Google Ads newsletter - week 36

Welcome to the Google Ads newsletter. In this newsletter, you read all the news around Google Ads from week 36.

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Paid newsletters

I have launched a new newsletter.

In this newsletter, I will dive deeper into the news items & share videos and templates.

This means that I will tell you how you can implement news and what the news items mean for you.

You will receive at least 4 newsletters every month with a deep dive. Join here.

90K action until this Sunday

To celebrate that I reached 90k followers I'm giving a discount from 115 euro to 90 euro for my Google Ads Playbook. Make sure to check it out here. Note that this action is until 08-09-2024.

Google Ads

More control with this new Demand Gen setting

Dario Zannoni discovered a tweet from Satoshi where he explained that Google has given us more control with this new feature in Optimized targeting.

New advanced plans section Demand Gen

Thomas Eccel discovered this new advanced plans section in Demand Gen!

App promotions Beta

Georgi Zayakov just texted me that David Vargas discovered that Google is testing a new promotions beta for app campaigns!

eCommerce Barometer August

The August 2024 market index numbers reveal key comparisons with August 2023, showing steady growth in e-commerce.

Revenue increased by 2.9% year-over-year and 2.1% from the previous month, while gross profit rose by 3.7%, indicating improved business efficiency.

Orders grew by 1.6%, reflecting stable consumer demand. However, ad spend surged by 5.9%, leading to higher acquisition costs and negatively impacting POAS and ROAS.

Despite these challenges, the e-commerce sector remains robust, with continued growth in both revenue and profitability.

The insights are based on a comprehensive dataset of over 20 million orders.

Gambling update

In November 2024, Google Ads will update its Circumventing Systems policy, requiring advertisers with a Gambling and games certification to recertify if there have been significant changes since their original certification.

These changes could include alterations to product offerings, compliance with regulations, or licensure status.

Failure to recertify in the event of such changes will be considered a violation of the policy, leading to severe consequences, including the suspension of Google Ads accounts without prior warning and a permanent ban from advertising with Google.

Reporting changes bid manager

Georgi Zayakov just shared the news with me that starting on October 1, 2024, the Anonymous Inventory Modeling (AIM) reporting dimension will no longer be supported in Display & Video 360.

This means that the DST/ROC (Regulatory Operating Costs) and Total Media Cost metrics will no longer be compatible with YouTube reports generated through Display & Video 360's Bid Manager API.

Attempting to create or run reports with these metrics or the AIM dimension after this date will result in a 400 error. Users are advised to remove the AIM dimension and the relevant cost metrics from existing reports to prevent service disruptions.

Google has announced a big update with 6 new releases for GA4.

Plot Rows in Detail Reports:

You can now visualize up to five rows of data directly within a detail report using a new “Plot rows” feature. This allows for quick graphical comparisons of data points. Simply selecting the rows and clicking "Plot rows" will generate a line chart for each row, making it easier to spot trends and relationships visually. This enhancement is great for users who need to compare multiple data points quickly.Anomalies

Detection in Detail Reports:

The introduction of anomaly detection flags unusual data patterns or fluctuations within your reports. Whether it's a sudden spike in traffic or a drop in engagement, the system will highlight these changes, helping you uncover trends or issues that may have gone unnoticed. This is especially useful for diagnosing performance problems or understanding unexpected changes in your data.

Report Descriptions:

You can now hover over any report title to see a brief description of the report along with a helpful link for more information. This improvement makes it easier to understand the context of a report without having to leave the page or navigate elsewhere, making report discovery and usage more intuitive.

Marking Key Events in the Events Report:

A new option to mark certain events as "key events" within the Events report allows for greater emphasis on significant occurrences. Using the three-dot menu next to each event, users can now highlight important events, ensuring that these critical data points stand out for future analysis.

New Transaction ID Report:

A new Transaction ID report has been introduced, which provides detailed information about each transaction based on the transaction_id parameter. This report is valuable for businesses looking to drill down into specific revenue streams or customer purchases to understand revenue contributions in more depth.

Scope Changes in Acquisition Reports:

The acquisition reports now have clearer distinctions between user-related metrics and session-related metrics. The User Acquisition report focuses on metrics like Total users, New users, and Returning users, whereas the Traffic Acquisition report focuses on session metrics like Sessions, Engaged sessions, and Sessions per event. This separation ensures that each report is more focused on its specific purpose, improving the clarity of insights gathered from each.

Google Ads AI Innovation Da

Georgi Zayakov just sent me that you can join Google virtually on September 24th to explore how the latest AI betas can help you shape the future of Google Ads and foster innovation.

During this event, you will have the opportunity to engage directly with product managers and specialists, asking live questions about these exciting new features.

Key Highlights:AI Innovation: Learn how AI is transforming advertising and how Google's AI products can revolutionize your campaigns.

Google Ads Betas: Watch demos and express interest in participating in betas via QR codes.

Live Q&A: Interact with Google product specialists to get your questions answered.

Don't miss this chance to gain insights into Google's latest AI developments! Join here.

Automatic Link

Casey Gill got this mail that Google is going to link her Google Ads account automatically to Merchant Center.

Update financial policy

Google has updated and reorganized the Google Ads?Financial Products and Services policy?for improved clarity and readability.

This update, effective September 2024, aims to provide clearer information to advertisers and does not change enforcement of the Financial Products and Services policy.

LSA changes Spain

No more Local service ads for Locksmiths in Spain!

New Design test

Hana Kobzová & Saad Ali Khan discovered that Google is testing a revamped design of its mobile Shopping tab ahead of the holiday season. The new design features a new Google logo, design, and various new sections and labels.

Display & Video 360 update

In the coming months, the following updates to the Display & Video 360 product may impact your integration with the Display & Video 360 API and Structured Data Files:

September 30, 2024: A subset of content targeting will be deprecated for YouTube & partners line items.

September 30, 2024: Oracle audiences will no longer be accessible and will be removed from existing targeting.

September 30, 2024: Optimized targeting will no longer be available for line items using specific bid strategies.

November 5, 2024: "Flight ASAP" pacing will be discontinued for insertion orders, and existing ones will be automatically updated.

For full details on how to prepare for these changes, please review the rest of this post and the Display & Video 360 API Announced Deprecations page.

Opted out Parked Domains

Starting in October, new Google Ads accounts will be automatically opted out of serving ads on Parked Domains. This means your Search and PMax campaigns in new accounts won't appear on Parked Domains by default!

Google has launched new masthead format requirements

On October 3, 2024, a new Google Ads help center page titled "Masthead format requirements" will be launched.

This page will provide a consolidated resource for the requirements related to masthead ads, including YouTube masthead ads and Google TV masthead ads.

A preview of the new requirements is available now and will be publicly accessible once the page goes live on October 3, 2024.

While the requirements for YouTube masthead ads will remain unchanged, they will now be consolidated on this new page that covers all masthead ads.

Ads that do not meet these requirements will not be eligible to serve as masthead ads.

Coming soon: Reporting updates in September 2024

Arpan Banerjee just sent me this update:

Display & Video 360EMX Digital renamed to Cadent Aperture MX:

- Estimated September 2024

- The sub-exchange EMX Digital will be renamed to Cadent Aperture MX in reporting.

- Regulatory Operating Costs and Total Media Cost metrics will become incompatible with YouTube report metrics and dimensions: Estimated October 2024- DST/ROC (Regulatory Operating Costs) and Total Media Cost metrics will become incompatible with reports containing YouTube-specific metrics or dimensions.

This applies to all currency versions (Partner Currency, Advertiser Currency, or USD) for the following metrics:

- Regulatory Operating Costs

- Total Media Cost- Total Media Cost eCPC

- Total Media Cost eCPM

- Total Media Cost Viewable eCPM

Additionally, the following metrics are already incompatible with YouTube-specific metrics and dimensions:

- Total Media Cost ePCA

- Total Media Cost ePCA (PC)

- Total Media Cost ePCA (PV)

Starting October 1, 2024, these metrics will be removed from existing YouTube reports, and newly created reports with YouTube-specific metrics will no longer include them.

It is recommended to use Media Cost metrics and combine them with fees to calculate total costs.

Campaign Manager 360 Zip code format changing:

- Estimated September 2024

- The zip code format in reporting will change from an integer to a string.

Pmax is coming to Ad Grants

??? Yoann Ferrand posted that Google is releasing some new features and initiatives for Ad Grants.

New initiatives:

AI Opportunity Fund: Google.org will allocate $10 million in the U.S. and $7 million across Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia Pacific to help nonprofits learn AI skills and utilize AI tools for increased productivity and creativity.

Resource Website: A new website will be launched to help social impact organizations access AI tools tailored to their needs.

Google.org Accelerator: Generative AI (Round Two): Following the graduation of 21 organizations in the first round of the Google.org Accelerator, a second round will open this fall. Social impact organizations can apply for a share of up to $30 million in funding and support to develop AI-based solutions.

New Ad Grants AI Features: Nonprofits using Google for Nonprofits will benefit from two new AI tools in the Ad Grants program:

Performance Max: AI-driven, keywordless search technology to find relevant queries and create matching ad content.

Conversational Search Experience: Nonprofits can now interact with Google AI to create more effective search campaigns with optimized assets like keywords and images.

Merchant Pictures

Hana Kobzová discovered that this new section is live in Google Ads! This new section was announced in July.

New try-on product launched

Georgi Zayakov just sent me that you can now virtually try on dresses while shopping on Google to get a more accurate idea of how they’ll look.

Audience insights?

Audience insights are not being removed! They will come back. It is a temporary problem and Google is working on it.

Virtual try-on icon

Barry Schwartz posted that Saad Ali Khan discovered that Google has launched a virtual try-on icon!

BIG Google Ads Update: Enhanced CPC is gone ??

I just got this message from Natasha Kaurra & Luuk Fiets...

Starting October 2024, new search and display ads campaigns will no longer have Enhanced CPC as a bidding option.

Existing campaigns will continue until March 2025, when they will be migrated to manual CPC bidding.

Why this change? Google is transitioning to smarter bidding strategies like Maximise conversions and Maximise conversion value, which deliver improved results.

If you track conversions, Google recommends switching to one of these strategies. If not, consider Maximise clicks or Manual cpc.

New Youtube goal

YouTube?rolled out a new website visits goal in YouTube Studio’s promotions feature!

New Looker Studio Update

Looker Studio Pro users can now?create calculated fields?and?generate Google Slides?from Looker Studio content using Gemini assistance. Gemini in Looker no longer requires content to be associated with a Looker Studio Pro subscription.

Automatically fetches

Simo Ahava discovered that it looks that Google Tag Manager now automatically fetches Google Analytics 4 configurations server-side, even for secondary data streams.

This means when you send data to multiple streams, the correct configuration is applied without manual setup, including key event annotations.

However, there’s a lack of transparency on how this works, particularly whether additional network requests are made to Google.

New LSA bidding options

Anthony Higman discovered a new bidding option for local service ads: Target Cost Per Lead.

New GA4 Audiences

Himanshu Sharma discovered that Google has quietly introduced new sets of audience templates in GA4 properties.

The templates you see depend on the 'Industry category' selected in the 'Property details'. For example, if your category is 'Internet & Telecom', you'll see related templates, and if you switch to 'Jobs & Education', the templates adjust accordingly.

However, not all industry categories have corresponding audience templates available in GA4.

Goodbye Video Action Campaigns

Video Action campaigns will be migrating to Demand Gen campaigns next year!

New Brand Guidelines

The new Brand Guidelines feature for Performance Max campaigns is rolling out( found by Georgi Zayakov ).

This feature helps advertisers maintain consistent branding across Google's automated assets.

It allows customization of elements like business names, logos, fonts, and colors, ensuring alignment with brand identity.

This feature provides control over how brands appear on platforms like YouTube and the Google Display Network, where Google AI generates assets.

Week 36 finished

That's all the news from week 36! If you want to read more news check my website.