Brand report
Arpan Banerjee discovered that the brand Merchant Center report is rolling out further.
Bold text
Arpan Banerjee discovered that Google is testing with Bold text in YouTube Ads!
Lawsuit
Google is facing over €12 billion ($13B) in civil lawsuits from European price comparison sites, following the EU’s 2017 antitrust ruling that fined the company €2.4B for abusing its dominance in search.
With the ruling upheld, plaintiffs now only need to prove financial harm. At least 12 lawsuits are active across seven EU countries, with major claims from companies like Trovaprezzi (€2.97B), Pricerunner (€2.1B), and Kelkoo (€1.4B).
The outcomes could significantly impact Google’s shopping and comparison search rankings and ad visibility, potentially altering CPCs and competition.
Plaintiffs argue Google’s practices still favor its own services, while Google defends its current setup as fair.
Key hearings are scheduled in the UK, Netherlands, and Germany throughout 2025. While proving harm is complex, the cases could set major precedents for holding digital monopolies accountable in Europe.
Google introduced GIGA
a new open-source tool built on Google Cloud. GIGA helps you analyze search data at scale, understand search volumes on key topics, spot emerging trends, and generate Search campaign ideas automatically.
Check it out on GitHub.
Streamed x years ago
Arpan Banerjee discovered that Google is now showing this label, streamed over 2 years ago!
Pmax device control live
Thomas Eccel discovered that the Pmax Device control is now live!
April 2025 E-Commerce Barometer Highlights
E-commerce remains strong year-over-year in April, with steady Turnover, Gross Profit, and Orders.
While results dipped slightly from March, reduced Ad Spend improved ROAS and POAS, pointing to more efficient marketing. For more information, check this link.
Leaked emails
Leaked emails reveal Google executives knew advertisers were frustrated with the 2024 “Power Pair” push (broad match + PMax).
Despite heavy promotion at Google Marketing Live, many found the automation strategy unwanted and felt Google wasn’t listening.
As Marketing Live 2025 approaches, pressure is mounting for Google to offer more control and transparency in its ad solutions. For more information, read this article.
Ads funded by
Anthony Higman discovered that the ads funded by section is now live!
New design
Thomas Eccel discovered this new green performance explanation in the overview graph in Google Ads!
Google Ads Outage – Global Bidding Issue?
Benoit Legendre discovered that there is currently a global technical issue affecting campaigns using the “Bid only for new customers” setting.
Many campaigns stopped spending completely around 11:00 AM UK time yesterday. Google has confirmed the problem but hasn’t provided a timeline for a fix.
Temporary fix: switch affected campaigns to “Bid for new and existing customers” to resume spend.
AI Max for Search Campaigns: Key Takeaways from Ginny Marvin’s PPC Chat interview
AI Max is not a new campaign type. It’s a set of optional features you can enable in standard Search campaigns.
These include:
– Keywordless targeting (based on landing pages and ad assets)
– Text customization (formerly automatically created assets)
– Final URL expansion (within ad group theme only)
– It requires Smart Bidding (Max Conversions or Max Conversion Value) and is opt-in for existing campaigns. For new campaigns, it may be enabled by default, with the option to turn features off individually.
What stays the same:- Search auction priority: exact > phrase > broad > AI Max/PMax
– Keyword match behavior and negatives
– Campaign-level geo settings
– Use of audience segments (no change)
What’s new:
– Ad group-level controls for brand targeting, geo intent, URL rules“Source” column in the search terms report to track keywordless and broad match expansion
– Drafts & Experiments supported for testing
– Ability to disable text customization or URL expansion separately
Performance insights (Google internal data):
– Average uplift: +14% conversions or value at similar CPA/ROAS
– For campaigns using mostly exact/phrase match: +27% uplift
Best suited for accounts with:
– Clean structure and themed ad groups
– Updated landing pages
– Interest in incremental reach without adding complexity
AI Max utilizes the same underlying technology as PMax, but it serves only on Search. It expands your reach without replacing keywords.
GA4 Measurement Protocol Update
Simo Ahava discovered that Google Analytics 4 now allows geolocation overrides in the Measurement Protocol.
You can set a user’s location by:
– Using ip_override with any IP that geolocates to the desired region
– Using the new user_location object to specify location details directlyThis provides greater control over geographic data attribution.
YouTube Launches Peak Points
Georgi Zayakov discovered that YouTube has introduced Peak Points, a new AI-powered feature using Gemini to detect the most engaging moments in popular videos.
Ads will now be placed at these high-engagement points to maximize viewer attention.
This means ads are timed to appear when viewers are most emotionally invested.
Generative AI 3D Models
Just saw something impressive from Google Research: they’re using generative AI to turn regular 2D product photos into full-on 3D models automatically.
No special equipment. No 3D scanning. Just AI.
This has big implications for online shopping:
– See products from all angles
– Fewer returns
– More confidence at checkout
– And… brands can scale this fast across catalogs
Curious? Worth a read