The News in Brief
Google Ads Will Automatically Pause Certain Keywords
Starting this month, Google Ads will automatically pause keywords added to your campaigns that have not generated any impressions over the past 13 months. You can reactivate them as needed, but they will be paused again if they still receive no impressions within the following 3 months.
New Google Ads Features to Optimize Your Performance Max Campaigns
While new customer acquisition goals were already available, Google Ads is now introducing new goals for your Performance Max campaigns. You can now select a high-value new customer acquisition goal or a customer retention goal to win back lapsed customers. Note that both options are currently available in beta only.
In addition, the platform now allows you to exclude IP addresses at the account level to strategically filter traffic.
Finally, you can now run tests on final URL expansions to identify which ones perform best. You can also access detailed demographic data through the "Asset audience insights" section.
With these new beta features, Google Ads aims to give advertisers the tools they need to get more out of their Performance Max campaigns.
TikTok's Future in the US Remains Uncertain
The US government is considering banning TikTok due to serious national security concerns and the potential for its parent company, ByteDance, to share user data with China. The fear is that Chinese authorities could access sensitive user data, shape public opinion, or even interfere in US elections.
With 150 million users in the US and a presence in 158 countries, these concerns deserve serious attention. Advertisers should monitor how the situation unfolds, as it could impact current marketing strategies. We recommend checking out this blog post to learn more about the potential impact on your marketing tactics.
Google Delays the End of Third-Party Cookies Again
After multiple delays, Google, which had originally planned to phase out third-party cookies in 2024, has announced yet another delay, now pushing the timeline to 2025. This decision is partly driven by the potential negative financial impact of such a change. The delay is meant to allow time to find the best path forward before finally removing third-party cookies.
Emotions Play a Major Role in the Customer Buying Journey
Are you factoring in your customers' emotions during their buying journey? In a climate where inflation is straining budgets and responsible consumption is top of mind, advertisers tend to lean on rational messaging to drive purchases.
However, a study by Google shows that emotion can have a significant influence on the customer buying journey. Advertisers would benefit from investing in brand-building, rather than focusing solely on performance levers and product promotion in their ad messaging.
12 Key Takeaways from Google Experts
Twelve Google experts share their key insights for 2024. Here is a quick summary:
- Google's AI-powered features have delivered results. The company strongly recommends combining human expertise with AI for optimal performance.
- Authenticity is a key factor in campaign success.
- Various performance measurement updates have disrupted our analytics capabilities. Google recommends a test, analyze, and adapt approach for reliable tracking.
- B2B influencer marketing is evolving, with an increasing spotlight on prominent CEOs, influencers, and brand ambassadors.
- Social commerce is on the rise, particularly in the Asia-Pacific region.
- Connected TV is gaining popularity, and advertisers should consider streaming strategies on platforms like YouTube.
Conversions vs. Key Events in Google Analytics
To align conversion measurement between Google Ads and Google Analytics, Google has introduced two distinct measurement concepts: conversions and key events.
Key events represent any action that matters to your business and that you want to track, without necessarily tying it to your advertising performance goals. They can only be tracked within Google Analytics.
A conversion, on the other hand, is a critical action you want to use to evaluate the performance of your ad campaigns and optimize your bidding strategies. Every conversion must first be defined as a key event and appears in both Google Analytics and Google Ads. Learn more in this article.