?? PPC News: Measurement (W27)

?? About PPC News ??♀?

PPC News is a collaborative project that aims to provide a free, unbiased, expert-curated resource for the latest PPC insights.

Please think of us as your guide in the dynamic world of PPC, highlighting new talents, innovation, and the essential role of paid media experts.

Have a great week ahead! ??

?? Measurement

[Issue No. 117 - July 1st to July 7th]

Merchant Center

Google Now Tracks Attribution Across Free Listings & Search Web

Google Merchant Center will soon track conversions from clicks on Search web results and other sources, in addition to Shopping free listings . This update will provide more comprehensive insights into the customer journey, helping businesses understand the full impact of their marketing efforts across different channels.

You can manage your preferences by turning off the conversion setting in Merchant Center or unlinking your Google Analytics and Merchant Center accounts. This update aims to offer a complete picture of how customers find and purchase products, optimizing the Google shopping experience.

Google Tag and Google Tag Manager End Support for Internet Explorer

On July 15, 2024, Google Tag and Google Tag Manager will no longer support Microsoft Internet Explorer . Although scripts may continue functioning, Google will not actively test or fix issues on Internet Explorer. This change follows Microsoft's decision to end support for Internet Explorer on June 15, 2022.

Meta Ads

New 'First Conversions' Attribution View in Meta Ads Manager

Meta has introduced the 'First Conversions' attribution view in Ads Manager, allowing for enhanced insights into audience performance and creatives for any (custom) conversion event. This feature allows advertisers to get creative and better understand their campaigns' effectiveness.

?? 1st Contributor: Bram Van der Hallen

Meta Introduces Core setup and Custom Event-blocking

Meta has updated the 'Data restrictions' settings in Events Manager, introducing two new control options: Core setup and Custom Event blocking .

Core setup restricts specific data and may be enabled manually or automatically by Meta, especially for industries like financial services and healthcare, leading to potential advertising limitations. Custom Event blocking requires advertisers to review and confirm new custom events before using them with ad features.

?? 1st Contributor: Bram Van der Hallen

Search Ads 360

Search Ads 360 Connector Deprecation

Google will discontinue the original Search Ads 360 connector on June 30, 2024, and shut down the SA360 Reporting API. To continue accessing their data, users must migrate to the new version of SA360 and create new data sources in Looker Studio.

?? 1st Contributor: Francesco Greco

Supporter: Adriaan Dekker [Site ]

Search Console

Google Search Console has updated after a significant delay

Google Search Console has finally updated after a substantial delay . Initially, many properties displayed data collection issues, affecting visibility and performance tracking. However, the problem appears to have been resolved, and data collection is functioning correctly.

?? 1st Contributor: Brodie Clark

Microsoft Clarity

Introducing Microsoft Clarity iOS SDK

Microsoft Clarity has just released support for iOS with the new Clarity iOS SDK . This SDK allows you to capture user interactions, replay sessions, view heatmaps, and monitor key application metrics. Integration is easy, with minimal development effort required, and data begins to populate within minutes.

The Clarity iOS SDK offers easy integration, low-performance impact, privacy compliance with GDPR and CCPA, and scalability for millions of users. It supports apps developed with UI Kit frameworks, with Swift UI support coming later this year.

It joins the Android SDK that has been available for some time now, but at the moment it has some limitations such as it is not compatible with Jetpack Compose. Brais Calvo Vázquez

X Analytics

First Look at Our Next-Gen X Ads Analytics

we've designed X Ads Analytics to be snappy and super intuitive, allowing businesses to view every key metric instantly. This streamlined interface ensures quick, comprehensive insights to enhance your advertising strategies.

?? 1st Contributor: Sid Rao

Supporter: Swipe Insight

BigQuery

BigQuery Enhance Cloud Console, Analytics Hub, and Data Sharing

Bigquery's July 2024 updates include new features for the Cloud Console, Analytics Hub, and data sharing capabilities. The Cloud Console now supports drag-and-drop tabs for better comparison and organization , and it is currently in preview.

The Analytics Hub introduces public discoverability for exchanges and listings, featured listings, and unauthenticated URLs for public listings, all generally available. Additionally, data sharing is enhanced with the ability to share Pub/Sub topics and manage subscriptions within Analytics Hub, which is available in preview. [BigQuery / Swipe Insight ]

MixPanel

Mirror Mode Enhances Mixpanel's Warehouse Connectors

Mirror mode, the latest enhancement to Mixpanel’s Warehouse Connectors, allows automatic syncing of warehouse data, enhancing the depth and accuracy of Mixpanel’s analytics.

This update ensures seamless integration of comprehensive customer data, enabling more insightful and actionable analysis without compromising performance or incurring extra compute costs.

Google Cloud

Preview of Upcoming Google Cloud BI Features

You can find an early preview of new Google Cloud BI capabilities. This includes a demo of the upcoming Excel Connector , which integrates with governed Looker data, and a sneak peek at the Gemini Automated Slides feature to improve collaboration and data fluency.

?? 1st Contributor: Sean Zinsmeister

Microsoft Excel

Modernized Excel Grid Enhances User Experience

Modernized Excel grid updates bring powerful features like effortless resizing, streamlined inserts, enhanced navigation, and easy cell highlighting . These tools aim to simplify, speed up, and improve spreadsheet tasks for all Excel web users. [Excel / Swipe Insight ]

?? Privacy & Compliance

Privacy Sandbox Testing Results Show Shortfalls to Meet CMA Requirements

Criteo's Chief Product Officer, Todd Parsons, reveals the results of Criteo's Privacy Sandbox market testing, highlighting significant revenue shortfalls for publishers and increased market share for Google Ad Manager. The findings indicate that, in its current state, Privacy Sandbox could lead to a 60% decrease in publisher revenue, falling short of Google's commitment to limit revenue loss. Criteo recommends several enhancements to improve performance and maintain a competitive digital advertising market. [Criteo ]

??? Advertising News

2024 Zero-Click Search Study: EU vs. US

In a new study, SparkToro and Datos reveal that for every 1,000 Google searches in the EU, only 374 clicks go to the open web, compared to 360 in the US. This study highlights the ongoing issue of zero-click searches and Google's self-preferencing behaviour despite regulatory efforts in the EU. [Read more ]

Free Feature: Amazon Insights Now Available for AMC Users

Amazon Insights, AMC's first-party feature, is now free until the end of 2024 . This allows brands to leverage Flexible Shopping Insights and Audience Segment Insights without additional cost. This feature enables advertisers to create custom audiences using rich conversion signals and audience segment information.

?? 1st Contributors: Joon Choi / Jeffrey Cohen

?? Tips of the Week

How to Find Duplicate Transactions in GA4

Duplicate transactions can occur when the order confirmation page is loaded multiple times by the same user, causing the e-commerce data to be resent to the GA4 server. While GA4 filters out duplicates within a session, revisiting the confirmation page in a different session can create duplicates and inflate sales data.

To check for duplicate transactions in GA4 :

1. Create a new exploration report in your GA4 property.
2. Add the 'transaction ID' dimension.
3. Add the 'Purchases' and 'Purchase revenue' metrics.
4. To identify duplicates, look for values greater than 1 in the 'Purchases' column.
5. Could you download the report and forward it to your developer to fix the issue?

Please ensure each purchase event has a unique transaction ID to avoid duplicates. GA4 will de-duplicate events with the same transaction ID for the same user but not for different users. Avoid sending the same or empty transaction IDs to prevent undercounting or unwanted de-duplication.

?? 1st Contributor: Himanshu Sharma

GA4 User-ID Collection Explained

Google Analytics only associates events with a User ID if the User ID is present when the events are triggered. If a user logs in after triggering events, only future events will be associated with the User ID, not past events . To ensure all events are consistently associated, send the User ID with every event.

?? 1st Contributor: Michele Pisan

?? Resources

New Free Analytics Tool: UA Tagsbuster

UA Tagsbuster is now live. This tool helps clear out all Universal Analytics and Google Analytics Classic tags, along with related variables and triggers, without impacting non-GA tags. Changes aren't made through the API, allowing users to review and preview adjustments for zero risk. Please review the final setup before going live to ensure your analytics containers are practical.

?? 1st Contributor: David Vallejo

New Tool for Enhanced Conversions: EC Assist

Google has released EC Assist , a Chrome plug-in designed to help troubleshoot Enhanced Conversions setup. This tool aids in validating your Enhanced Conversions configuration, ensuring you send hashed first-party conversion data to Google for better performance in Google Ads tools like Smart Bidding. You can install the plug-in, run a test conversion, and get a detailed diagnosis with suggested next steps.

?? 1st Contributor: Scott Carruthers

?? That's it for this week!

Now, you are ready to kick-start your week with all the knowledge unpacked.

Hopefully, with a bit of comfort and some new ideas in mind.