Google Ads news
Policy for video inventory
On 23 September 2024, Google will move the existing policies for video inventory from the Google Publisher Policies to a section under the Google Publisher Restrictions as video inventory restrictions.
Video inventory that contains content which is restricted, as specified under the list of Video inventory restrictions, may receive less advertising than other, non-restricted content.
Google is also making editorial updates to improve clarity and readability in the video inventory restrictions without changing the requirements.
1. Video inventory and ad controls must not be obstructed, hidden, or non-functional unless activated by a single user action (e.g., scrolling, tapping).
2. For sticky placements, the video player must start in the main content and only become sticky as the user scrolls it off the page.
Pmax Bug
Pmax campaigns are showing no data at the placement section. This is a bug and you should check the placement report at Insights and Report > Report Editor > Pmax placement.
New GA4 feature
Brais Calvo Vázquez discovered that Google Analytics 4 is introducing a Benchmarking feature that lets you compare your business’s performance with others in the same industry.
To access it, you need to enable Modeling contributions & business insights in Account Settings, though it may not be available yet.
The data is encrypted and updated every 24 hours, includes only properties with sufficient user volume for accurate comparisons. You can customize comparisons by adjusting the industry group.
New ad format test
Anthony Higman found this new sponsored ad carousel! Looks like Google is testing more and more!
No more auction insights in Looker Studio
Teodor Yordanov just sent to me that Starting on August 24, 2024, Auction Insights fields will not be available for new data sources in Looker Studio.
Existing data sources will lose access to Auction Insights fields starting on September 23, 2024.
To prevent your reports from breaking, we recommend removing these fields from your reports and charts….
New Title copy
Anthony Higman discovered that Google is now also putting ad copy in the title from places. They did not put this keyword in the ad themself!
Internal tool error
Geert Groot found this bug in Google Ads, let’s hope that one day we can see internal tools đź‘ż !
New GA4 recommendation
Arpan Banerjee just sent me this update that Google Analytics update now surface a recommendation to fix missing deep links in your app in order to increase conversions and improve your app’s engagement.
The recommendations include a downloadable report of deep links to implement or fix, ordered by opportunity.
GA4 Recommendation
Arpan Banerjee just sent me this update that Google Analytics update now surface a recommendation to fix missing deep links in your app in order to increase conversions and improve your app’s engagement.
The recommendations include a downloadable report of deep links to implement or fix, ordered by opportunity.
Limitations
Casey Gill discovered these limitations related to US Election, despite ad copy, images and websites that have nothing at all to do with election advertising….
New Google Ads tools
Google is introducing new tools and updates to help retailers navigate this year’s shorter holiday shopping season, which is more compressed due to Black Friday falling later.
Here are the key points:
Shopping Trends Insights: Google’s Merchant Center will provide global users with insights into trending shopping queries, helping retailers make informed decisions about inventory and product descriptions.
Example: showing popular queries ranked by topic and product. AI-Powered Insights: New generative AI features in Merchant Center will summarize product performance and generate custom reports based on user queries, simplifying data analysis.
Automated In-Store Availability: A new feature will automatically sync in-store product availability from retailers’ websites to Google’s Merchant Center, reducing manual work and enhancing the customer experience.
Enhanced Advertising Tools: Google Ads is offering “new” and expanded features to attract new customers and optimize ad campaigns for profit during the peak season
Example: customer acquisition goals, optimizing campaigns with profit-focused metric and brand exclusion(all not new)
These updates help retailers stay agile and make data-driven decisions in a shortened holiday shopping window.
New AI option
Google Ads now offers a new feature where its conversational experience can suggest headlines and descriptions to improve the Ad Strength of your existing Search campaigns. This enhancement helps you optimize current ads more effectively.
New Tools to Enhance Your First-Party Data Strategy
Google has launched two powerful tools designed to help advertisers optimize their first-party data strategies:
1. Tag DiagnosticsThe Tag Diagnostics tool is a new feature within Google Tag Manager, Google Ads, and Google Analytics. It provides a comprehensive overview of the health of your Google tags, which are essential for accurate data measurement.
Key benefits include:In-UI Diagnostics: You can view potential issues directly within the Google Ads or Google Analytics interface, making it easier to diagnose and address problems without leaving the platform.
Real-Time Alerts: The tool monitors your website’s measurement setup and alerts you to issues such as missing tags, incorrect tag order, or the need for a conversion linker tag to connect ad data with on-site actions.
Guided Fixes: Tag Diagnostics offers step-by-step guidance on how to resolve identified issues, ensuring your tags are set up correctly and your data collection is accurate.
2. Integrated Consent Management SetupThe Integrated Consent Management Setup simplifies the process of deploying consent banners and managing consent mode, which is crucial for compliance with privacy regulations.
This tool integrates directly with several CMP (Consent Management Platform) partners, offering: Seamless Integration: Connect easily with supported CMP like Cookiebot by Usercentrics, directly within the Google interface.
In-Product Guidance: Receive tailored instructions on how to set up and implement consent banners, reducing complexity and ensuring compliance with privacy laws.
Simplified Banner Installation: Install consent banners either manually or directly within Google Tag Manager with just a few clicks, streamlining the process.
These tools are designed to help you maintain accurate data measurement and streamline consent management, ultimately building trust with your customers while adhering to privacy regulations.
New tips from Google
Google released top tips to optimize for the holiday season and beyond with Google AI!
Here are the key takeaways:
Extended Holiday Season: The holiday shopping period is now much longer, with significant spending days beyond Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Businesses need to be prepared for these extended periods of high consumer activity.
Google Ads Features you should use:
Category-Level Insights: Provides performance, demand trends, and actionable recommendations to drive clicks and sales.
New Customer Acquisition Goal: Helps attract new customers during peak periods in Performance Max and Search campaigns.
Profit Goals Optimization: In beta, this allows prioritizing more profitable ad placements, resulting in higher campaign profits.
Generated Insights and Reports: Google Merchant Center now offers tailored reports and summaries on product performance, helping make informed inventory and marketing decisions.
Creative Tools:
Product Studio: Launching in September, this tool allows businesses to create videos and images that match seasonal moments and brand aesthetics, which can be used across marketing channels.
Generative AI Creative Tools: Integrated with Google Merchant Center to create holiday-themed imagery and optimize ad headlines and descriptions dynamically.
Full-Funnel Marketing Solutions:
Performance Max Campaign Enhancements: features like URL contains rules and improved brand exclusions help refine targeting and increase campaign efficiency.
Local Inventory Ads: New features to sync in-store availability with Merchant Center, helping convert local shopping intent into store sales.
Loyalty Promotions: Tailored bidding strategies and loyalty promotions help attract and retain valuable customers.
Real-Time Insights and Recommendations:
Store Quality Scorecard: Helps businesses compare their performance on various factors like delivery and returns against competitors.
Price Insights Report: Suggests pricing strategies to maximize impressions, clicks, conversions, and gross profit.
New GTM feature
Google has added a new ‘Set consent mode override’ setting to the Google tag settings that lets you override the default consent settings in your website or app code and instead set the default to ‘denied’ for all regions you choose.
The setting is useful when setting up consent mode with a consent mode platform, or if you’re having difficulty sequencing the default command in your code.
New Gambling & Games Policy Germany
Effective September 25, 2024, Google’s Gambling and Games policy in Germany will be updated. Only gambling operators and brokers licensed by the Gemeinsame
Glücksspielbehörde der Länder (GGL) will be eligible to apply for advertising certification for the gambling products specified in the policy.Applications from advertisers of online gambling services that do not meet these criteria, including those offering gambling aggregation services (such as linking to multiple operators on their landing pages), will no longer be accepted.
Existing certifications for these types of services will be revoked on September 25, 2024, preventing them from running gambling ads targeted at Germany.The Gambling and Games policy page will be updated when the policy takes effect on September 25, 2024.
New Gambling & Games Policy USA
In September 2024, the Google Ads Gambling and games policy United States country-specifics will be updated. Google will begin to accept and run ads for sports betting from entities licensed by the Puerto Rico Gaming Commission in Puerto Rico.
Google launched a new page for, Partnership ads powered by BrandConnect
This new feature allows advertisers to use YouTube creator videos in their ad campaigns through Google Ads.
These ads help achieve marketing objectives by adding authenticity, reaching new audiences, and providing diverse, trend-driven content. Partnership ads can be utilized across various campaign types, such as Video Action Campaigns, Demand Gen Campaigns, and Performance Max Campaigns.
To use partnership ads, brands need to link the creator videos to their Google Ads account, enabling access to valuable data and insights.
Co-branded ad formats are available for certain campaign types, like Demand Gen campaigns.
Performance measurement for these ads is supported by standard Google Ads reporting and Lift measurement tools.
Brands are encouraged to run experiments to compare the effectiveness of campaigns with and without creator videos, ensuring that the addition of creator content boosts campaign performance.
New destination GMC
New destination discovered by Felix Mayo! YouTube affiliate in GMC.
YouTube bug
Anthony Higman got this crazy bug where an ads keeps popping up, looks like this ad is getting enough impressions haha.
Problem with smart campaigns
There is a problem with smart campaigns where you can’t stop them. If you want to stop the campaign you should use the schedule tool or the Google Ads tool on mobile to pause it:)
Hana Kobzová just added that you could also just go inside and pause the campaign!
New Feature in GA4
You can now include/exclude dimensions in the line charts in the detailed reports in GA4 . Discovered by Kyle Rushton McGregor.
New “Conversions (Campaign Type)” Column in Google Ads
Discovered by Dario Zannoni, the “Conversions (Campaign Type)”.
This column in Google Ads is designed to measure only Demand Gen campaigns distinctly from other Google campaigns.
It focuses on view-through conversions (VTC) and isolates Demand Gen campaigns from the broader Google ecosystem, aligning with the default attribution models of other advertising platforms.
This column provides an alternative view of Demand Gen performance, integrated seamlessly into existing reporting views, and is intended for comparison purposes rather than impacting optimization or bidding strategies.
Key Methodologies:
Demand Gen Campaigns in Isolation:
Attribution is confined to Demand Gen touchpoints, with full credit given to the last Demand Gen interaction, unlike Google’s broader attribution models, which share credit across various touchpoints.
Inclusion of View-Through Conversions (VTCs):
VTCs are now included in conversion metrics, aligning with industry standards and providing a more accurate comparison with other advertising platforms.
Best Practices:
Use this column to highlight differences between Demand Gen and other platforms, not to compare with other Google Ads products.Maintain consistency in campaign structure and settings when comparing Demand Gen performance across different platforms.
Related Metrics:
The “Conversions (Campaign Type)” column is supported by related metrics such as Cost per Conversion, Conversion Rate, and Return on Ad Spend (ROAS), all scoped specifically to the campaign type for more precise performance tracking.
Bid strategy pop-up
Anthony Higman discovered this new change bid strategy pop-up in Google Ads!
Looker studio Migration
The Looker Studio Help community migration to Google Cloud is complete. To ask questions and participate in conversations with fellow Looker Studio users and experts. Check it here.
New category section
Google has added categories to the products section!
Discovered by: Aleksejus Podpruginas Image by: Hana Kobzová
GA4 Bug
Brais Calvo Vázquez discovered this bug in GA4, which is not showing data for the 27 of August.
Note that the bug should be fixed now.
New Demand Gen Alert
Thomas Eccel discovered a new alert when setting up a demand gen campaign!
This Alert notified him that all of the conversion actions have not received any conversion in the last 7 days.
Asset test
Hana Kobzová discovered that Google Ads is now testing with a grey background for the new pill formed assets!