It’s been a busy summer at Google Ads, with a host of upgrades, new features and enhancements rolling out. If your summer has also been hectic and you’re worried that you may have missed some of the latest developments, fear not. We’re here with a round up of the most significant changes emerging over the last couple of months.
Enhanced CPC ends for Shopping campaigns
After 10 years of availability, eCommerce businesses will no longer be able to use the Enhanced Cost Per Click (eCPC) option to manage Shopping campaigns. Google Ads has announced that eCPC will be discontinued as of October, with any campaigns using eCPC reverting to Manual CPC bids after that date.
The search engine says that advertisers can now achieve better results with other tools, including Performance Max. With the busy holiday shopping season right around the corner, switching eCPC off sooner than its sunset date can help to avoid issues cropping up right in the middle of the crucial retail period.
New ad formats being tested
New ad formats are nothing new, but the latest tests suggest something a little extra special could be on the way.
At the beginning of August, eagle eyed search users noted interesting new additions to Google’s standard text ads. The new addition appears to be an ad extension, designed to incorporate a QR code which when scanned, connects the search user directly to the advertiser’s business number. As well as the scan-to-call QR code, the same extension also displays the phone number for the advertiser alongside.
One other new format which also seems to be under beta testing is the use of three images per ad, rather than the standard one picture. The QR code scan-to-call development is particularly interesting from an advertiser perspective as it could give conversions from ads a big boost.
New insights aim to give advertisers more data for decision making
As part of a bundle of new features launched specifically for the holiday season, Google Ads advertisers can now benefit from enhanced insights. The enhanced insights provide more information about product-related issues, such as missing feed information and high bid targets.
Coupled with new A/B testing options, a new local store ad format, and new interactive ads which provide details such as directions or the ability to call the business, there’s a lot more information available to drive decision making.
Google says these new tools are intended to give advertisers greater insights into both their campaigns and shopper behaviour, while also allowing them to use AI to achieve more.
Similar audiences no longer available
In addition to its new launches, Google has also sunsetted a few features – such as eCPC in Shopping campaigns. Another option which will no longer be available is similar audiences.
Announced back in November of last year, advertisers have had plenty of time to prepare for the disappearance of this targeting tool. You’ll still be able to access your historical data but will no longer be able to use similar audiences in any ad group or campaign. Instead, you’ll need to swap to alternatives such as audience expansion, smart bidding, and optimised targeting.
Some attribution models will be retired this September
Four different attribution models will be removed from Google Ads and Google Analytics 4 from September. The change impacts first-click, linear, time decay, and position-based attribution – so if you are using these models, you’ll need to explore alternatives, fast.
With those models no longer available, data-driven attribution will become the default. For some advertisers, this won’t offer the transparency needed to understand lengthy or complex customer journeys. If that’s the case for your business, our data-driven expertise is here to help. Contact us today to learn more.
