In this monthly post, we bring you the latest from all of the major platforms.
Google Ads
What: Google Ads releases phrase match and broad match modifiers
Details: Last year, Google Ads started allowing exact match keywords to match to close variants. To keep advertisers from needing to build exhaustive keyword lists, Google Ads is extending close variant matching to phrase and broad match.
Impact: Google expects advertisers who use phrase match and broad match modifiers to see 3-4% more clicks and conversions on these keywords. Of those new clicks, Google expects 85% to be net-new – meaning they are not covered by existing keywords. Advertisers should be vigilant of any major KPI fluctuations and would be wise to frequently audit their search query reports.
What: Accelerated delivery to be removed in favor of Standard Delivery
Details: Starting on September 17th, Standard delivery will become the only ad delivery option for Search and Shopping campaigns. Accelerated delivery, a popular option for accounts struggling to spend current budgets, will no longer be available.
Impact: Standard delivery is the preferred option for most accounts, therefore many advertisers will see little to no impact. For those utilizing accelerated budgets currently, slight bid and budget adjustments may be needed to maintain spend levels.
What: Google to sunset Average Position metric
Details: Although first announced in February, Google recently established September 30th, 2019 as the removal date of the Average Position metric.
Impact: Advertisers will need to lean on a host of new metrics to correctly determine their place and competitive performance within a given auction:
- Top impression rate: % of total impressions above the organic results
- Absolute top impression rate: % of total impressions coming from the #1 position at the very top of the SERP
- Top impression share: frequency in which available impressions above organic results turn into actual impressions above the SERP
- Absolute top impression share: frequency in which available impressions at the #1 spot above the SERP turn into actual impressions at the very top
What: Seasonality adjustments for Smart Bidding
Details: Though Smart Bidding strategies such as Target CPA or Target ROAS already take into consideration seasonality, you can now apply seasonality adjustments for Search and Display campaigns.
Impact: Advertisers will have more control when approaching seasonal shifts such as a flash sale or holiday-related traffic increases. Both a % adjustment and date range will be selected to ensure maximum efficiency.
What: Maximize Conversion Value bid strategy now available
Details: Similar to the Maximize Conversions bid strategy, Max Conversion Value will seek to spend the entirety of your budget while maximizing return. Instead of simply chasing conversions, this strategy will work to get the most conversion value at your stated spend level.
Impact: The new strategy is likely to a good fit for advertisers with limited budgets optimizing towards ROAS and revenue goals.
What: Gallery ads (beta) available in 11 languages globally
Details: Google announced Gallery Ads as Google Marketing Live. ICYMI – Gallery Ads are swipeable, image-based ads that give customers the information they need about your products or services at the top of the search results page. (Check out this On-Demand Webinar for more of the highlights from Google Marketing Live.) Gallery ads are now available as a beta for 11 languages.
Impact: Since so many smartphone users expect to get immediate information while using their smartphones, gallery ads seem to be a great option for advertisers, especially for mobile. Check your Google Ads account to see if you’re able to create gallery ads.
What: Google Ads rolls out the account map
Details: If you have a manager account with multiple sub-accounts, the account map is a new tool that helps advertisers visualize the account structure, view each account’s performance, and navigate to the account a bit easier.
Impact: For complex accounts, the new account map is a timesaver. It is a bit easier to navigate than the former pages and tables format.
Facebook Ads
What: Appointment booking and lead generation coming to Messenger
Details: Facebook will make it easier to connect directly with potential customers on Messenger by adding lead generation templates. Additionally, an appointment booking interface in the Messenger Platform API can be integrated with a business’ calendaring system. This will allow potential customers to see up-to-date availability.
Impact: Traditionally Messenger is a small incremental add (if any at all) in lead generation accounts. The addition of a template is likely to improve performance and provide additional opportunity for early adopters.
Microsoft Advertising
What: Microsoft Advertising introduces campaign-level associations
Details: Campaign-level associations help advertisers apply and manage audience associations at the campaign level, so audience targeting doesn’t need to be done for the ad groups. Now advertisers can apply audience targeting to all ad groups within the campaign at one time.
Impact: This is a timesaver for advertisers with more complex audience targeting.
What: Microsoft has aquired PromoteIQ
Details: PromoteIQ is a provider of vendor marketing technology to online retailers and brands with clients like Kroger, Kohl’s and Overstock.com.
Impact: Microsoft hopes this relationship will help them empower their retail and manufacturing clients with additional solutions for growing their e-commerce businesses.
What: Pinterest created the ads logging integration test suite
Details: Pinterest created this test suite for the engineering team to run automated tests on new code releases.
Impact: Pinterest hopes this will allow for more test cases of new code, which will help catch and fix bugs earlier in the release cycle. It also allows Pinterest to re-allocate the engineering team’s manual QA time toward building new features.
Did we miss any major monthly updates? Not covering a certain platform close enough? Feel free to let me know on Twitter @Will_Larcom
