Google Ads newsletter - week 46

Welcome to the Google Ads newsletter. In this newsletter, you will read all the news about Google Ads from week 46.

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Black Friday Deal

The PPC industry is changing fast.If you want to be up to date.The Google Ads newsletter is the source that posts all the news, insights, and docs every week.

And instead of clients talking about new changes in the industry to you...(the worst feeling)

You can now suggest new things to them!To make it better I have a Black Friday deal.

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Google Ads news

New Asset report

Patrick Gehn discovered that at account level, you can now view the statistics and quality of your Assest!

Google will also show you what actions you can take to improve the quality.

New survey style

YouTube is testing a new style for the Ads Survey!

Customer Match update

Arpan Banerjee just send me that advertisers may lose customer match if their ads have the potential to cause harm to users or create poor user experience.

Pmax Vehicles Beta NL, DE, IT, and ES

Jochem Timmers just posted that PMax for Vehicles is now in beta for NL, DE, IT, and ES. For more information read this article.

Travel Feed?

Lluc Berrio Penycate & Barry Schwartz discovered that Google might be rolling out the new travel ads feed format.

Top 100 Products

Google has released the top 100 products for the holiday season! You can check them here.

No Ads experience Meta

Meta is introducing a reduced-price subscription for ad-free Facebook and Instagram in Europe, now €5.99/month on the web and €7.99/month on mobile.

Users can also opt to see “less personalized” ads based on minimal data (age, location) instead of highly personalized ads.

This change, driven by EU regulatory feedback, allows free access with limited data use, though ads may be less relevant.

Meta asserts that personalized ads support economic growth, especially benefiting small EU businesses.

First-party cookie controls

In Google AdSense accounts, first-party cookie controls are being updated to streamline management and enhance third-party demand access.

The settings for 'first-party cookies' and 'first-party cookies for personalization' have been combined into one control.

By enabling this new control, It will activate all uses of first-party cookies, including sharing with demand sources and personalization.

Starting 4 December 2024, first-party cookies will also be shared with Authorized Buyers, except for users in the EEA, Switzerland, UK, and California.

For those already using cookies for personalization, sharing with Authorized Buyers will be on by default; otherwise, it will stay off.

Google Ads Script consent unbundling

Starting in January 2025, Google Ads scripts will support consent unbundling, allowing users to authorize specific OAuth scopes rather than using an all-or-nothing approach.

During script authorization, users must select all necessary permissions to avoid execution errors. Existing scripts will continue to function without action, unless modified, which would require reauthorization.

This change is part of a broader rollout of consent unbundling across all Google OAuth applications.

Product Studio

Product studio is now available in the Netherlands!

BIG YouTube & Demand Gen Update

YouTube has announced a suite of new features aimed at enhancing brand engagement through ads and partnerships, especially focusing on YouTube Shorts and creator collaborations.

Below is a summary of the most important changes:

- Piloting Shorts-only buying in Demand Gen and also campaigns that showcase only your horizontal creative in-stream.

- ?Stickers on Shorts ads will be available to all retailers by the end of the year. Stickers, created automatically from images in your product feeds

- ?Animated image ads globally available for Demand Gen campaigns. Note that Animated image ads in Demand Gen pull product images from your Google Merchant Center feeds and animate them into one appealing unit.

- Google is testing a?new central place to manage creator partnerships. This new page will be rolling out to relevant accounts over the next few months.

- Introducing third party sales lift measurement for Shorts ads in the months ahead.

- Expanding source for which viewers of Shorts can be added to?your data segments, across both organic Shorts and Shorts ads

- Format buying controls are now available around the world on Video View Campaigns

- Testing a?new central place to manage creator partnerships. This new page will be rolling out to relevant accounts over the next few months.

- Google is introducing a?new video linking API?so you can manage multiple requests at once.

- Enabling creators to tag partners in their brand videos

- Launched the ability to own 100% share of voice on select top creator channels for your awareness campaigns. YouTube Select Creator Takeovers?are now generally available in the US, and will be expanding to select global markets in 2025.

- Google recently made partnership ads available to all advertisers globally across all AI-powered campaign types in Google Ads

Google Ads Scams

Caterina Mariani discovered what looks like a scam for a Microsoft Ads query. The ads is redirecting to aIt redirects to “https://lnkd.in/eP8XxsiD and she checked on the transparency center it’s a company from Hong Kong...

I also got two other messages about these scams, so watch out...

GA4 - Data Access History and API Quota Usage

Brais Calvo Vázquez discovered that the option to view data access history and API quota usage, both at the account and property level, begins to appear in the interface.

Note that:

- Data access history available only for 360 accounts

- Administrator role required

New Google Maps update

Hester Geerdink just texted me that you can now search in Google Maps for items to find nearby stores that have them in stock so you can pick up what you need.

LSA in business search

Anthony Higman discovered that Google is now showing LSA direct business search on the Business Finder Map now.

Anchor Ads

Google announced the upcoming expansion of anchor ads with collapsible anchors. Collapsible anchors enhance ad visibility, resulting in improved performance.

These ads automatically expand in height on mobile devices to increase viewability, while allowing users to easily collapse them.

If you already have anchor ads enabled, no action is needed. We’ll automatically activate collapsible anchors over the next 30 days.

Orange link test

Andrew Boyd discovered that links in dark mode are showing up orange instead of the blue!

Stop advertising EU

Google will stop serving political advertising in the EU ahead of new regulation in October 2025!

The EU's upcoming Transparency and Targeting of Political Advertising (TTPA) regulation poses significant challenges, including broad definitions and insufficient election data, making compliance unfeasible.

As a result, Google will cease political ads in the EU before October 2025, including on YouTube.

Structured Data Files (SDF) v8

Structured Data Files (SDF) v8 is now available, allowing users to upload and download SDFs in Display & Video 360's UI and API.

This update adds support for Demand Gen Line Item, Ad Group, and Ad resources, plus a companion banner field for YouTube and Demand Gen Ads.

Details on changes and migration steps from previous versions are in the release notes and migration guide.

For assistance, users can consult the support guide or contact support directly.

Automatic discounts Chrome

Google has emailed some Google Merchant Center users about a new Chrome feature that shows their promotions directly in the browser during the holiday season!

Dynamically Adapt Ads

Thomas Eccel discovered new search ads that dynamically adapt when you scroll over the image assets!

*Anthony Higman spotted those new ads and Govind Singh shared this video.

Meta Views

Meta is standardizing performance metrics across Facebook, Instagram, and Threads, making “views” the primary measure of content performance.

Key Updates:

Views Across All Content: Views now apply to all content types. On Facebook and Threads, views count every time a post appears on a screen, including repeat views by the same user. For Reels, a view is recorded each time a video plays.

Transparency: Threads now show view counts, like Instagram Reels and Stories, giving creators insights into reach, though the value for casual users is unclear.

Why It Matters:This shift simplifies tracking for creators and brands, aligning metrics across platforms. By focusing on exposure, Meta emphasizes brand awareness, but advertisers must assess if increased views translate to meaningful outcomes like clicks or conversions.

Bigger Picture:This mirrors trends like X’s focus on views, highlighting platforms’ prioritization of visibility. Critics note that views alone can be misleading without engagement context.

Bottom Line:Meta’s focus on views reinforces its drive to maximize exposure and engagement. For creators and brands, it’s a reminder to adapt strategies as platform metrics evolve.

New Google Travel experience

Rudolph Dekker spotted a new user experience on the SERP for Google Travel.

This SERP shows a more prominent display of Google Hotel Ads and Property Promotion Ads, including similar alternatives on brand name searches.

Chocolate AI

Christoph Scherf just posted about a new future called Chocolate AI, an open-source demonstration showcasing how Generative AI can change marketing with the power of tools like BigQuery, Gemini, Spanner, and Vertex AI on Google Cloud. Explore the details on GitHub.

Week 46 finished

That's all the news from week 46! If you want to read all the news check my website.