Collin Slattery’s Post

Big win for advertisers using Google's Performance Max campaign format. Beginning March 4th, users will have access to impression-level placement data. Additionally, SPN placement exclusions will apply to PMax (if set at the account level). I'd like to say this change is a result of feedback from advertisers, but it's more likely a move by Google to alleviate distrust with advertisers after a report last year accused Google of placing search ads on inappropriate and questionable placements (read more here: https://lnkd.in/gsAF9fmd). Google did end up refunding some advertisers, so at least some of it was true. Nonetheless, this is a big win for advertisers, especially those with stringent brand safety requirements. Hopefully this is a first step toward more transparency from Google and control for marketers. #google #digitalmarketing #performancemax

In the ever-evolving digital sphere, staying informed is not just advantageous—it's imperative. Google's ruling marks a pivotal moment for advertisers, heralding a new era of search strategy. Read more about what advertisers need to know about the future of search in this Ad Age article at the link below. #Google #paidsearch #advertising

In most industries you could just switch ad spend if you weren't happy with the response to a problem but in paid search..... 🤷♂️ As most people know, Google had a major issue with Merchant Center around 30th-31st July - many suggest that this was an issue for a longer period. Whilst it is apparently fixed now, I personally think the response is pretty weak. Advertisers just aren't charged for these ads and they have fixed it. Given most accounts use automated bidding extensively, the impact would have been severe and way beyond this ad spend. If search wasn't a monopoly, Google would have to work much harder to retain customers and fully/over compensate for brand damage. Does anyone working in #ppc think this is acceptable?

Google's recommendations often prioritize its own interests over achieving the most efficient outcomes for advertisers. 📊 Google's strategy to push broad match in advertising is driven by its revenue generation goals. Broad match increases click volume, leading to more ad spend and directly boosting Google's advertising revenue. The company argues that machine learning can better understand search intent through broad match, allowing algorithms to learn and optimize by finding relevant variations advertisers might overlook. 😎 This approach benefits Google by filling ad inventory, increasing the complexity of the ad ecosystem, and creating a dependency on their automated solutions. However, advertisers should be cautious of potential downsides such as cost inefficiency due to higher irrelevant click volumes and lower conversion rates. This results in increased wasted ad spend. 💰 Additionally, using broad match leads to a loss of control with less precise targeting and reduced understanding of user intent. Advertisers may find that algorithmic decisions don't align with their specific business goals. Irrelevant clicks also impact quality scores negatively, increasing CPCs (cost per click) and reducing overall campaign efficiency. Use broad match only in controlled experimental settings while monitoring search term reports meticulously. Setting strict budget caps and implementing comprehensive negative keyword strategies are crucial steps. Prioritizing exact and phrase match or using broad match modifiers as a compromise can help maintain balance. #googleads #advertising

Google Search Partners. To many advertisers, it's the equivalent of dating someone amazing who just happens to have really poor taste in other(!) people that you are then forced to also hang out with. But there's news! It was a hot topic in my first conversations representing Google back in 2010, and has remained a hot topic ever since due to the lack of transparency and control as well as the questionably inventory. But now, there's news: "Starting March 4, brands will be able to audit their ad placements on Google Search Partner (GSP) network. They will also be able to apply account-level placement exclusions when using Performance Max" I read the news this morning through the Check My Ads Institute's newsletter and highly recommend supporting their efforts to hold the adtech industry accountable: https://lnkd.in/dPemdFe5 Time to check your exclusion list.

Hidden Google Ads Feature 4/2: You can still create a feed-only Performance Max (PMAX) campaign. When Google started to migrate users from Smart Shopping to PMAX, it was easy to create a feed-only PMAX campaign, which could run only on the Shopping network, so no funky Display & Video Network with low intent. However, after a few months, many people noticed that Google forced them to add Headlines to their assets, and once they did that, there was no way to tell Google where they'd like to spend their budget. It's hard to decide if this is a bug or a feature, but when you are creating the PMAX campaigns, Google automatically adds the URL to your ad text, so the system won't let you go further without adding headlines & description lines. The solution is simple; you just need to delete the landing page URL from your ad texts so all fields will be blank. In this case, Google will let you finish creating your PMAX campaign, and the PMAX you just created will be a feed-only one!

If you have a Google Ad account or run them, you can rest assured that these record Alphabet revenues and profits mean that those Google Ad 'strategists' (salespeople) that inundate you with calls and emails each day and every month and are billed as Google Ads specialists are not going to go away anytime soon. Well the individuals themselves will - Google rotates through people so fast that sometimes they change in the middle of a voicemail. Unfortunately those tactics are working...sigh. Always remember that these people are giving you advice to make commission, are on quotas and doing what they can to keep their job. Their strategies (and Google's algorithms) are trying to run up the totals on you to make this 66 billion (that was made in a single 3 months!) 88 billion next year. Google Ads itself does this in any number of ways including throwing you into broad match by default, expanding phrase match tremendously over the years, expanding the conversion timeline by default, and with so many other things (soooo many) like Performance Max and Smart Ad campaigns. My advice, don't run Google Ads unless you really *really* know what you were doing and who is on your side (not Google, their 'specialists' or their algorithms). Ads can and do work but require intensive setup knowledge and ongoing testing and maintenance by a real pro that knows all of Google's tricks to stop them from screwing you. The default setting which is what most folks seem to use for any Ads campaign is set you up for this. Here locally, there are no folks finer at this than Jennifer Denney 📈 and her team of people at Elevated Marketing Solutions Get yourself a real advocate and stop helping Google's stock price go up.

Starting today, Google is introducing an interesting change in Google Ads, which will automatically pause ad groups showing low activity. Ad groups created at least 13 months ago without impressions in the past year will be affected by this change. Google is taking this initiative to enhance budget efficiency and campaign quality. However, you can reactivate these ad groups if you anticipate future impressions from them. This is certainly a welcome move in order to improve the predictability of the campaign spending.

With trust in Google at an all time low at the moment, it's interesting to hear Google reps making changes to accounts without consent of the advertiser. Including changes to bid strategies, which we all know can significantly change the performance of an account. I think to top it off, these reps have somehow managed to make these changes without those said changes showing up in the change history. Have they somehow managed to wipe the existence of those changes off the backend of Google Ads? Anyone working closely with their Google rep or has a rep proposing changes on an account, I'd be watching your accounts very closely indeed for now.. More details below. https://lnkd.in/e_MtNGyi

It's quite a move from Google to allow us to audit Google Search Partners (GSP). For years, Google has pushed GSP for advertisers to get extra volume, promising a similar cost to Google Search. More recently, they went further to auto opting in, so less savvy advertisers automatically show their ads in GSP. The chance now to see exactly where ads are being shown and to then exclude any placements at an account level, gives advertisers some control back and maybe even promote advertisers to use GSP longer term. So far they're only allowing it for Performance Max, not for Search campaigns (which is a shame). Hopefully, soon they'll roll out to all campaign types. #ppc #searchpartners #gsp #googleads #digitalmedia #audit