March Google Ads Recap - Adriaan-Dekker

Google Ads news

Solutions launched

Georgi Zayakov found out that Google has now officially launched solutions. With this tool you can easily automate tasks in your account!

Types of solutions:

Account summary: Generates a report of the performance for a Google Ads account
Ad performance: Generates a Google Spreadsheet with distribution charts showing an ad’s performance
Account anomaly detector: Sends out an email when an account’s performance stats deviate significantly
Link checker: Checks that URLs in ads and keywords don’t produce any “page not found” or other errors
Flexible budgets: Dynamically adjusts campaign budget daily with a custom budget distribution scheme
Common negative list: Simplifies management of negative criteria

Local Service Ads Update

Anthony Higman found out that Google is updating the verification process for Local Services Ads in the U.S., starting with smaller states and expanding gradually throughout the year.

The change requires certain professionals, like lawyers, to undergo identity checks in addition to license checks to prevent impersonation.

Advertisers will receive notifications to complete the verification process, and failure to comply within six days will result in ads being removed from search results.

The aim is to protect consumers and advertisers from impersonation scams and improve overall safety within the Local Services Ads program.

This is the first of several steps Google plans to take in 2024 to enhance protection in Local Services Ads.

Attribution models retired Merchant Center

Arpan Banerjee just sent me this message. Keep in mind that on April 1,2024 some attribution models will be retired and updated to”Cross-channel data driven” in Merchant Center.

The Digital Markets Act (DMA) of the European Union comes into force this week!

The changes for DMA stem from extensive collaboration with various stakeholders and aim to balance innovation with regulatory requirements.

Key adjustments include modifications to search results, offering more choice screens on Android devices, additional consents for linking Google services, and tools for developers such as allowing third-party apps and app stores and alternative billing systems.

Transparency and data sharing enhancements are also part of the compliance measures.

For more information visit this link.

New CSS update

Wouter Veenboer just shared the new DMA update for shopping!

CSSs can now advertise their own product pages with shopping ads, in addition to advertising on behalf of merchants.

This could lead to:

– higher cpc’s

– volume and cost of CPC/affiliate goes up

– less impressions

– more competition

For more information read the blog.

Filtration Bubbles LSA

Anthony Higman found out that Google is now testing with new search filtration bubbles within the ad!

Dynamic promotions

I just received this mail from Arpan Banerjee and Felix Mayo. Looks like Google is again pushing dynamic promotions!

Generated AI image

In Ads Emirhan Bayutmuş just got access to the newly generated images with Google’s AI. More and more people are now getting access.

Customer type rolling out further

Dario Zannoni found out that he got acces to the Ads’ new “Customer Types” feature.He found out that:

– You can only set one list for each customer type audience

– If you set the wrong type, you can easily remove it

– For GA4 audiences: Currently, you cannot remove customer types from these audiences.

For more information visit this support page.

Use this CTA for conversion tracking or lose insights

Peter Brouwer found out that you need to use this CTA if you want to use Google Ads only for your conversion tracking.

If you do not use this CTA you will make a tag with the GTAG and GA4. Looks like they are pushing GA4 conversions again!

Google Launches a Marketing Mix Model

Marketers are facing challenges in measuring the effectiveness of their cross-channel media strategies due to fragmented media consumption and privacy changes.

Marketing Mix Models (MMMs) are gaining popularity as a solution, with 60% of US advertisers currently using them and more considering adopting them in the future.

To address this demand, Google is introducing Meridian, an open-source MMM aimed at providing accurate, transparent, and actionable insights.

Meridian focuses on innovation, transparency, actionability, and education to empower marketers in making informed decisions and optimizing cross-channel media allocation.

Meridian is currently in limited availability, with plans for general availability soon.

For more information visit this blog page.

New conversion columns

VIVEK GUPTA found out that Google is testing two new columns under the “Conversions” head called purchase value and purchase conversion.

120 countries max

Marco At PPCSauce found out that you can exclude 120 countries max in Google.

Ginny Marvin replied that you need to focus on positive targeting and that the maximum is based on simplification of the targeting.

Enhanced conversion will be migrated to account level

Google is pushing enhanced conversions for some time because of the depreciation of third-party cookies.

Account level enhance enhanced conversions should lead to easier implementation.

Change History Feedback

Google is now asking feedback for on the change history.

IOS 17.4 update

Frederik Boysen just shared an awesome post about the iOS 17.4 update that is significant for marketers due to the potential impact on tracking and measurement.

While Consent Mode v2 has been a focus, Apple’s stringent privacy restrictions, like short cookie lifetimes and private browsing, have posed challenges.

However, the EU’s Digital Markets Act now allows third-party services on Apple devices, enabling alternative payment providers, app stores, and default browsers like Chrome and Edge.

This change could extend cookie lifetimes(if users download Chrome), benefiting Consent Mode v2 by improving measurement for consenting and non-consenting users.

For more information about these changes check his post.

Competitor Ads in your GBP

Anthony Higman found out that Google is running LSA on GBPs….

New conversion UI

Arpan Banerjee just texted me with this new Conversion Goals Look in Google Ads.

Games 2024 Developer Summit

Google introduced new advertising tools and updates aimed at mobile app developers during the Games 2024 Developer Summit.

These include AI asset suggestions, real-time bidding buyers, an upgraded mediation toolkit, improved A/B testing, immersive in-game ads, and geo-based controlled experiments.

These updates are designed to enhance creativity, diversify revenue streams, and facilitate data-driven decision-making.

The enhancements aim to make campaign management easier and boost effectiveness, reflecting Google’s commitment to innovation in the games industry.

Reduce budget to

VIVEK GUPTA found out that Google is now displaying the “Reduce budget to” suggestion while changing the bidding strategy.

Conversion Diagnostic update

Thomas Eccel found out that Google Ads has upgraded its Conversion Diagnostic Tabs with a 3rd party cookie depreciation filter.

With this new feature, users can now monitor the status of their conversions actively. Google suggests checking this tab weekly.

New PmaxStellar

Arpan Banerjee sent me this month that Google has released a new Performance Max Masterclass.

Redesign the YouTube TV interface

YouTube is updating its TV interface to offer a more interactive experience without compromising immersion.

The redesign features a smaller video window alongside a column displaying viewing stats, channel information, comments, and shopping features.

This new approach aims to enhance engagement while maintaining easy access to essential video controls.

YouTube believes this dual-column UI will enable various new experiences, such as shopping and live sports updates, while also providing better access to features like chapters.

The update will roll out to the YouTube app on TV and YouTube TV subscribers in the coming days.

Grow Your Brand Awareness & consideration with AI-powered YouTube Campaigns webinar

This week Google held a webinar about YouTube campaigns. You can watch it back here or check the slides that I made.

Further roll-out asset generation

Kristian Maltzahn just got access to the asset generation beta for Pmax. Looks like Google is rolling it out further.

Error remarketing?

Mykyta Soima saw this at first and Bob Meijer just sent this post later to me! After searching further I also saw some other people posting about it.

It looks like Google is having an error or something with generating remarketing audiences…

I also saw some reactions that it could be just an interface problem and that it is still working. I still have to wait for a reaction from Google.

Product studio update

Product Studio is rolling out seasonal-themed templates and more seasonal-themed templates will be rolled out throughout the year.

Below are some examples:

– Mother’s Day

– Easter

– Spring

– St. Patrick’s Day

Google also shared the prompt for the picture: As the centerpiece on a white table, surrounded by iconic St. Patrick’s Day symbols like shamrocks, green top hats, and gold coins. Use a dynamic composition and bright, cheerful lighting, top view.

Access to customer match suspen

Kasim Aslam found out that if you do not agree with Google’s compliance for Customer Match your customer match will be suspended.

Demand Gen change

Thomas Eccel found out that Google Ads has added direct placement and YouTube Channel exclusion to Demand Gen campaigns

News Pmax Script: PMax Placement Cleaner

Dmytro Tonkikh just launched a Google Ads Script: PMax Placement Cleaner!

Check it out here.

Your target CPAs have been reduced to your daily budget

Felix Duerler found this notification! Have you guys seen this before? Is this triggered by an AAR? I barely use those…

Closed beta offsite retail media campaigns

Retail media is on the rise due to its mutual benefits for retailers and brands, especially as third-party cookies become obsolete.

To capitalize on this trend, Google has launched a closed beta for offsite retail media campaigns in Search Ads 360 (SA360).

This solution aims to leverage retailer data while protecting consumer privacy, allowing brands to reach consumers off retailer websites and drive sales.

The beta includes features for self-service campaign management, enabling brands to have more control and transparency over their media investments.

Google is partnering with retailers like Lowe’s to expand this offering, aiming to increase efficiency, scale, and performance in retail media advertising.

The focus is on protecting shopper information, providing improved reporting, and streamlining campaign management for brands.

As more retailers join, brands can benefit from common metrics and streamlined workflows across multiple retailers.

Google plans to continue enhancing retail media solutions within SA360, supporting additional campaign types and features to drive greater performance.

For more information read this article.

Social extensions

Hana Kobzová found social extension under the automated assets. Are these making a return?

New Pmax field

Amir Hajizadeh found this new field in asset generation. Here they ask what makes your product or services unique!

EMEA product Kickoff

I made a special newsletter edition. Where you can read every announcement of the EMEA product Kickoff! If you want to get the updates check this edition.

Conversion tracking + credit

Natasha Kaurra just sent me this message that shows that you can get 300 dollars us credits for new accounts and free conversion tracking! Interesting to see that they are using this as a call to action.

Enhanced by Google Ads

Hana Kobzová just found this Enhanced by Google Ads source. I can’t remember seeing this before so looks new.

Ads Policy Monitor

Christoph Scherf shared a new open-source solution to help advertisers analyze ad policy violations in Google Ads at scale.

Simulate campaign changes

Annelies Pijffers found this new setting where you can simulate campaign changes!

New auction element in documentation

Dario Zannoni found this new documentation in the Google Ads auction docs called “The competitiveness of an Auction,”.

It suggests that if an ad’s rank significantly exceeds its competitors, it might incur a higher cost per click due to the increased certainty of winning.

This departure from the expected bidding dynamics prompts questions about its prevalence and impact on ad auctions.

The factor has been documented in older help documents, and the updated help article provides further insights into this aspect of the auction process.

New insights tab

Google has added a new card in the insights tab for trends that you aren’t running Ads for! Found by VIVEK GUPTA.

GML

Google Marketing Live is already open to register. Still 61 days before it begins. Register here.

WhatsApp CTAs Google Ads

Nick Blom from Conversation24 – conversational commerce platform just sent me this breaking news!

Google Ads has introduced: WhatsApp CTAs. This allows users to bypass forms and directly engage with advertisers on WhatsApp.

It enhances conversions by facilitating instant conversations, enabling real-time engagement, and providing effortless communication.

It’s for now not available in Europe but it looks like it’s only a matter of time before it will be released in Europe.

Pmax developer guide

Georgi Zayakov has sent me that Google has released a dedicated Performance Max developer guide making it easier to access information for building Performance Max integrations. Key updates include:

– Performance Max content has its own tab in the main navigation of the developer documentation, with a dedicated landing page and improved navigation.

– A new guide on Structure requests has been added to help with constructing requests for creating and updating Performance Max campaigns.

– Business goals in the documentation have been more clearly identified and renamed.

– Standard Performance Max is now referred to as Performance Max for online sales or lead generation, while Performance Max for Retail is now called Performance Max for online sales with a product feed.

– The Performance Max integrations Blog Series has been improved.

This article is part of an ongoing series discussing new and upcoming features. Further updates and improvements can be expected on the developer blog, and feedback on Performance Max integrations is encouraged, with support available from the team.

New help page cloud retail

Darius Chiosa Chiosa discovered that Google has introduced a new help page detailing the integration of Cloud Retail as a destination within the Google Merchant Center.

Users can access this feature in the “Manage Programs” section, but it’s exclusively available to cloud customers and can only be accessed within the standard Merchant Center interface, not in Next.

Users can manage inclusion in Cloud Retail using two specific values: “cloud_retail” and “local_cloud_retail,” which can be assigned to both the “destination_included” and “destination_excluded” attributes.

For more information read this page.

Pmax sync your GMC

Thomas Eccel discovered that you can now import your Pmax and sync your whole Google Merchant Center into your Microsoft Advertising.

Experiment error?

All Floris de Schrijver his experiments are showing wrong stats and don’t deliver as they should. Do you guys experience the same problem?

New demand gen guide

Craig Graham discovered that Google released a new Demand Gen guide

In this guide you will find:

1: Creative

2: Audiences

3: Conversion Health

4: Campaign Structure

5: Bidding Strategy

6: Budget Setting

A small summary:

Creative Approach: Utilize both images and videos to craft a cohesive narrative that resonates with your audience. Prioritize assets that perform well across various platforms, particularly focusing on mobile.

Audience: Develop a core audience profile using data to target both existing and new customers. Utilize customer data for remarketing and customize segments and search terms for targeted audience reach.

Conversion Health: Ensure accurate conversion tracking by enabling sitewide tagging and setting up conversion tracking. Optimize bidding strategies to enhance efficiency, with maximizing clicks bidding providing valuable insights.

Campaign Structure: Employ consolidated campaigns for maximum performance, utilizing a single campaign for your business and combining similar audience themes within the same ad group for improved performance.

Bidding Strategy and Budget: Select bidding strategies based on campaign goals, such as maximizing conversions, maximizing conversion value, or maximizing clicks. Set sufficient budgets to support campaigns, with a recommended minimum of $100 per day per campaign.

For more information read the guide.

More publishers data

Hana Kobzová & Axel Falck discovered that publishers can now access detailed pricing information for billable ads shown to EEA users.

Share Pmax assets

A few weeks ago Google shared that you will get the functionality to share your Pmax assets even with people without a Google Ads account. Scott Carruthers now found this functionality live.

You can check if it’s live in your account at Asset group > Preview Ads > Share > Copy Link> Share the link.

Website button

Arpan Banerjee just discovered that Google is also showing just a website button now for the Ads!

Bing is going mad!

Arpan Banerjee found out that Bing is just advertising for their search results in Google.

Just one ad label

Arpan Banerjee just discovered that some Ads in the area box only have one label for the three ads. Looks more organic that way! For normal Ads, every ad has a label with a sponsored

Pencil

I just discovered that Google has deleted the pencil from the budget setting.

DV360 Shortcuts

Thomas Eccel found out that Google has released new keyboard shortcuts for Display & Video 360.

Design test call extensions

Google is testing a new design for call extensions.

Card test on desktop

Jaco Oosthuizen just tagged me in the message from Khushal Bherwani. In this message, he discovered that Google is now also testing the card ads on a desktop. Before this test was only live on the mobile.

New Diagnostic tool

Dario Zannoni found out that Google has introduced a new tool called “Tag Diagnostics” aimed at helping users identify and fix issues with website tags for accurate measurement in ads accounts.

It offers a “Tag Quality Score” with four levels of severity and provides detailed insights into detected issues.

Accessible through the Google Tag configuration page, it supports Google Ads, GA4, and Google Tag Manager platforms.

However, some users report not yet having access to this tool.

More information can be found on the recently published support page.

Big Google change

Thomas Eccel found out that Demand Gen now needs a minimum budget. This should be the first time that Google does this.

What’s App extensions

Fernando Kanarski posted about the new What’s App extension. He added a bit more information in his blog post:

– the extension should only show on mobile.

– you can choose an opening message

– it looks like it is also in beta in Brazil

Check his blog for more information.

New status view update Ads

Patrick Gehn found out that if you hover over the status of a product it will now show you the campaign that it is eligible for and which not.

Pmax Suggested logos

Thomas Eccel found out that Pmax now has suggested logos in Beta!

He also found out that the logo is based on your final URL, and that you now also have a 4:1 ratio.

Product Studio

Arpan Banerjee just sent me the update that Product Studio is available in Australia and Canada!

Conversion Funnel Segment

Brent Neale just sent me this screenshot of the new funnel segment. I do not have found any documentation on it. But it should be releasing soon I think.

Consent mode and Conversions with Cart date

Google is holding a very interesting tech breakfast training series! You can attend on Tuesday, April 2, 2024, at 11:00 AM (CET)

Vehicle Listing Ads (VLA)

VLA’s are now live in the UK, DE, and FR open for Beta-listing with NL, IT, and ES following in Q2.

Found by Christopher Bell and announced earlier during the kick-off.If you are selling cars online this is something you should try!

Add pictures to LSA

Matt McGee discovered that Google is now asking to add photos to Local Service Ads!

New WhatsApp conversion

Fernando Kanarski found out that for Whatsapp you now get the conversion started! So no real tracking inside WhatsApp for now.

Top Ads

Ginny Marvin just posted that to better reflect how ads can appear in Google Search today, Google has updated the definition of top ads. They said that top ads might not be shown at the top.

For more information read this article.

2023 Ads Safety Report

Georgi Zayakov just sent me this morning the 2023 Ads Safety Report. Google’s 2023 Ads Safety Report highlights a significant increase in enforcement actions, with 12.7 million advertiser accounts blocked or removed, nearly double from the previous year.

For more information visit this link.

Learning phase 7 days again?

Dustin Bowser found the 7 days learning phase again in his campaign. I have not seen the 7 days learning phase a lot the last time. Normally the learning phase duration is around 5 days.

GA4

Enhanced conversions are live for GA4 (open-beta)

Google Analytics has released the user-provided date now! With this update, you’re no longer required to send a user ID before you collect user-provided data from your website or app.

User-provided data collection enables enhanced conversion support for Google Analytics 4 conversions.

Enhanced conversions allow Google Analytics to produce a more complete picture of cross-device and conversion measurement and attribution using first-party data.

User-provided data collection also provides demographic and interest reporting based on first-party data and consented Google signed-in user data, helping to future-proof measurement without depending on third-party cookies.

To send consented, first-party data from your website using user-provided data collection, you must link your Google Analytics property to your Google Ads account. For more information read the announcement.

Conversion are now officially becoming key events

Google has made an update that aligns conversion definitions across Google Ads and Analytics, introducing key events in Analytics to replace conversions for behavioral analytics.

This ensures a consistent view of advertising performance. Key events will help measure important behaviors on websites and apps.

Conversions in reports will become key events, offering unified reporting experiences.

Advertisers with linked Google Ads accounts will see consistent conversions in the Advertising Workspace and get cross-channel conversion reporting.

Future updates will bring additional conversion reporting and tools for advertisers.

Also, news google announced and repeated that it:

– rolling out support for the Chrome Privacy Sandbox’s Protected Audience API in Google Analytics 4 in the next few weeks,

– recently ramped up support for enhanced conversions in Google Analytics 4

– made it easier to pass consent choices to Google Analytics 4 by implementing Consent Mode

No longer access to advertising report

Word on the street is that you will no longer be able to use the Advertising Reports unless you link Google Ads.

Thanks for posting about this Brais Calvo Vázquez , João Gil Correia and Josh Silverbauer.

Word on the street is that you will no longer be able to use the Advertising Reports unless you link Google Ads.

Thanks for posting about this Brais Calvo Vázquez , João Gil Correia and Josh Silverbauer.

Google has rolled out its Ads Editor version 2.6, with eight new features and updates:

– Editor now supports the migration of Display campaigns to Performance Max campaigns

– Editor now lets you create and manage experiments in Performance Max

– The “Add Responsive Display ad” recommendation in the Editor now provides recommended fields

– Editor now supports Reserve cost-per-thousand-impressions (CPM), a bidding strategy similar to Target CPM

– Editor now allows multi-asset ads for video campaigns

– Editor now lets you filter different “Paused by system” reasons

– You can now use inline audiences in Editor directly on ad groups and asset groups

– You can now easily manage and customize third-party measurement settings for your campaigns

Which Google Service can receive consent data

Natasha Kaurra sent me this new option from Google. In this option, you can choose which Google service gets consented data.

UA 360

Arpan Banerjee messaged me that starting March 2024, Universal Analytics 360 advertising features (remarketing, conversion export, bidding optimization) will no longer be supported for traffic from the European Economic Area (EEA).

Additionally, certain features such as realtime reporting and API, and realtime BigQuery export will no longer be supported on Universal Analytics 360 for all traffic.

Google Marketing Platform Admin

Arpan Banerjee just texted me that google has announced the first version of a new API for GMP.

With this new API user can:

– upgrade or downgrade properties between standard and analytics 360

– link Google Analytics to organizations

Consent mode recommendation

Thomas Eccel found out that Google Analytics is now recommending to implement Consent mode.

Policy update

This is for my Belgium followers

On June 29, 2023, Google will update the Belgium country specifics of its Gambling and Games policy.

Google allows ads promoting the following online gambling as long as the advertiser is a licensed operator registered with Kruispuntbank van Ondernemingen (KBO) and provides a valid license:

– Lotteries

– Online casino games

– Online bingo

– Online gambling

Sports bettingAdvertisers must also be certified with Google. Refer here on how to apply.

South Africa & Belgium Healthcare and medicines

In March 2024, the Google Ads Healthcare and medicines policy will be updated to allow online pharmacies to promote their services in Belgium and South Africa, and telemedicine providers to promote their services in South Africa.

Gambling and games policy Romania

On April 5, 2024, the Google Ads Gambling and games policy Romania country-specifics will be updated to reflect updated gambling regulations and certification requirements.

Deprecation Bid Manager API Full Path and Path Attribution

Starting May 1, 2024, requests to retrieve, create, or run Full Path and Path Attribution reports through the Bid Manager API will return an error.

Google deprecated both report types in February 2024. Google announced this deprecation last November.

After deprecation, running a query using the ReportType FULL_PATH or PATH_ATTRIBUTION generates an empty report.

Existing Query and Report resources of these types are still retrievable, and report files generated previously will still be available.

Starting on May 1, 2024:

ReportType values FULL_PATH or PATH_ATTRIBUTION and the pathQueryOptions field will sunset.

As a result:

– queries.create requests using these values or fields will return an INVALID_ARGUMENT error,

– queries.get, queries.delete, and queries.reports.get requests retrieving resources using these types will return a NOT_FOUND error,

– and queries.list and queries.reports.list responses will not include resources using these types.

Google has added these details to our change log. To avoid an interruption of service, Google recommends that you stop creating, retrieving, or running any reports using these values before the applicable sunset date.

Google Ads API client Library

Georgi Zayakov just shared that starting from version 19.0.0, the Google Ads API client library for .NET will require .NET version 6.0 or higher.

Support for .NET Framework remains unchanged, with the minimum required version being 4.7.2.

Version 18.1.0 of the library, which supports Google Ads API v16, is the last version to support.NET 5.0. Security fixes will be provided until the sunset of Google Ads API v16 in January 2025, but no new features will be added..

NET 5.0 reached its end of life in May 2022, with Microsoft no longer providing security fixes.

Therefore, it is recommended to migrate to newer versions as soon as possible.

The library already supports newer LTS versions like .NET 6.0 and 8.0, with plans to support forthcoming LTS versions. Useful resources for the .NET upgrade are provided.

Requests per minute per project

Georgi Zayakov just sent me that on April 2, 2024, the Display & Video 360 API will institute a new project-level quota of 1500 total (read and write) requests per minute per project and 700 write requests per minute per project to help protect our infrastructure and improve the stability of the API for the overall community.

All Display & Video 360 API requests that a project makes will count towards this new quota.

Version 23.0.0

Version 23.0.0 of the Android Google Mobile Ads SDK is now available. Google recommends upgrading as soon as possible to get our latest features and performance improvements.