Google Ads newsletter - week 43

Welcome to the Google Ads newsletter. In this newsletter, you will read all the news about Google Ads from week 43.

Sponsored Partnership - Plug-n-play server-side conversion tracking

What could hinder scaling ad spend and cause a 20-30% performance loss?

• Faulty, inaccurate conversion tracking.

You might track 80 out of 100 orders - and see that your ads run unprofitable - when the reality is different.

You feel hesitant to scale ad spend, and clients are skeptical about how you justify distributing ad spend across marketing channels.

However, the solution to this problem isn’t complicated—and it doesn’t involve developer headaches and server environments.

At ProfitMetrics, we offer no-code, plug-n-play, truly accurate server-side tracking.

Read more about the ProfitMetrics server-side tracking tool, Conversion Booster, and book a demo with our account managers to get started.

Paid newsletters

100K action

To celebrate that I got 100K followers you can now try my newsletter for one month for only 1 euro(Last day to join). After that, you will pay 12.50 per month.

Join here.

Big update to the Google Ads Playbook!

Last week I have rolled out a new update with new scripts and e-books added to the playbook. These new resources are now available, and they’ve been uploaded for you to explore.

Don’t miss out—check it out here!

Google Ads news

CSS Dashboard

Hana Kobzová discovered that Google Merchant Center has launched a Comparison Shopping Services (CSS) Activity Dashboard for CSS users.

This dashboard allows users to view data from up to five CSSs over the past 30 days.

To access the dashboard:

- Go to Business info.

- Click the Comparison Shopping Services tab.

- Expand the CSS section.

Metrics are only available from CSSs that have opted to share their data.

Google Merchant Center Next now with new audience analytics

Igor Pecherskih discovered that he now has access to Audience Analytis.

Here's what you can learn:

• Which regions are most interested in your products.

• Users of which gender are more interested in your products.

• Which age group has the greatest interest in your product categories.

This is a real breakthrough for those who want to better understand their audience and set up campaigns as efficiently as possible.

Rep making changes?

Thomas Eccel just posted this information from Andy Youngs which describes that a Google Ads Rep made changes without authorization on the account and sent an email, Crazy!

Travel assets report

Hana Kobzová discovered that you can now see travel assets if you run travel advertising in the report editor! Make sure to add click type and other metrics to get these insights.

More access reporting AI beta

Hana Kobzová just got access to the generate report beta! An interesting future from Google that I look forward to using.

Travel Feeds in Search Ads

Google has introduced Travel Feeds in Search Ads to enhance ad performance, particularly for hotel advertisers.

This feature allows advertisers to incorporate rich data from feeds, including prices, ratings, and images, directly into their ads. Initial trials have shown up to a 20% increase in click-through rates, indicating strong engagement from travelers.

The format is set to expand beyond hotels to include activities, car rentals, and events, offering advertisers more dynamic ways to showcase their offerings.

Advertisers with a linked travel feed in Google Ads can easily integrate this feature into their campaigns, ensuring that potential travelers receive the most relevant and up-to-date information during their searches.

New Feature test shopping

Google is testing a new feature in shopping ads that lets users watch product videos directly within search results. Spotted by Shraddha Dhiman.

Note that this isn’t Google’s first dive into video-enabled search ads, they did a similar test in 2018.

GTM GA4 App data

Matteo Zambon discovered that GTM Server-side is now able to get GA4 App data.

Shopping Membership Pricing

Emmanuel Flossie posted that Google shopping Membership pricing just removed the mention that it is only available in the US. Looks like they are expanding this future.

Product Carousel YouTube

Thomas Eccel spotted this new YouTube Ad with swipeable product carousel!

Google Ads has introduced new Performance Max features

These updates focus on improving asset performance, enhancing video ads, and increasing flexibility between Performance Max and Standard Shopping campaigns.

Note that I have already written and spotted most updates so they should look familiar.

Key updates:

Asset Optimization: New experiments allow retailers to test adding images, text, and videos to product-feed-only campaigns and assess the impact of Final URL expansion.Generative

AI for Image Creation: Google is enhancing its image generation using the advanced Imagen 3 model to create high-performing visuals.

Video Ad Enhancements: AI-powered tools can now flip or shorten video ads, ensuring they fit different YouTube formats while maintaining key messaging.

Campaign Flexibility: Performance Max campaigns will no longer automatically take priority over Standard Shopping campaigns when targeting the same products; instead, Ad Rank will decide.

These features aim to boost campaign effectiveness as advertisers prepare for the year-end holiday rush.

Standard shopping change is live

Kirk Williams just posted that the new standard shopping PMax ad rank change is now live! For everybody that is running standard shopping & PMax in one account keep an eye on your account!

Full-screen image ads

Google keeps upgrading YouTube Ads, now Thomas Eccel spotted this full-screen YouTube Image Ad!

Google Ads sale

Sale from Google?! Spend 2400 in 60 days and get 2400 ?? , instead of 1200 & 1200.

October 2024 update Display & Video 360 API

Google announced the October 2024 update to the Display & Video 360 API.

This update includes:

- Support for cost-per-view performance goals and targeting connected devices.

- The ability to generate and download Structured Data Files (SDFs) using SDF v8, which is currently in beta and available to limited partners.

Additional Adloox brand safety settings under third-party verifier targeting.

Additionally, SDF v5.5 has been officially deprecated following its sunset earlier this month.

Announcing budget PrefillsWith

Announcing Budget PrefillsWith version 18 of the Google Ads API, you can now use the Recommendations.

GenerateRecommendations method during campaign setup to retrieve optimized budget suggestions for Performance Max and Search campaigns.

By providing inputs like final URL and bidding strategy, Google’s machine learning models generate budget recommendations, along with projected impact metrics to assess potential effects on account performance.

The Recommendations API also offers features to improve campaign performance, such as adding new keywords or updating bidding strategies.

Users can subscribe to automatically apply specific recommendations using the RecommendationSubscriptionService or retrieve and process recommendations directly through reporting resources.

The following partner connectors have been added to the Looker Studio Connector Gallery:

- Heureka.sk Sortiment report by METRIXANA (no data sources required)

- Auth0 by Windsor.ai (data source: AUTH0)

- CJ Affiliate by Supermetrics (data source: CJ_AFFILIATE)

- WooCommerce by Supermetrics (data source: WOOCOMMERCE)

- TikTok Ads by Detrics (data source: TIKTOK_ADS)

Goodbye Call Ads

Dario Zannoni discovered that it looks like Google is phasing out “Call-Only Ads” in favor of Responsive Search Ads.

Key points:

- Adding Assets: Google suggests adding assets to current “Call-Only Ads” (a notification will prompt this in accounts).

- Creation Deadline: After an unspecified period, creating new “Call-Only Ads” will no longer be possible.

- No Automatic Upgrade: Existing “Call-Only Ads” won’t be automatically upgraded to Responsive Search Ads.

For more details check this page.

AI Chat

Thomas Eccel discovered this Google Ads chat AI pop-up in his ads account. Looks like they are testing this.

YouTube updates

Key features include:

Poll Stickers for Shorts: Creators can now add poll stickers to YouTube Shorts, allowing viewers to vote on options directly within the short-form video. This feature aims to boost engagement by making it easier for audiences to share opinions, with voting statistics visible to creators. The feature will be rolled out to all creators within a week.View Filters by

Content Type: YouTube has updated its "Views" display to break down view counts by content type, like Shorts, regular videos, or live streams. This update helps creators analyze and optimize their content strategy, especially as Shorts continue to drive substantial viewership.

Super Chat Goals: YouTube is testing a gamified “Super Chat” goal feature for live streams and Premieres, where creators set a target for Super Chat donations. When the goal is reached, a creator-defined reward and animations are triggered, encouraging viewer participation to boost engagement and revenue.

Ad Category Blocking for Channels: Creators now have the option to block specific ad categories directly within YouTube, rather than relying solely on AdSense settings. This update offers more control over ad content on channels, enhancing the user experience and aligning with channel preferences.

These updates reflect YouTube's focus on interactive features and monetization tools to support creators in building stronger audience connections and achieving growth on the platform.

Square button test

Anthony Higman discovered that Google is now testing with square buttons in Ads!

Picture test

Anthony Higman discovered that Google is testing with two different pictures that merge into one larger photo when you hover over it!

Google uses brand name for section in Ads

Anthony Higman discovered that Google is using his brand headline for the Ads headline in the ads box that is crazy ??

Sneaky change

Anthony Higman discovered that Google is now allowing you to not put a headline Or call to action in YouTube Ads.

New fields BigQuery

Alex Ignatenko discovered that BigQuery export now supports additional traffic source fields, making session-scoped channel analysis even more powerful.

Week 43 finished

That's all the news from week 43! If you want to read all the news check my website.