1. Google CEO says AI overviews are increasing Search usage. (Google - Official)
2. Google delays third-party cookie phase-out (again) until 2025 (maybe?) due to concerns from UK regulators about potential competition issues. (Google - Official)
3. Q1 earnings point to a growing digital advertising market. Ad revenues: Google's +13%, YouTube + 21%. LinkedIn +10%, Meta +27%. Snap + 21%.
4. OpenAI will pay to license content from The Financial Times for ChatGPT - including FT article summaries, links to articles and usage for training data (The FT - Official)
5. Bytedance would rather shut down TikTok in the U.S. to protect algorithm, if their legal challenge fails. (Reuters)
6. X's new video app is coming to smart TVs. The layout resembles YouTube more than a little! (X - Official)
7. Microsoft Windows 11 Start menu ads are now rolling out to all users after a short trial (The Verge)
8. Amazon Prime & YouTube look to acquire rights for NBA games. (USA Today)

Hi there! My company has a second facility, as big as the Canadian one so this is not just an office for the mail. 80% of our business is done in the US at the corporate level. We are seeing lower engagement metrics with our ads in the US vs Canada and knowing how Google is very location- influenced, I wonder if we should not open a separate account for our US location to run the US ads.

Has anyone dealt with this issue before and if you did split the account, was it a good decision?

I have my google ads account connected with analytics, and while I see a good amount of conversions in google analytics, I see far less in google ads (which is connected to my analytics account).

I have noticed that when I check session source platform in aquistion reports, that although most of the sessions are under the google ads row, most of the conversions are either 'Manual' or (not set).

I tried to dig into the big query export data, however I don't see this field it all. It is not part of traffic_source or collected_traffic_source.

Can someone help me understand what it is and how to fix it?

I would like to see how many conversions our pmax got that are considered View through conversions.

1. TikTok’s Instagram competitor app for sharing photos, TikTok Notes has arrived today in select markets, including Canada. [Breaking]

2. Google and WPP announced an AI ad creation collaboration. (Search Engine Land)

3. Google is testing a ‘Short Videos’ option in the search menu bar so that users can view short videos related to their search query. (Search Engine Roundtable)

4. America’s largest bank launches first bank-led digital media network. Advertisers can now serve personalized offers to Chase Bank's 80M customers based on their spending habits. (Reuters)

5. Airchat: The new social app built around talk, not text. Airchat is a new social media app that encourages users to “just talk.” Although it operates similarly to Twitter, where posts can be viewed in a feed, it uniquely allows users to hear posts delivered in the author's own voice and tone. (Tech Crunch)

6. TikTok is developing virtual Influencers for video ads. The idea is for brands to provide a script and an AI avatar will produce a video promoting the product on TikTok. Sources (Social Media Today)

7. YouTube has launched. 'Shopping Collections' as a new way for Content Creators to curate a set of products. The Collections will appear in a Creator’s video description, product list, and Store tab. (YouTube)

8. Hootsuite acquired social listening tool, Talkwalker. (Hootsuite - Official)

9. Meta is testing an AI-powered search bar on Instagram that reads: 'Ask Meta AI anything' (Tech Crunch)

10. eBay launched a new feature on its app called "Shop the Look," which uses AI to suggest fashion items that complement a user's shopping history. (Tech Crunch)

How can I find the best keywords for my campaign? I've used keyword planner, third party sites and services, thought of my own from the services we provide and common lead types, used chat GPT, etc but have not been able to find anything that I feel would work. My campaigns are for a small local company with less than 5 people who work in residential electrical services. I've used general keywords like "electrician near me" ; "Electrical repairs near me" ; "24/7 electrician near me" and many other general keywords. Weeks went by and even after adding bad results to negative keywords (bad results meaning I was getting clicks and impressions for completely different states) I still had no luck reaching people near me. I would even get calls but from a different state still. How can i find the correct or best keywords? I have specified my keywords to include actions "Install, repair, replace" and it's helped stay away from things like people shopping for a light but I feel like there has been a drastic drop in impressions on both smart and search campaigns. Although i have reduced the times we appear in the wrong searches I feel like my keywords do not provide enough search volume. Any suggestions? Does anybody have the same problem before? The search campaign already has the correct location set and i've excluded every other area to prevent appearing 4 states down, i am using maximize conversations with $10-$30 bid cap, various different ads and assets, all ads have their landing page and I have observation audience on. Location settings are set to Presence only.

Your asset groups are under review, but an issue might limit performance
As soon as your ads are approved, they'll be eligible to start showing to customers
Create campaign - Completed
Policy review - In progress: 1-2 days
Impressions - Receiving impressions
Conversions - Inactive conversion tracking

​

Why do I have inactive conversion tracking? When I go to the Goals tab I can see 4 conversion actions and they show they are in 1 of 1 campaign...

Hello Everyone,
I am a digital marketer, and I usually for my clients go to the business profile and click advertise , google then populates the headlines for me and then I select the radius and spend and it works just fine. Recently 2 days ago I created one for a location following the same steps but this time google did not populate the headlines so I made my own and its been 2 days and my daily ad spend is 40$ but its only spending like 7$ and im only getting 2-3 clicks. This is abnormal considering I have setup the same ads for the same type of business just geographically different. Can anyone shed some light

I have a website where visitors can fill in a form and submit it to ask for a quotation. I make a quotation, send it to the users and hopefuly I receive an order. A have several Google ads campaigns to attract people to the website.

With Ads and Analytics I can see how many form submissions are coming from Ads (and other sources). But I cannot link them to actual orders.

Is it possibe to build such a link?

​

1. Google is in talks to build its Gemini artificial intelligence engine into the iPhone, according to Bloomberg. (Reuters)
2. Amazon is introducing an import feature that automatically creates Amazon product pages using information from a seller's external website. (Amazon - Official)
3. Meta will automatically optimize your video ads for Facebook & Instagram Reels. This feature falls into “Advantage+ creative optimizations”. (Meta - Official)
4. Instagram is rolling out promo codes globally. Promotion codes are either applied automatically or displayed, ready to copy and paste, at checkout. (Instagram - Official)
5. LinkedIn will enable advertisers to boost any post submitted on the platform - a boost for B2B influencer marketing (LinkedIn - Official)
6. TikTok launches ‘Creator Search Insights’, a tool that shows Content Creators which topics are popular and frequently searched on TikTok. (TikTok - Official)
7. TikTok Photos may be coming soon - code found in the app suggests. “TikTok Photos is our all-new photo-sharing platform, where we’ve made it easier to enjoy and discover photo posts”. (Tech Crunch)
8. Apple to allow iOS app downloads directly from websites in the European Union. Apple announced that the new web distribution feature will be available later this spring. (The Verge)
9. Apple is testing an ad product similar to Google's Performance Max for Apple Search Ads. (Search Engine Land)
10. Reddit has launched a new ad format: Free-form ads, which resemble organic Reddit posts. (Tech Crunch)
11. Threads in the US now has a "Trending now" page where users can see popular topics. (Mashable)

Note: Details on the sources in the comments

I am helping out a friend who has started a new landscape construction design business. (High end stone work, patios, pools, tree plantings, firepits, etc.)

He doesn't do servicing nor is he a "landscaper" (cutting lawns, small tree plantings, etc.)

I can't seem to put my finger on what keywords or phrases people looking for his type of business would use.

I was hoping there might be some recommendations here and/or a free resource to get started.

Thanks!

Hello,

I'm deciding on a tracking method for our Google Ads Account. Currently, we have three methods in place, leading to redundancies and confusion in Google Analytics: Auto-Tagging per Google Rep recommendation, manual setup of UTM parameters for each ad, and an account-level tracking template (inherited from former employees). Which method should we prioritize for clear conversion data in Google Analytics?

​

Thanks for your help.

Hi everyone 👋, wanted to share a 🙌 free resource for the Google Ads Measurement Certification. Was studying myself to better analyze and manage google ads and ended up creating a decent practice test set in the process. Giving away FREE versions of my paid practices test packets because of all the positive feedback from friends and colleagues. Spots are limited and link expires in about 5 days (sorry platform limit). Completely free and will help you pass the Google Ads Measurement Certification test or give you a nice refresher for analyzing ad performance. Also, if you find it valuable it would really help if you leave a review. Here’s to everyone's success in 2024! 🍾

Hey guys,

I work for an agency that created a payment profile/Google ads account for a number of clients. We are trying to cancel the payment profile and set up the existing customer on their payment profile.

Questions I need answered:
- Will the Google ads accounts be deactivated if we cancel the payment profile?

- Can the customer create their own and attach it to the existing Google Ads account without losing data/work?

Note: I have tried linking an existing payment profile to our MCC and the account isn't eligible

Thanks,

Sean

What is the best way to present the CVR and CTR improvement of a 4-month campaign? Month-over-month? Thanks!

Hello everyone,
I need some assistance regarding our Google Ads campaigns. We're in the creative SaaS sector, targeting high-traffic keywords. Our campaigns have been running for almost a year, providing ample data for the algorithm. 
In late December, we updated our keywords and implemented server-side conversion tracking for enhanced conversions. This update yielded positive results in the last week of December and throughout January, with increases in CTRs, impressions, and conversions. However, despite no changes on our end, February saw a significant downturn, and now we're struggling to utilize our budget or gain impressions.
To detail our situation:
- November:   - Cost: $2,945.29  - Conversion Value: $10,597.13  - Impressions: 148,000  - Clicks: 17,859
- December:   - Cost: $2,409.35  - Conversion Value: $9,197.60  - Impressions: 124,000  - Clicks: 11,500
- January:   - Cost: $2,394  - Conversion Value: $8,450  - Impressions: 110,000  - Clicks: 9,860
- February (despite increasing our budget due to January's performance):   - Cost: $748 (with a daily budget of around $200)  - Conversion Value: $1,243  - Impressions: 58,000  - Clicks: 5,500
- March (to date):   - Cost: $285  - Conversion Value: $18  - Impressions: 14,350  - Clicks: 1,476
We even altered our campaign's target from 'maximize conversion value' to 'maximize conversions', yet saw no improvement in budget spending. Additionally, we installed Consent Mode V2 at the start of this month.
We've thoroughly checked all settings and variables but can't pinpoint the cause of this sudden drop in campaign performance. We would greatly appreciate any insights or suggestions from the community on what might be causing these issues and how to resolve them. I've also consulted with our designated Google expert, but unfortunately, they have not been able to offer any substantial or helpful solutions to address these issues.
Thank you!

Hello,
I have a mobility scooter rental business in Orlando (electric wheelchairs) we have been renting them out for about 2 years and I want to begin selling them also. As of right now we only rent due to needing a brick-and-mortar location and licensing.
I am in the process of getting a brick-and-mortar location and am on the fence if I should open another company whose main focus is on sales but might also rent too. Or if I should make this new address the home for the current business we have
my question is:
is google going to think I'm double-showing and flag both profiles? I would definitely do a separate LLC, bank account, and credit card. But I have heard that even having both Ad accounts on the same IP address and similar industry can be an issue. Thoughts?

1. Reddit prepares to go public on the New York Stock Exchange the company confirmed 267.5 million weekly active users globally. And advertising is built around contextual targeting and user interest The company also sees an opportunity to focus on facilitating and “monetizing commerce”. (Marketing Brew)
2. Google announced a significant organic search ranking update for March. The goal is to “surface the most helpful information on the web and reduce unoriginal content in search results”. (Google)
3. Google is testing a new PPC ad format. No details have been released by Google but the “experimental” ad appears as an image card within a carousel. (Search Engine Land)
4. Google Ads will automatically pause ad groups with low activity that haven't had impressions in the past 13 months. This will improve budget efficiency and advertisers can still turn them back on if needed. (Search Engine Land)
5. Google Chrome is rolling out 3 new search features. This includes content recommendations when a user opens a new tab. Google will show suggestions related to previous searches. (Google)
6. Microsoft has made its own version of Google’s Performance Max available globally. Performance Max campaigns are an automated advertising solution that will serve ads across Mircosoft’s ad network. (Microsoft)
7. TikTok could be forced to sell, or risk removal from US app stores. A bipartisan bill wants to separate TikTok from its parent company, Bytedance, over ongoing security concerns. (BBC)
8. TikTok now enables all creators to offer subscription packages to their followers. This is part of its latest effort to provide more monetization options to keep top talent posting to the app. (Social Media Today)
9. X will introduce an algorithm update that ensures all followers see pinned posts. There will be a limit of one post every 48 hours. X are also working on a Gmail competitor, Xmail. (X.com)
10. YouTube’s ‘Create’ app, a competitor to TikTok’s CapCut, expands to 13 more markets. Create offers video creators an easy-to-use suite of free tools for video editing. (Tech Crunch)
11. Amazon is focusing their billion-dollar innovation fund on investments in startups combining AI and robotics. Amazon told the Financial Times that they will focus on generative AI investments this year. (Entreprenuer.com)
12. The European Union Digital Markets Act is here. The new EU law requires greater interoperability across the major tech platforms. Making it harder for gatekeepers to favor their own services or block other businesses from reaching consumers on their platforms. (The Verge)

1. Google announced these new upgrades for Performance Max campaigns:

• AI-powered asset generation and image editing will finish rolling out in the U.S. in March, with global English expansion following shortly after.
• Moving forward, asset quantity and variety will be more heavily weighted in determining ‘Ad Strength’ for Performance Max campaigns.
• Google’s Gemini AI model will now power headline and description suggestions for ad copy, with sitelink generation coming soon.
• Soon advertisers will be able to generate lifestyle imagery and you'll be able to generate new similar images to those that are already performing well.
• Starting with Canva, Performance Max will integrate with other design platforms to make it easier to import image assets. Plus, advertisers using Performance Max will now have access to impression-level placement reporting and can opt out of certain ad placements in the Search Partner Network. Sources: Google
• Plus, advertisers using Performance Max will now have access to impression-level placement reporting and can opt out of certain ad placements in the Search Partner Network (Google)

2. Google also revealed that there will be more displays of Reddit information on the platform. Meanwhile, Google is paying Reddit $60m per year access to Reddit’s Data API to train its AI models. (Google)

3. Google is paying publishers to test their unreleased AI journalism tool according to AdWeek. (AdWeek)

4. Meta will use Instagram data to help brands more easily discover Content Creators who are the best fit for their campaigns. (Meta)

5. YouTube creator Marques Brownlee has become Chief Creative Partner, Equity Investor, and Board Member at e-commerce company, Ridge. (Fortune)

6. LinkedIn is testing extending the shelf life for "suggested posts" to months or years. LinkedIn will prioritze relevancy over recency. (Entrepreneur.com)

7. Microsoft repeatedly tried to sell Bing to Apple which Apple rejected due to quality concerns according to court documents provided by Google. (Forbes)

8. Pinterest is launching a streaming TV show called "Deliciously Entertaining" that will combine Pinterest trends with shoppable products. (Pinterest)

9. TikTok is encouraging users to post photos as well as video to the platform. TikTok claims that photos get more engagement on average compared to videos. (Lia Haberman on X)

10. TikTok says up to 30% of what it calls "popular songs" could be removed. The licensing disagreement with Universal Music over royalties has extended to writers as well as artists on the label. (BBC)

11. X is expanding its video streaming feature and is rolling out audio and visual calls for non-paying users. (X.com)

12. X also announced that live basketball games from the Big 3 league will show exclusively on the platform. And the call system is slowly rolling out to all users as X looks to become the “everything app”.

I have tried adding a new number to my call extensions to figure out what the issue is however, since so many days my call extensions are under review and I am not able to receive any call.

I have verified it by adding it to Google Search Console so it should recognize the number. I done this before but this time it's taking a lot of days to verify.

It's been 5-6 days and previously it only took me 1-2 days for call extension approval.

What could be wrong? Do I just wait?

Hi. In Campaign Settings -> Customer acquisition, there is a checkbox for, "Bid for new customers only".

So what is everyone's experience with this after checking it, especially for their search campaigns?

1. OpenAI is developing a web search alternative to Google. According to a report from The Information, the new service will be partly powered by Microsoft's search engine, Bing. (Search Engine Land)

2. Gartner predicts traffic directed from search engines towards third-party websites will fall by 25% in the next two years due to generative AI conversational assistants (e.g. ChatGPT) (Digital Information World)

3. Google’s Shop with AI product feature looks to be coming soon. Google automatically generates product images based on a search query. Then users can select the style they like best before Google recommends similar (Search Engine Land) products.

4. Google published a response to a report by the IAB, discussing the compatibility and limitations of Chrome Privacy Sandbox APIs. Google claims that the Sandbox solution is viable and the limitations the IAB points to have been downgraded intentionally because they go against their privacy-first objective. (Ad Exchanger)

5. Amazon has moved into the pre-owned luxury products market with a collaboration with Hardly Ever Worn It. (Harpers Bazar)

6. Instagram and Threads will not recommend political content from accounts that users do not follow. Users will continue to see content from accounts they already follow. (Meta)

7. Mark Zuckerberg, in an unusual move, publically reviewed their rival’s new product, the Apple Vision Pro. Zuckerberg’s Instagram video calls out the “Apple fan boys” and claims that the cheaper Quest is the better product. (Morning Brew)

8. Meta apologizes after an error causes advertising campaigns to overspend by in some cases thousands. The issue has been resolved and refunds are expected to take between four and eight weeks. (Search Engine Land)

9. Meta is testing a new feature that will enable Meta to "optimise" the product background on ads. This appears as a toggle setting that will use Meta’s generative AI capabilities. (Threads)

10. Reddit has signed a contract allowing an Artificial Intelligence company to train its models on the social media platform's content. The deal was signed earlier this year and is worth about $60 million on an annualised basis. (Reuters)

11. Walmart is buying budget TV maker Vizio for $2.3 billion to compete with Amazon in the smart TV advertising business. As the price of TVs falls, streaming ads are becoming the profit driver. (Fast Company)

12. YouTube marked its 12th consecutive month as the top streaming service, according to Neilsen. YouTube was placed just ahead of Netflix last month. (Neilsen)