Paid Search
Nov 29, 2023
How’s 2024 planned for Google Ads API
Google Ads API v15 is the current latest version. Starting 2024 January/February, Google Ads API v16 will be launched, and moving forward there’s one minor update v16.1 that might pop up in April/May 2024. By the start of Q3, 2024, it is expected that Google Ads API v18 will be launched. [Google Ads Developers]
Nov, 2023
Political content restrictions in Taiwan
Effective December 2023, Taiwan will be included in the restricted regions. Prohibited content on Google platforms in Taiwan includes ads featuring political parties, current elected officeholders, or candidates for various elected offices. Advertisers with verified accounts for Taiwan election ads will be integrated into the Google advertiser verification program, ensuring transparency and accessibility. Learn more about these updates to political content regulations. [source]
Nov 23, 2023
Automatic Asset Creation in Pmax Campaigns
Performance Max (Pmax) campaigns have introduced a new default feature: automatic creation of text assets and final URLs. This update was observed across all accounts during the setup of new Pmax campaigns. [post] (Thomas Eccel)
Nov 23, 2023
Google Ads Budget Simulator Columns
Google Ads introduces new columns in the ‘Budget Simulator’ section, enabling advertisers to predict ad performance with different suggested daily budgets more accurately. This update enhances budget planning and optimization. [post] (Vivek Gupta)
Nov 22, 2023
App Campaigns Seasonality Adjustments
In a timely update for Black Friday, Google Ads has launched Seasonality Adjustments for App campaigns in Beta. This feature allows advertisers to inform the system of expected changes in conversion rates for short-term promotions, enhancing the scalability of App campaigns during these periods. [post] (Thomas Eccel)
Nov 22, 2023
🚨 Google Ads Auto-Creating Assets Despite Disabled Settings
There have been multiple reports that Google Ads automatically generates assets like Sitelinks, Callouts, Structured Snippets, and even Business names and logos in various accounts. This occurred despite having settings such as Auto-Apply Recommendations and Automatically Created Assets turned off. [post] (Anthony Tierney)
Nov 20, 2023
Premier Reach in Google Ads
Google Ads introduces ‘Premier Reach’ within its Reservation buying options. Found under the ‘Brand awareness and reach’ campaign type, specifically in the Video > Reservation segment, Premier Reach enables ads to appear in premium content areas, including YouTube Select lineups. Ad formats include bumper, skippable, and non-skippable in-stream ads. Selection is made through a ‘Placements list’ or from extensive content options, with a note that content targeting for Romania is not available at present. [post] (Mihai Ciurea)
Nov 16, 2023
Augmented reality to try-on dress expands to Men’s tops
Google introduces its generative AI-powered virtual try-on tool for men’s tops, following its success with women’s tops. Users searching for “men’s tops” on the Google app or mobile browser in the U.S. will now find results from various brands, such as Abercrombie and J.Crew, with a “try-on” icon. The tool allows users to see how clothing looks on diverse models, helping them make more confident purchasing decisions. [Google Keyword]
Nov 14, 2023
Changes to customer match upload consent signals in Google Display & Video 360 API
Google announces updates to the Display & Video 360 API regarding Customer Match audience uploads. Starting March 2024, users must pass end-user consent when uploading data to adhere to the EU User Consent Policy for using European Economic Area (EEA) user data in Customer Match audiences. The update includes a Consent object for specifying consent types and requires adjustments to requests for creating or updating Customer Match audiences with contact information or device IDs. [Google Developers]
Oct 26, 2023
‘Search Themes’, The New Signal To PMax
Google Performance Max introduces a new beta feature, “Search Themes,” allowing advertisers to enhance campaign targeting by leveraging their industry expertise. This feature enables you to guide Performance Max to reach new audiences and niches, bridging gaps in your marketing strategy and expanding your reach across various channels, including Search. [source]
October 16-22
Demand Gen Campaigns in Performance Planner
Google Ads’ Performance Planner now includes Demand Generation campaigns, offering forecasting capabilities under specific eligibility criteria. To utilize this feature, ensure no bid strategy changes in the last 7 days, all ad groups have at least one impression in that time, and campaigns are active or recently paused. [post] Thomas Eccel
Additional resources: Demand Gen campaign asset specs and best practices
October 16-22
Direct Video Uploads
Google Ads now allows users to upload videos directly within the platform to an “Ad Storage Channel,” eliminating the need to hassle clients for video content. This update simplifies the process of launching YouTube campaigns by handling video storage and permissions internally. [post] Chris Chambers
October 16-22
Seasonality Settings Now Available for App Campaigns
Following the EMEA product kick-off, Google Ads has rolled out a beta feature allowing advertisers to make seasonality adjustments in App campaigns, exclusive to Smart Bidding strategies. These adjustments are designed to inform the bidding algorithm about expected fluctuations in conversion rates for up to a 14-day period. [post] CrackPPC and see EMEA product kick-off from Adriaan Dekker
October 16-22
WhatsApp Support for Google Ads Expands to Multiple Countries
Previously limited to LINE.ME, Google Ads support via WhatsApp is now available in a variety of countries, including India, Hong Kong, Brazil, and Mexico among others. [source] Arpan Banerjee
October 16-22
Stricter Requirements for Google Ads Certifications
Google Ads has updated its certification process on Skillshop, requiring a photo ID, facial picture, and a recorded test-taking environment, all under the watch of a live proctor. The PPC community has shown mixed reactions, questioning the value and feasibility of these new guidelines. [tweet] Greg Finn
October 16-22
API Data Quality
Google Ads has initiated the rollout of a new beta feature called API Data Quality. Designed as a diagnostics tool, it visually presents potential errors when data is sent to the API, making it easier to spot issues, particularly in the realm of offline conversions. [post] Frederik Boysen
October 16-22
Google Ads API and Display & Video 360 Updates in Preparation for DMA
Google is updating its Ads API and Display & Video 360 API to comply with the upcoming Digital Markets Act (DMA). The updates include new “Consent” objects for call conversions, click conversions, Customer Match, and Store Sales, and are expected to be enforced by March 6, 2024. [source]
Week 41
Google Ads Data Manager
Google Ads Data Manager offers a streamlined solution for managing first-party data, enhancing conversions, and improving advertising performance. It simplifies the connection and use of first-party data across multiple channels, reducing the need for coding and enabling marketers to unlock the full potential of their data for better outcomes in marketing campaigns. [source].
Week 41
Twitter App Now a Direct Placement Option
Google Ads has added an option that allows advertisers to target the Twitter app for their campaigns directly. While the website version of Twitter is not readily available for selection, it can be manually added, although the effectiveness of this is yet to be determined.
(Adriaan Dekker – post)
Week 41
Location and Language Settings Now Customizable at Ad Group Level
Google Ads allows advertisers to set location and language settings at the ad group level, providing finer control over ad performance and budget allocation. Google advises using this feature for targeted budget use, reserving campaign-level settings for radius-based targeting. Note: Changing campaign-level settings will overwrite any ad group-level configurations. (Thomas Eccel)
Week 40
Keyword Planner’s Keyword Forecast Sunsets
Google Ads is considering removing the keyword forecasting option in the keyword planner. There is no official statement from Google, but the Ads Liaison Ginny Marvin has posted about it in her official X (former Twitter) profile. [source]
Ginny Marvin’s reply to a query on Twitter.
Week 40
New Direct Messaging
Google now allows advertisers to send message leads directly to a specific phone number via Local Services Ads via text messaging. This eliminates the need for clients to regularly check their Gmail account to manage leads. (Anthony Higman)
Week 39
Updated Dynamic Ad Target Reporting
Google Ads’ recent update to dynamic ad target reporting impacts only instances where positive criteria were removed and re-added as negative ones. All other criteria will continue to provide the same values as before, and the reporting criteria metrics will offer better accuracy from now on. [source]
Week 39
Access Expiration and Email Subscriptions
Google Ads has rolled out a new feature allowing users to set an “access expiration” date for invited users. This is useful for granting temporary access or cleaning up old email addresses. Additionally, you can directly subscribe these users to specific email alerts like “disapproved ads” or “campaign alerts.” (Thomas Eccel)
Week 39
Video Views Campaign Subtype [Worldwide]
Google has rolled out a new campaign subtype called “Video Views,” designed to use multi-format video ads. According to Google, this can help advertisers achieve up to 40% more views at a lower cost per view. The bid strategy for these campaigns is Target CPV, but only when using multi-format video ads. [source] (Dario Zannoni)
Week 38
🚨 Google to Remove Gmail Exclusions in Performance Max
Google has warned that it will remove exclusions for Gmail, affecting how Performance Max campaigns run. The extent of this change, whether it’s account-level or only applies to Performance Max campaigns, is still under investigation. (John Moran)
Week 38
🪦 RIP ‘Buy On Google’ for Search and Shopping
As of September 26, 2023, ‘Buy on Google’ for Search and Shopping will be discontinued, with all Merchant and Consumer support ceasing on November 25, 2023. The orders.get and orders.list methods will remain available until October 30, 2024, for merchants to access historical order data. [source]
Still, Emmanuel Flossie found that “Buy on Google” stays for YouTube (read more)
Week 38
Performance Shifts Insights now available for all campaign types
Google Ads introduced a new “Performance shifts” feature, offering account and campaign levels insights across all campaign types, including Pmax and Shopping Search. Users can select from various KPIs such as Clicks, Conversions, and Conversion Value to view top-performing campaigns and significant changes in performance. (Thomas Eccel)
Week 38
Limited by bid strategy
Ginny Marvin explained that “this new status determines the campaign can get more conv value at a similar ROAS or convs at the target CPA with a value-based bidding strategy. You can review the recommendation but don’t need to do anything.” [tweet]
(firstly spotted by Anthony Higman)
Week 38
“Conversational Experience” (UK & US only)
Generative AI is being introduced with a new “Conversational Experience” feature that allows advertisers to build campaigns using a natural conversational tone. Currently, this beta feature is available only in English and limited to advertisers in the UK and US. [source]
Week 37
Automatically Created Assets
Google Ads has rolled out a new ‘automatically created assets’ setting at the campaign level, designed to personalise ad content. This feature tailors headlines and descriptions to make Search ads more relevant, boosting Ad Strength and extending language support to include Dutch, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, and Spanish. [source]
The feature is turned off by default, but if activated, it automatically generates assets for your campaign. (Dario Zannoni)
Week 37
Audience Signal with Search Themes
Google’s recent update to Pmax campaigns introduces “Audience Signal with Search Themes,” which could impact how well your budget is used if you’re not manually inputting search themes. Neglecting to add search terms or themes allows Google’s algorithm to try various options, leading to wasted ad spend; using your top-performing search terms can help better guide the algorithm. ( Thomas Eccel)
Week 37
Google Expands Local Services Ads to Legal and Estate Firms (London only)
Google is expanding its Local Services Ads to include over 23,000 legal and estate agency firms in the London area, allowing these businesses to appear in prime ad spaces when locals search for their services. Companies can set monthly budgets, opt for geo-targeting, and earn badges like “Google Screened” or “Google Guaranteed” to boost their credibility. [source]
Week 36
Performance Planner for Pmax, Discovery/Demand Gen
Google’s Performance Planner is now available for all types of campaigns, including Pmax and Discovery/Demand Gen. For Pmax campaigns to be eligible, they must be active or paused for less than 7 days and not having changed the bid strategy recently. (Thomas Eccel)
Week 36
Headlines and Long Headlines Library
Pmax has introduced a new one that offers AI-generated content suggestions. While the feature is promising, it currently has limitations with language support; for example, a campaign in German may receive headline suggestions in English. (Thomas Eccel)
Week 36
“URL Contains” in Pmax
Google has added a “URL Contains” feature to Performance Max, allowing advertisers to specify which web pages their ads appear on. Similar to DSA. this feature works by targeting pages with URLs containing specific text tokens, which are pieces of text surrounded by limiters like “/”, “-“, “:”, “?”, “+”, and “&”. (Thomas Eccel)
Week 36
Asset Group Reporting is available for all PMax advertisers
You can now enjoy detailed reporting on metrics like ROAS, CPA, and CVR, as well as Gross Profit at the asset group level. This is a fantastic way to get a more granular view of your campaign performance, helping you make data-driven decisions more efficiently.
(Sergey Gordeev, Felix Kohmaier, Adriaan Dekker, Thomas Eccel)
Week 36
Customer ID in Emails
Google Ads now includes customer ID numbers to help advertisers quickly identify which account an email pertains to. This change aims to eliminate the guesswork for marketers managing multiple accounts, addressing long-standing feedback from the PPC community about the need for more clarity in Google Ads communications. (Greg Kohler)
Week 35
Property Promotion Ads Expansion
2 years ago, Google launched Property Promotion Ads. It has now extended it to the base map in Google Maps, allowing advertisers to display pins at all positions within the map. These pins appear on the desktop version of Google Maps and are activated when a user focuses on an area they don’t usually visit. Clicking on the pin or the top half of its hovercard takes the user to the place sheet for more information, while clicking on the bottom half of the hovercard leads to an outbound deep link. ( Rudolph Dekker )
Week 35
New Languages Supported in GoogleFeedGen
The Google FeedGen feature, which helps optimise product feeds for better visibility in search results, is now available in multiple languages including German, French, Spanish, and Dutch, along with improvements in model tuning. [source] (Alex van de Pol)
Week 35
“One-click target ROAS for Standard Shopping”
Google Ads is phasing out Shopping campaigns that use Enhanced CPC, starting in early October 2023. As an alternative, Google encourages advertisers to try the new one-click Target ROAS experiments available in campaign settings.
This feature allows you to test Target ROAS against your existing Shopping Campaigns that use manual CPC or eCPC bidding, providing a more unbiased way to measure performance by splitting the budget between the original campaign and the experiment. (Thomas Eccel)
Week 35
“Made for you” Pmax Audience Signals
Aiming to streamline targeting by leveraging customer data on interests, habits, and past interactions, Google made this new feature aligned with its best practices. (Thomas Eccel)
Week 34
3 new “Professional” Assessments
Google Ads has rolled out 3 new “Professional” Assessments for Search, Display, and Video! This is still in the pilot phase, but it’s set to grow in 2024. The assessments dive deeper into advanced topics. You’ll need to download a monitoring extension, lock all other tabs, and take both a selfie and a photo of your ID before starting. The certifications are free for a limited period of time (see certifications – Thomas Eccel )
Week 34
Headlines & Descriptions as campaign-level assets
The beta for setting Headlines and Descriptions at the Campaign level has just rolled out. This allows you to set specific headlines and descriptions as campaign-level assets on top of your other assets. ( Anthony Higman )
Week 34
Google ceased collecting and displaying anonymous
Anthony Higman & Adriaan Dekker shared that Google ceased collecting and displaying anonymous reviews in Local Ads starting August 25.
Week 34
Search Themes Signals
Google has introduced a new feature for Pmax Signals, allowing advertisers to add up to ten search themes to refine their audience targeting. This feature aims to help you specify the words or phrases that people commonly use when searching for your products or services. ( Patrick Gehn)
Week 34
Search Themes Signals
Google has introduced a new feature for Pmax Signals, allowing advertisers to add up to ten search themes to refine their audience targeting. This feature aims to help you specify the words or phrases that people commonly use when searching for your products or services. ( Patrick Gehn)
Week 33
Performance Max with vehicle feeds
Google’s vehicle ads are getting an upgrade to Performance Max, automatically transitioning existing campaigns from Smart Shopping. The new feature will be open for beta testing in the U.S. and Canada and closed beta in Australia. (source)
Week 33
Demand Gen
Building on Discovery ads, Demand Gen aims to help advertisers target consumers on platforms like YouTube, Shorts, Discover, and Gmail.
New capabilities include combining video and image ads in a single campaign, harnessing Lookalike segments to find potential customers, goal-oriented performance optimization, and enhanced ad previews.
Google’s beta for these features is now available, and all Discovery ads will be transitioned to Demand Gen starting in October, with a complete switch by early 2024. (source – Join the beta here)
Demand Gen starting in October, with a complete switch by early 2024.
If you’re looking to compare the Discovery and Demand Gen features, consider this insightful comparison shared by Greg Finn.
Week 33
Custom date range in Pmax
Performance Max now provides custom date range options with comparison selections for search term reports. Previously, users were limited to viewing data from the past 7 or 28 days, but with this update, search terms have a dedicated data range selector. (Joey Bidner)
Week 32
Local Inventory Ads Update
The platform has shortened the onboarding time for local inventory ads and introduced a new local store unit ad format.
Week 32
Performance Max will start using images from your product feed
🚨 One major update indicates that Performance Max will start using images from your product feed to unlock additional inventory and formats, incl. YouTube Shorts. What does it mean? When using feed-only PMax campaigns, you may want to consider creating custom assets to avoid auto-generated ad formats in the future. (Mike Ryan)
Week 32
Pmax campaign with Page Feed integration
You can now utilize a page feed in Performance Max campaigns to guide Google Ads to the correct landing pages, ensuring indexed pages and effective ad display. Ensure to download the provided template and input each “Page URL” without added tracking parameters. (Thomas Eccel)
Week 32
AI assistant
Google Ads’ AI assistant has been released in beta; users should cross-reference its advice with official documentation and seek expert opinions when in doubt. (Julie Friedman Bacchini – tweet)
Week 32
Updated Content & Exclusion Targeting Tab
Available at the account level, the content & exclusion targeting tab now consolidates Keywords, Topics, and Placement management, allowing users to easily monitor their performance. The tab also includes an exclusion section to filter out irrelevant content.
Additionally, there’s a chart that provides a breakdown of clicks and conversions over specified periods. (Dimple C.)
Week 31
Similar Segments are Dead
Advertisers using Similar Segments will have automatically opted into optimized targeting and audience expansion. There is now a settings page in the audiences tab where we can tell Google to turn off the campaigns instead of expanding the targeting. (Dario Zannoni)
Week 31
Long live Lookalike Segments
You can now make these audiences using Demand Gen Campaigns by pairing tailored creatives with brand-new lookalike segments based on your audience lists. (source)
Week 30
Video dimensions
Ads now allow videos of varying dimensions in the same campaign! Presently, this option is only visible in reach campaigns but it’s expected to expand to other campaign types. (Benjamin Vandenberghe
Week 30
Improved Search Terms Insights Report
Google Ads has updated the Search Terms Insights report. Key changes include selectable time ranges, historical data access, and a CSV download option. The tool benefits from improved categorization and compatibility with Performance Max campaigns. However, it lacks cost data, and metrics reporting levels vary, requiring careful analysis.
To include search terms in CSV, use the “View detailed report” option.
Week 29
“Web to App Connect Page”
Located under Tools & Settings -> App Advertising Hub, this new interface enhances the ad experience for mobile app users. It helps to establish in-app conversion measurements, and bidding strategies, and create deep links. (Thomas Eccel)
Week 29
“Apply as a restriction”
This new feature in Brand Lists appears to be compatible with Search campaigns that use the broad match keyword setting. This could allow you to have a broader reach with your ads while still keeping some control over where and when your ads appear. (Thomas Eccel)
Week 29
Week 28
Generic mutate functionality in Google Ads scripts
Most mutate operations that are supported by the Google Ads API can now be performed directly in scripts. (source)
Week 28
Enhanced conversion for leads
This feature in beta is getting available to users with an easier set-up process for offline conversion imports. You can learn more about enhanced conversions here. (Thomas Eccel)
Week 28
Turn on conversion-based customer lists
In your account settings, you could now opt-in to automatically created customer match lists using data collected from customers via your conversion tags. (Thomas Eccel)
Week 27
Automated Discounts
After three years of beta testing, Automated discount is now available and aims to help advertisers discount their product prices based on multiple real-time signals.
To access Automated Discounts, certain requirements must be met, including a minimum weekly click threshold and proper conversion tracking. Additionally, websites should be capable of adjusting product prices based on a query string, and the cost of goods sold (COGS) must be included in the data feed.
The feature introduces a new attribute called ‘auto_pricing_min_price‘ that allows merchants to set the minimum discount price for products eligible for automated discounts.
Week 27
Setup column
Google Ads has launched a great new column option in the interface named Setup. These columns ensure that at the campaign level, account hygiene can be monitored for the quality and quantity of ad groups, keywords and ads at a glance. (credit to Karlijn Corbran)
Week 27
Local Services Ads hours updates affect GMB
Local Services Ads hours updates will now be reflected in GMB (Google My Business) within 24 hours.
Week 26
New brand settings in Search and Performance Max
New brand settings in Search and Performance Max campaigns are now available to all advertisers. (source)
Brand restrictions for broad match in Search campaigns allow advertisers to target only desired brand traffic, ensuring relevancy while benefiting from the reach of broad match.
Brand exclusions in Performance Max campaigns allow advertisers to exclude specific brands they want to avoid, providing more control over ad placements on Search and Shopping inventory.
Week 26
FeedGen
Google made now available on Github, FeedGen. It leverages the power of generative ai and large language models on GoogleCloud to optimize Shopping feeds. It simplifies improving product data, generating detailed descriptions, and filling in missing attributes for retailers and agencies working with Google Merchant Center. Thanks, ツ Mehdi Bouazza
Week 25
Stores Sales in Pmax
Store sales capabilities are now available when using Performance Max campaigns with store goals, omnichannel bidding goals, and Google Merchant Center feed with omnichannel bidding goals. (source)
Week 24
Virtual try-on feature for apparel
Powered by a new generative AI model, this new feature creates realistic images of clothing on real models with different body shapes. The training was done using Google’s Shopping Graph data set, and the feature is currently available for women’s tops from select brands, with plans for expansion. (learn more)
Week 24
Guided refinements
With guided refinements, you can find alternatives to your desired clothing items at a lower price or in a different pattern is now easier. Available initially for tops, you can access this feature directly within product listings. (source)
Week 24
Priority Broad Mach
Google Ads has introduced a new campaign setting that converts all phrase and exact match keywords to broad match. This new match type, called “priority broad match,” combines the behaviour of broad match and exact match keywords. It ensures that exact-match keywords take precedence over others when a search term matches the keyword.
While the setting simplifies the conversion process, it makes sure that no other campaign can snatch search terms away from those priority broad match keywords but limits the control and options for advertisers. (Martin Röttgerding)
Week 24
New Opted Into Setting In Automated Location Assets
Google can automatically access your merchant photos and other rich media from the linked Google Business Profiles in the advertising campaigns from this account. You can still opt out if necessary (thanks, Anthony Higman – learn more)
Week 24
Final URL expansion in Pmax
When rolling out Text assets, we can now notice that Final URL expansion is only available when you opt-in to this new feature. (source)
Week 24
Upgrade DSA to Pmax
A new recommendation called “Get more conversions value by upgrading your Search DSA to Pmax” starts promoting to switch to Pmax. It potentially indicates that the DSA team is more focused on developing the Performance Max capabilities. (Thomas Eccel)
Week 24
Keyword Creation Source
Users will now be able to view the keyword source in Google Ads UI, which helps users differentiate between keywords added by user-applied recommendations, auto-applied recommendations, and those that have been manually added by users. (Sergey Gordeev)
Week 23
Edit RSAs assets directly in Asset Details
You can now directly update an asset through the “Assets Details” section on the RSA level (Sofia Akritidou)
Week 22
Auto Assets in Performance Max
You can now opt out of the auto asset creation (only available in some accounts (Thanks, Dan Chorlton)
Week 22
Google now ignores ad group and campaign-level ad extensions
Google now ignores ad group and campaign-level ad extensions in favor of account-level ones if they think it will increase performance. (validation in progress – source)
Week 21
Automatically created assets (ACA)
Generative AI will enhance automatically created assets in Search campaigns, generating more relevant headlines and descriptions aligned with user search queries.
You can still decide to turn it off if not relevant.
Week 21
Brand restrictions for Broad match
Rollout of brand restrictions, enabling the use of broad match while ensuring it matches relevant brand traffic, expanding reach without compromising specific brand requirements. (Google Marketing Live 2023)
Week 21
Deeper Insights in Performance Max
(1) You can download search terms insights via the API (incl. date range)
(2) Run new types of experiments within Performance Max campaigns, such as final URL expansion
(3) Asset insights provide details on creative performance and recommendations for optimizing results. (tweet)
Week 21
“Trusted Store” Badge
“Trusted Store” badge: when you score an excellent rating on your Shopping experience scorecard, the badge will say “Top Quality Store” instead (source)
Week 20
Google Ads with Wix
Google Ads with Wix allows you to create a campaign directly from your site’s dashboard. This is a great way to get more eyes on your business when advertising on Google. (source)
Week 19
Dynamic remarketing campaigns have new options
Dynamic remarketing campaigns have new options that are auto-enabled, including asset enhancements and auto-generated videos. Review and customize them before publishing. (Boris Beceric)
Week 19
Auto-apply in Account Settings
In some accounts, you can notice how many auto-applied recommendations are opt-in in the account settings (Dario Zannoni)
Week 19
Google My Business hosted conversions
New Google My Business hosted conversions were added, including business calls, learn more and tracked calls, should not be included in conversions optimization yet.
(Anthony Higman – tweet)
Week 17
New Invoicing for MCC-level users
A new invoice is available for those paying media spend at the MCC level (Hana Kobzová)
Week 17
Asset group-level reporting in Performance Max
Google has introduced asset group-level reporting for Performance Max (PMax) campaigns, allowing advertisers to analyze performance metrics and conversion data for each asset group. The report is being rolled out gradually and is currently available for 10% of accounts. (Felix Kohmaier)
Week 16
Automatically create assets in Performance Max
In Performance, Max, a new setting has been added for new campaigns only that automatically creates assets and leads customers to every page of your website. To ensure its effectiveness, check the assets report and review by source. (Ivelina Ansarova & Adriaan Dekker)
Week 15
New Google skill shop
Dario Zannoni also reported a new Google skillshop called “AI-Powered Performance Ads”. It includes plenty of courses related to Pmax campaigns but also one with the title “Apply Recommendations Automatically”. (try it now)
Week 15
Custom Columns in Google Ads Manager
It is also now possible to create Custom Columns and assign them to Manager Accounts. These columns are automatically shared with all sub-accounts, so there’s no need to recreate them!
Week 15
Edit text assets
It is now possible to edit text assets of RSA ads directly from the [View asset details] screen. Dario Zannoni prefers to adjust the ads from the edit screen because the valuable information is only available there.
Week 15
Lead Form Segment Audience
Google Ads has introduced a new lead form segment that allows advertisers to create an audience of users who submitted the form. This was reported by Victor Sellés Guillemat and Adriaan Dekker. The new segment is now available in the audience manager of Google Ads.
Week 15
Audiences Insights directly in the library
Google Ads Asset Library now surfaces audience insights directly in the library, but it requires significant data. However, it would be beneficial to have the ability to verify where each asset is used. (Dario Zannoni)
Week 15
Vehicle Ads
Canadian advertisers can access vehicle ads, promoting inventory on Google.com with car details and images. Clicks direct customers to the advertiser’s Vehicle Description Page for further actions like contacting the dealer or submitting a lead form. (source)
Week 14
Pause low CTR keywords
A new recommendation warns to pause low CTR keywords if it has less than 1% CTR and 3 or more words.
Sophie Logan rightfully argues that this approach is too extreme, as keywords with low CTRs can still generate results. Always check the context and insights before accepting recommendations.
Week 14
Auto Apply experiments
Google Ads now offers Auto Apply experiments created from the Recommendations tab. Selecting the “Auto Apply” option applies the recommendation if it performs better. (Alfred Simon)
Week 13
View Asset Details
You can now see search terms insights at “view asset details” for each responsive ad along with its combination. (Kevin Kaneria)
Week 12
Mixed Formats in YouTube
John Moran notice this new alpha feature on YouTube Ads. It allows showing skippable ads to non-skippers and non-skippable ads to skippers.
Week 12
New Discovery Features
Product feeds are now available for all to show items based on consumer interests in Discovery Ads with product-level reporting. Also, Conversion Lift based on geography can measure the impact of Discovery ads and Video action campaigns together. (source – learn more)
Week 12
AI ad copy recommendations
A new beta feature discovered by Chaitanya Vanga in Google Ads! Google’s AI can generate ads by using keywords related to your product or service.
Week 8
Automatically created assets
Available to all advertisers in English as an open beta, Google will use inputs you’ve provided such as your keywords to customize your headlines and improve their relevance to the query when it’s predicted to improve performance. You’ll also be able to remove any automatically created assets that you’d prefer not to include in your ads. (source)
Week 8
9:16 Format
Week 7
Advanced location targeting
You’ll now have the option to switch to 3 options without possibility to exclude one of them:
- Presence or Interest: Reach people in, regularly in, or who’ve shown interest in, your targeted locations
- Presence: Reach people who are likely to be located, or regularly located in the locations you’ve targeted.
- Search Interest: This option lets you show your ads to people who are searching for your targeted locations
(source – API support – Bhavik Daftary)
Week 7
Video creation tool
To make it easier to provide high-quality video ads, video creation tools are now integrated directly into Performance Max campaign setup and editing workflows (previously available only in the asset library)
2 other features (coming soon)
- Page feeds: In the coming months, you’ll be able to upload a feed of page URLs to refine your results when using the final URL expansion feature.
- Asset group reporting: Soon, you’ll be able to see conversions, conversion value, cost, and a variety of other metrics at the asset group level.
- Budget pacing insights: In the next few weeks, you’ll automatically be able to uncover opportunities to optimize your budget and performance.
(source)
Week 7
Brand List exclusions in Performance Max
You can now block traffic from most brand misspellings and brand searches in a foreign language at the campaign level.
Week 5
Consolidated view of your “Content targeting”
“Topics”, “Placements”, “Display/Video keywords”, and “Exclusions” for all types of content targeting are now categorized under the “Content” meaning your ads could appear on content that matches either. (source)
Week 4
Performance Max experiments
It will allow you to measure results against other Pmax or Shopping campaigns, with the potential to see an “incremental significant uplift in conversions”. “Previously this was hard to measure due to the cannibalization of ads served”. (Joey Bidner / Ivelina Ansarova)
Week 3
Account-level negative keywords
You can now add up to 1,000 negative keywords in any match type at the account level. Nils Rooijmans (source)
Week 2
Google Local Service Ads for dentists
“Services” are now available in the dentist vertical and you can see a list of all job types below and the requirements here (source)
Week 2
Responsive Display Ads
A new 600×1067 image requirement has been added to Responsive Display Ads ads. (Alican Tütüncü)
Week 2
Remove redundant keywords” auto-recommendation
Starting January 19th, Google Ads will change the definition & execution of this recommendation “even if you’ve already opt-in”. Greg Finn (source)
The “remove redundant keywords” rec only affects new recommendations and applies to keywords in the same ad group (and bidding strategy & destination). You can opt out of the ‘remove redundant keywords’ recommendation at any time via the Manage or History tab in the UI or via Editor. (Greg Finn and Ginny Marvin reply on Twitter)
Nov 14, 2023
Microsoft Advertising collaborates with Baidu Global to revolutionise AI experiences
In a strategic collaboration, Microsoft Advertising partners with Baidu Global to integrate its Chat Ads API into the Baidu Global Keyboard, set to launch in early 2024. This innovative venture will enable advertisers on the Microsoft Advertising platform to deliver targeted sponsored content recommendations to users of Baidu Global Keyboard’s Chat AI feature, reaching diverse demographics in the US, Canada, UK, and Australia. The partnership unlocks unique opportunities for advertisers to engage Gen Z users and provide personalized, context-aware content across various app environments, fostering better purchase intent and conversion likelihood. [Microsoft Ads]
Nov 13, 2023
Microsoft Advertising enhances transparency with email alerts on disapproval [US, India, Canada, and Australia]
In line with its commitment to transparency and user safety, Microsoft Advertising introduces new policies and updates to existing ones, focusing on quicker email notifications for ad, keyword, or product offer disapprovals. The updated alert system includes increased cadence to promptly inform customers of policy violations within the last 24 hours. Recipients can easily access details and appeal options via the provided hyperlink in the notification email, promoting a more efficient resolution process. [Microsoft Ads]
Week 40
October Updates
Microsoft Advertising has rolled out several updates for Audience Ads like Maximize Conversions and Target CPA, expansion into 58 new markets, and more engaging ad placements across Microsoft properties and games.
Hotel Campaigns have also been renamed “Lodging Campaigns” to better align with evolving travel and accommodation options.
Finally, Microsoft released Video and CTV Ads, which allow brands to reach large-scale and high-value audiences across Microsoft properties and publisher partners in online video and CTV placements. [source]
Week 38
New Automated Bid Strategies and Expands Global Reach
Microsoft Advertising is expanding with 2 new automated bidding strategies: Maximize Conversion and Target CPA. Additionally, the platform has expanded its market reach to 58 new countries, now serving 187 countries. [source]
Week 38
“Compare & Decide Ads” for Bing Chat
Microsoft Advertising is stepping up its game in Chat ads with the introduction of “Compare & Decide Ads,” targeted at users looking to compare options in retail, travel, and auto sectors. The new Conversational Ad format offers succinct comparison tables, aiming for a more interactive and informative user experience. A closed beta is set for early 2024.. [source]
Week 38
AI Chat Advertising – Partnerships with Snapchat and Axel Springer
Microsoft Advertising is broadening its AI Chat Advertising reach via its Ads for Chat API. Snapchat and Axel Springer are the first to integrate this technology, offering new avenues for advertisers. Snapchat’s My AI chatbot will feature Sponsored Links to its 150 million users, and Axel Springer’s Hey_ on BILD.de aims to connect advertisers with its daily traffic of around 16-17 million visitors. [source]
Week 38
Copilot in the Microsoft Advertising Platform
Microsoft Advertising has launched Copilot, an intelligent assistant built on generative AI and natural language conversations. Specifically designed for advertisers and agencies, Copilot aims to simplify campaign creation by suggesting images, headlines, descriptions, and more, all geared towards improving advertising efficiency. [source]
Week 38
Copilot in the Microsoft Advertising Platform
Microsoft Advertising has launched Copilot, an intelligent assistant built on generative AI and natural language conversations. Specifically designed for advertisers and agencies, Copilot aims to simplify campaign creation by suggesting images, headlines, descriptions, and more, all geared towards improving advertising efficiency. [source]
Week 29
Logo Extension
Microsoft’s Logo Extension pilot is now in open beta globally. Eligible advertisers can associate a logo at the account, campaign, or ad group level, with the logo appearing on Bing across all devices.
Week 28
Generative AI into responsive search ads (RSA)
With AI-generated headline and description recommendations, advertisers can enhance their RSA creation and editing process. These recommendations are categorized, as of higher quality, and available in multiple languages. (source)
Week 28
Auto-generated asset
Once you check the box to enable auto-generated assets, they’ll begin serving you. (source)
Week 28
Property promotion ads
This ads type now includes vacation rentals, expanding opportunities for travel advertisers. (source)
Week 25
Predictive Targeting
Predictive Targeting is now available for all advertisers on Audience Ads. It uses AI and audience intelligence to find the right audiences for campaigns, saving time and driving efficiencies. If you don’t wish to use Predictive Targeting, simply add an audience target and switch off the Predictive Targeting toggle. (source)
Week 22
Microsoft Ads Build 2023
During Microsoft Build 2023, several new features and experiences have launched. One major announcement was the expansion of Microsoft Store Ads beyond the United States to over 150 regions worldwide.
Premium Search Ads offer a prominent and visually appealing placement within the Microsoft Store, while also extending to the Bing Search Engine Results Page (SERP), significantly expanding advertisers’ reach.
Advertisers now have more options to reach customers through Premium Search Ads in the Microsoft Store and Bing.com search results.
Additional features include Partner Center integration for easy sign-up and simplified advertiser onboarding.
(source)
Week 22
UET Insights
Starting on 3 July 2023, the new UET insights will be automatically enabled on a rolling basis. This feature includes new data collection to provide valuable insights such as session count, popular pages, device and country breakdown and average active time. (source)
Week 18
Asset Library now supports video assets
Asset Library now supports video assets, allowing for easier video upload and management for campaigns.
Week 14
Bulk operations in Asset Library
Bulk operations allow you to easily bulk delete folders and assets, and move multiple items in bulk to your target folder or subfolder.
Week 13
eCPC for Microsoft Audience Network
Starting April 24th, manual bidding will no longer be available for new campaigns on the Microsoft Audience Network. Existing image and feed campaigns using manual CPC bid will be upgraded to eCPC by April 28th. (source)
Microsoft Ads suggests optimizing automated bidding for click-based and view-through conversions by changing your conversion goal attribution to “last touch”.
Week 13
Bing Chat Ads
Microsoft is testing ads in Bing Chat powered by OpenAI’s GPT-4, labelled as sponsored. Ads can’t be blocked and may erode trust. It’s unclear how successful they are in Microsoft Ads due to limited transparency. (source)
Week 12
Microsoft Sites and Select Traffic’
Bob Meijer / Adriaan Dekker shared how the ‘Bing and Yahoo Search’ audience segment is now called ‘Microsoft Sites and Select Traffic’. The change appears to be rolling out slowly as some Reddit users noticed it five months ago.
Week 7
Partnership with PrestaShop
PrestaShop is partnering with Microsoft in Europe and Latin America. Merchants can find Microsoft Ads and Listings in the Modules section of their back office and install the module in just a few clicks. Merchants can also download the module zip from the PrestaShop Official Addons Marketplace and upload it to their server. (source)
Week 5
Data exclusions
In case there’s a data outage or any other unintended conversion tracking changes. This will allow you to ensure algorithms get precise information and maintain optimal performance (source)
Week 5
Data exclusions
In case there’s a data outage or any other unintended conversion tracking changes. This will allow you to ensure algorithms get precise information and maintain optimal performance (source)
Week 4
Enhanced cost-per-click (eCPC) rollout
Enhanced cost per click (eCPC) is now available in all markets for the Microsoft Audience Network
Week 3
In-market audiences in the Middle East and Africa
PromoteIQ Offsite: Retailers will be able to leverage the power of the Microsoft Marketing Platform (MMP) to measure ads delivered to omnichannel customers across Google, Microsoft & Meta Ads (Facebook & Instagram). (source)
Week 2
In-market audiences in the Middle East and Africa
In-Market Audiences expanded to new markets and if you’d like a full list of available In-Market audiences in each market, check out this excel link.
Nov 22, 2023
Amazon introduces Video to Amazon Posts
Amazon is rolling out a feature allowing brands to add vertical videos to their Amazon Posts. This enhancement aims to drive brand discovery and engagement through immersive video content. Notably, interactions with Posts have significantly increased branded searches and Store visits. [post] (Jeffrey Cohen)
Note: The format requires vertical videos (9:16 aspect ratio, under 45 seconds), and adheres to moderation guidelines like other Amazon video content. Brands without existing videos can use Amazon’s free video builder.
Nov 20, 2023
Alexa joins Amazon DSP
Amazon DSP now features Alexa as a new supply source, enabling ads on Echo Show devices’ Alexa Home Screens. This integration signifies a strategic move to embed brands into the daily routines of Alexa users, thus boosting brand awareness. Alexa is now a default inventory source when setting up Amazon Mobile Display line items. [post] ( Mansour Norouzi)
Nov 20, 2023
Revamped Sponsored Display Product Targeting
A significant update in Sponsored Display (SD) Product Targeting now allows viewing up to 50 individual product targets in four distinct groups: ‘Higher-Priced Similar Products,’ ‘Similar Products in Your Catalog,’ ‘Lower-Rated Similar Products,’ and ‘Most-Viewed Similar Products.’ [post] (Adam Mellott)
Nov 20, 2023
New Benchmarking Insights for Product Selection
Ad Console introduces a benchmarking tool at the ASIN level, allowing advertisers to compare a product’s performance against others in the same category. This feature provides insights into whether a product aligns with, exceeds, or falls behind market trends, enhancing advertising strategies based on category benchmarks. [post] (Himanshu Verma)
Nov 15, 2023
Amazon DSP’s Standard Display revolutionises creative building
Amazon DSP introduces ‘Standard Display,’ a new API-first ad experience, streamlining creative building by up to 70%. This feature allows customers to upload multiple image assets for various creative types in a single workflow. It consolidates and replaces previous creatives, supporting 62 sizes but ensuring campaigns utilise more than the average 3.6 sizes. Launched in various regions globally, it is accessible to managed and self-service users on Amazon DSP. [Amazon Ads]
October 16-22
Amazon Unveils Sponsored TV Ads – Full-Screen, Unskippable Video Ads Across Streaming Platforms
Amazon has launched Sponsored TV Ads, offering advertisers full-screen, unskippable video placements within a range of streaming content such as Amazon Freevee originals, Twitch live streams, live sports events, and Fire TV channels. This introduces a new avenue for brands to capture a broader audience and integrate seamlessly into viewers’ streaming experiences. [post] Himanshu Verma
October 16-22
“New-to-Brand Detail Page Views” Metrics
Amazon has rolled out a new metric, “New-to-Brand Detail Page Views,” which tracks first-time visits to your product detail page. This serves as a valuable indicator of brand engagement and allows you to measure the success of your marketing strategies in attracting new and potentially loyal customers. [post] Himanshu Verma
October 16-22
Product-Level Trends
Amazon Advertising’s new update lets you view performance trends at the ASIN (Amazon Standard Identification Number) level. By navigating through the Advertising Console and the Products Tab, advertisers can easily access these product-specific insights. [post] Destaney Wishon
October 16-22
Rest of search Placement Optimization
Amazon has released a new feature aimed at improving the performance of ads placed in the “Rest of the Page” section. The update allows advertisers to start campaigns with low bids, effectively boosting impressions and clicks for ads in this location. [post] Muhammad Amir Akhlaq
October 16-22
New “Goals” Settings Introduced for Amazon Sponsored Brands Campaigns
Amazon has added two new goal options for Sponsored Brands Campaigns: “Drive page visits,” which operates on a cost-per-click basis, and “Grow brand impression share,” which uses a vCPM cost type. [post] Himanshu Verma
October 16-22
‘Cost Per Order’ Optimization for Sponsored Display
Amazon’s Sponsored Display Campaigns now offer a ‘Cost per Order’ setting when you choose the ‘Conversions’ optimization strategy. This feature disables manual bid settings, calculating bids automatically to align with your specified cost per order, starting at a minimum of $5.00. [post] Khezar Elahi
Week 41
Rest of Search Placement Bid Adjustment now accessible via the UI
Amazon has extended the availability of the Rest of Search placement bid adjustment feature to the user interface, making it easier to modify bids directly within placement or campaign settings. Initially available only through the API and later through Bulkfiles, this update offers advertisers greater control over individual placements. (Himanshu Verma / Yogesh Kumar – post)
Week 41
New Delivery Metrics for DSP
Amazon has rolled out two new metrics for its Demand Side Platform (DSP) to enhance campaign performance and budget utilization. The “Delivery Rate” acts as an early warning system for under-delivery issues, while “Budget at Risk” quantifies potentially unspent budget, enabling advertisers to take timely corrective actions. (Himanshu Verma – post)
Week 41
Sponsored Display Video – Banner Ad – New Scroll-Over PDP Format
Amazon’s latest innovation in ad formats allows the Sponsored Display Video Banner Ad to maintain its scroll-over position on the Product Detail Page (PDP). This feature could significantly enhance customer engagement and conversion rates. (Adam Mellott – post)
Week 41
New Goals Options in Sponsored Brand Campaigns
Selected accounts now can choose between two different goals—Grow brand impression share and Drive page visits—when creating Sponsored Brand campaigns on Amazon. In addition, a VCPM cost type is now available for these campaigns. ( Adam Mellott – post)
Week 40
Feature Rotator Ads for Fire TV
Amazon Advertising has launched Feature Rotator ads, an obvious carousel ad format on the Fire TV home screen, accessible to self-service entertainment advertisers in 11 marketplaces. The new ad format allows initial static imagery to transition into an autoplay video, offering an interactive and engaging user experience. [source]
Week 40
Amazon Simplifies International Video Ads with Free Localization
Amazon Ads now provides free localization of Sponsored brand videos, allowing advertisers to run linguistically tailored campaigns across different international marketplaces. The service initially covers translations from English to German, French, Italian, and Spanish, with a turnaround time of up to 72 hours. (Johannes Ander)
Week 40
Rest Of Search Placement Bid Adjustment
Amazon’s Rest of Search placement bid adjustment, initially introduced through the API and Bulkfiles, is now accessible directly through the user interface (UI). Advertisers can now conveniently modify bids within placement or campaign settings, providing enhanced control over bidding for each placement. (Himanshu Verma / Yogesh Kumar )
Week 40
Multi-country Reporting Now Available
Advertisers can access reports that include all applicable countries, view them in a preferred currency and language, and easily switch between advertising accounts in different countries while maintaining their language preferences. (Himanshu Verma)
Week 40
Hourly Budget Rules
Amazon has rolled out a new feature allowing you to set a start and end time for rule-based budget increases in your advertising campaigns. Designed explicitly for schedule-type budget rules, this addition aims to enhance Return on Ad Spend (ROAS) by tailoring budget allocation to campaign performance during different hours of the day. (Himanshu Verma)
Week 40
New delivery metrics
Delivery Rate and Budget at Risk, for its Demand-Side Platform (DSP) campaigns, which provide advertisers with early indicators of potential under-delivery issues and quantify the budget that could remain unspent. (Himanshu Verma)
Week 40
New delivery metrics
Delivery Rate and Budget at Risk, for its Demand-Side Platform (DSP) campaigns, which provide advertisers with early indicators of potential under-delivery issues and quantify the budget that could remain unspent. (Himanshu Verma)
Week 39
Sponsored Brands Streaming TV
Amazon has introduced a new feature where Sponsored Brands ads can appear within streaming TV content across platforms like IMDb.com, Twitch, and devices like Fire TV. Different from traditional Sponsored Brands and Sponsored Products ads targeting users already on Amazon, these ads aim to reach an audience off Amazon who may not be immediately ready to purchase. (Destaney Wishon)
Week 39
Bulk File Adjustments for Rest of Search Placement
Amazon now allows advertisers to adjust Rest of Search (ROS) placements via Bulk Files, offering greater flexibility and efficiency in campaign management. ( Abdullah R. ⚕️)
Week 39
Amazon Attribution Adds Re-Marketing Feature
Amazon Attribution (AA) is introducing a new custom audience feature that enables re-marketing capabilities. This feature allows you to target audiences who have interacted with your off-Amazon ads and directs them into Amazon within the last 30 days, available through Amazon DSP. (Destaney Wishon)
Week 39
Amazon Ads Partner Network moves to Advertising Console
Amazon is consolidating the Partner Network and advertising console into one interface, making it easier for agencies to manage campaigns and partnerships. This change aims to streamline the user experience by providing a unified dashboard. (Mansour Norouzi)
Week 39
Minor tweaks to Amazon DSP UI
Amazon has updated its Demand-Side Platform (DSP) with new features allowing more flexible bidding and goal-setting. Users can now opt for a KPI-focused bid system and choose between awareness, considerations, and conversion goals for each DSP order. (Destaney Wishon)
Week 38
Weekly Access to Premium A+ Content
Amazon has updated its A+ Content feature to allow advertisers weekly access every Friday instead of the previous monthly access. Additionally, advertisers now need only 5 A+ Contents to unlock this feature, down from 20, and the change is effective globally across all open marketplaces. (Yogesh Kumar)
Week 38
Push Notifications for Campaign Maintenance
Amazon PPC has introduced push notifications to notify users about the maintenance of their advertising campaigns, focusing on campaigns that have achieved a Year-to-Date Return on Ad Spend (ROAS) exceeding 3. (Yogesh Kumar)
Week 38
Schedule Rules for Bid Adjustments
Amazon Advertising now allows advertisers to set schedule rules for automated bid adjustments, either daily or weekly. These rules are applied in addition to your existing bidding strategies and placement adjustments, offering a tailored approach to improve ad performance. [source](Destaney Wishon – Himanshu Verma)
Week 38
“Keyword Rank”
Amazon’s new “Keyword Rank” feature aims to enhance your PPC campaigns by recommending high-potential keywords for conversions. This complements the existing Opportunity Explorer tool, which shows actual search term volume. ( Ihor Dubovetskyi)
Week 38
Amazon unveils Coupon Type for Reordering Customers
Amazon now offers a new type of coupon aimed at customer retention, specifically encouraging second-time orders to increase lifetime value (LTV). This feature is accessible through the Coupon module. (Steven Pope)
Week 37
Hourly Download Option now available for Sponsored Products
A new feature currently in beta allows users to download Sponsored Products (SP) campaign reports hourly. With a 30-day lookback period, this addition provides more granular data for better campaign analysis. (Prem gupta)
Week 37
Amazon rolls out Multi-Country Campaign Manager
Advertisers can now view and manage campaigns in various countries from a single dashboard, with country filters, campaign location identification, and currency conversion options for multiple Amazon-sponsored ad types. (Yogesh Kumar)
Week 37
Minimum audience size for Brand Tailored Promotions
Amazon’s Brand Tailored Promotions now require a minimum audience size of 1,000, up from the previous requirement of 100. This change will affect how brands target specific customer groups like repeat buyers or cart abandoners with tailored discounts and offers. (Himanshu Sharma – Prem gupta)
Week 37
New audience options for Brand-Tailored Promotions
3 new audience categories were released:
- “At Risk” for customers who’ve purchased but haven’t returned
- “Promising” for customers likely to become loyal to your brand.
- “Top Tier” for customers who purchased recently and spent the most.(Francisco Valadez / Alexander Swade)
Week 37
New metrics
Amazon has introduced new metrics, including ‘Add to Cart,’ to offer a more detailed view of the advertising performance journey. These insights in select accounts will enable advertisers to optimise campaigns more effectively by understanding the steps from clicks to sales (Himanshu Verma)
Week 37
Re-Marketing Feature for Off-Amazon Traffic
Amazon Attribution now lets advertisers re-engage audiences who have visited Amazon from off-site ads in the past 30 days. This new custom audience feature expands re-marketing capabilities and is available within Amazon’s Demand Side Platform (DSP). (Yogesh Kumar)
Week 37
Video in Sponsored Brands
Amazon now lets brands include videos in their Sponsored Brands campaigns, offering a more engaging way to showcase product collections. Users who click on individual products in the video are directed to detailed product pages, providing a richer, more informative experience. ( Yogesh Kumar)
Week 37
Video Builder Tool now supports Multi-Product Videos
Amazon’s Video Builder tool has been updated to allow the creation of videos featuring up to three products. This new feature complements the recent update that lets you use your brand store as a landing page, highlighting multiple products in your video ad campaigns. (Prem gupta)
Week 37
Video Builder Tool now supports Multi-Product Videos
Amazon’s Video Builder tool has been updated to allow the creation of videos featuring up to three products. This new feature complements the recent update that lets you use your brand store as a landing page, highlighting multiple products in your video ad campaigns. (Prem gupta)
Week 37
“Supply Chain by Amazon”
Amazon announced at their Accelerate conference that it aims to make shipping and storage more efficient and affordable for businesses. The new service offers features like discounted cross-border and domestic shipping, bulk storage options, and automatic inventory replenishment, simplifying supply chain management across various sales channels. (Prem gupta)
Week 35
“Recommended based on shopping trends”
Amazon is making its Sponsored Ads more personalized, using categories like “recommended based on shopping trends” and “based on your browsing history.” For advertisers, this could offer new ways to target specific audience groups, potentially increasing ROI. For shoppers, personalized ads could improve their browsing experience by aligning more closely with their interests. (Himanshu Verma)
Week 35
“Recommended based on shopping trends”
Amazon is making its Sponsored Ads more personalized, using categories like “recommended based on shopping trends” and “based on your browsing history.” For advertisers, this could offer new ways to target specific audience groups, potentially increasing ROI. For shoppers, personalized ads could improve their browsing experience by aligning more closely with their interests. (Himanshu Verma)
Week 35
Marketplaces where your product is listed
Amazon has rolled out a feature that shows the number of marketplaces where your product is listed directly in the product catalogue. This update lets you adjust product prices and view Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) inventory information for other marketplaces without diving deep into individual listings. (Yogesh Kumar)
Week 34
Sponsored Products ads to external platforms
Amazon is expanding its Sponsored Products ads to external platforms like Pinterest, BuzzFeed, and others. Advertisers won’t need to modify campaigns; Amazon will manage ad placements based on existing campaign parameters. (source)
Week 34
Category options within Contextual targeting
Amazon has updated its DSP Contextual Targeting feature to offer more granularity. In addition to auto-targeting related product pages, you can now specifically target or block categories and individual ASINs. (Justin Nuckols & Adam Mellott)
Week 34
Image Suggestions on Sponsored Brands
The “Image Suggestions” feature on Sponsored Brands (SB) creatives now offers image recommendations tailored to the products and headline you choose. ( Himanshu Verma )
Week 34
Updated support case initiation process
Amazon has revamped its seller support case initiation process. The new layout allows you to raise cases for different stores without having to switch between them. (Yogesh Kumar)
Week 34
Disable Amazon’s mandatory returns evaluation
You now have the option to disable Amazon’s mandatory returns evaluation. This solves a long-standing issue of potentially inaccurate evaluations by Amazon, offering you more control.
Now, all returned items will be marked as defective and won’t re-enter your sellable inventory, giving you the opportunity for a more thorough assessment. (Yogesh Kumar)
Week 33
“Highly Rated Brands”
A new section on its Search Engine Results Page (SERP) highlights brands related to your searches. This feature directs shoppers to the Brand store, promoting brand awareness. This addition underscores Amazon’s emphasis on reviews and ratings. Moreover, Amazon has been testing a new rating display where a 1-star indicates the percentage of 5-star reviews. (Himanshu Verma)
Week 33
“Top-of-search impression share (IS)”
For Sponsored Brands and Sponsored Products campaigns, this metric, available for the past 90 days, specifically measures the impression share for the top of the search results on the first page for Sponsored Products. (Yogesh Kumar)
Week 33
Showcase your product collection with video to Stores campaigns
Sponsored Brands launched video creatives, allowing advertisers to showcase multiple products leading to a Brand Store. Clicking a product directs to its details, while other areas lead to the entire Brand Store. Advertisers can customize which products to display, with a minimum of one required. (source)
Week 33
Image Suggestions on Sponsored Brands
The “Image Suggestions” feature on Sponsored Brands (SB) creatives now offers image recommendations tailored to the products and headline you choose. ( Himanshu Verma )
Week 32
Revenue Calculator at the ASIN level
Offering sellers an in-depth breakdown of Amazon-related fees with accompanying explanations. The feature also permits sellers to oversee various service add-ons, such as inventory placement and packaging specifics directly at the ASIN level. (Yogesh Kumar)
Week 32
“Local Business” tag
Available on the product detail page, and placed right beneath the price details, this feature promotes local sellers in the shopper’s delivery zone, potentially providing quicker delivery times and elevating the buying experience. (Yogesh Kumar)
Week 32
Revamped payments dashboard
It offers a comprehensive overview of payment details for all account types. It displays the total balance, available funds, and recent payouts, and provides a graphical representation of balances categorized into Beginning Balance, Sales, Other, Refunds, Expenses, Net Proceeds, and Account Level Reserves. (Himanshu Verma)
For a deeper dive, there are pages detailing transactions, deferred transactions, and disbursements. Additionally, a report repository allows for customized reporting, including scheduling, tagging, and modifying reports.
Week 32
Automatic Video Localization
Amazon Ads has introduced Automatic Video Localization for Sponsored Brands’ video campaigns (Himanshu Verma):
- Targeted Markets: This feature is rolling out for DE, ES, IT, and FR markets.
- Auto-Translation: Advertisers can simply submit their videos in English, and Amazon will take care of translating them to the respective local language.
Week 32
Multi-Image Slideshow
Amazon has enhanced its Sponsored Brands feature by allowing advertisers to include between 1 to 5 distinct images, transforming the former single-image display into a continuous slideshow. This enhancement can increase visual engagement by offering a diverse representation of a brand or product. (Mansour Norouzi)
Week 32
Multi-Image Slideshow
Amazon has enhanced its Sponsored Brands feature by allowing advertisers to include between 1 to 5 distinct images, transforming the former single-image display into a continuous slideshow. This enhancement can increase visual engagement by offering a diverse representation of a brand or product. (Mansour Norouzi)
Week 31
Brand Analytics Menu
The Brand Analytics menu has been reorganized for better clarity and efficiency. (Himanshu Verma)
The options are now grouped under two main categories:
Search Analytics:
- Search Catalogue Performance
- Search Query Performance
- Top Search Terms
Consumer Behaviour Analytics:
- Repeat Purchase Behaviour
- Demographics
- Market Basket Analysis
