, and values
More details here.
Deprecation of Display & Video 360 API v3
As of April 2, 2025, Google has deprecated Display & Video 360 API v3. The API will be fully sunset on October 7, 2025, and users must migrate to API v4 before that date to avoid service interruptions.
New design Google Ads
Zeeshan Ali discovered that Google Ads has divided the search settings into different categories.
New AI assistant
Felix Mayo just saw this new AI assistant in the Google Ads help docs!
Consent Banner
Thomas Eccel spotted that Google now shows a missing consent mode before you publish a campaign
YouTube Engagement Demand Gen
Mihai-Adrian Ciurea discovered that Demand Gen nog has a new goal = YouTube engagements!
Google has partnered with Spotify Advertising!
Spotify has launched the Spotify Ad Exchange (SAX), a new programmatic platform that gives advertisers automated access to Spotify’s audio, video, and display inventory.
SAX supports Open Auction and PMP deals (Programmatic Guaranteed coming soon) and integrates with top DSPs like The Trade Desk and DV360.
The launch aims to boost Spotify’s ad revenue and make it easier for brands to reach engaged listeners.
Google has introduced new diagnostic alerts and a recommendation in the Tag Diagnostics tool:
Your tag data may be restricted
This recommendation appears when a supported CDN (like Cloudflare) is used without first-party mode enabled.
To resolve, enable first-party mode or dismiss the recommendation.
Missing gtag config command
This alert appears when the Google tag configuration code is missing or incorrectly placed, which can prevent automatic event tracking.
To fix, place the configuration code immediately after the opening <head> tag on all pages.
Missing Google tags
This alert appears when event tags in Google Tag Manager lack corresponding Google tags.
To fix, add a Google tag for each measurement product (Google Ads, Google Analytics, Floodlight, etc.).
Some alerts and recommendations can now be dismissed. Dismissed items may reappear if conditions change but do not affect overall tag quality.
Structured Data Files v8.1
Structured Data Files v8.1 Now AvailableStructured Data Files (SDF) v8.1 is now generally available in Display & Video 360, supporting both UI and API use.
Key updates include:
– Support for controlling inventory source settings for Demand Gen ad groupsEnforcement of OMID targeting at the advertiser level
– Renaming of the TrueView Content Filter column to Inventory ModeBreaking changes effective April 22, 2025:
– YouTube video action line items can no longer be created via SDF. Use Demand Gen line items instead.
– For Demand Gen line items, “Video Partners” must be included in the TrueView Inventory Source Targeting column.
Upgrading to SDF v8.1 is required to manage new inventory settings for Demand Gen ad groups. Full details are in the SDF release notes.
