During this week’s PPCChat session, PPCers shared what they find working in Google ads, Microsoft, Meta and LinkedIn. Here is the screencap of the entire discussion which was hosted by Duane Brown.
Q1: What is working in Google Ads for you today? Whether you do lead gen or ecom or nonprofit and run that pesky Google Grant Account. Share what you find working in Google ads.
Fun fact – I still have some managed accounts. Demand Gen is gold right now. Especially for local brands struggling with fluctuation. @navahhopkins
That is a fun fact. May need to put that down on a bingo card! Demand Gen getting some love right now. @duanebrown
Stable: Exact Matches Demand Gen.. Volatile: pMAX. @alimehdimukadam
More Demand Gen.PMax is that roller coast you swore you would not ride. @duanebrown
We do 95% ecom, so shopping campaigns across standard shopping and PMax are more stable, but even PMax struggles when you don’t have a lot of conversions per month. We have had to rebuild a few campaigns this year for a few brands to get things back on track. @duanebrown
I’m saving Microsoft PMax commentary for the Microsoft section. Google PMax feels like it will be taking a back seat to ai max. @navahhopkins
We will have a whole question just for Microsoft in a couple questions. @duanebrown
I’m curious how folks feel about YouTube taking away content moderation (i.e. hate speech, misinformation, and violence is allowed) @navahhopkins
Q2: Meta may feel broken almost weekly and we may curse Zucks name. What are your tips and tricks to making things work in the land of Meta?
B2B ecom with interest targeting on Meta is holding strong right now. Not to be overlooked as broad targeting is not everything. @duanebrown
Creative Diversity and Navigating the Learning Phase is key to scale. I have seen accounts with Conversion API outperform with pixel-only accounts (rightly so) @alimehdimukadam
Are brands still happy investing there. @navahhopkins
Investing, yes. Happy… depends on who you ask. @duanebrown
Who and When.. @alimehdimukadam
I guess I hear so many mixed feelings (especially with the lack of placement transparency) @navahhopkins
The blackbox is not great and loss of greater control is crap. Some brands still refuse to invest more in our channels sometimes. @duanebrown
I find a lot of people expect to set up an A+ campaign, and it should drive a strong ROAS. (like PMax in Google lol) But forget thresholds for conversions and the fact it’s not that simple. Funnel approach is key! @Meriem
Large accounts thriving, smaller accounts failing. I think all those changes are in favour of the larger accounts, with hundreds of conversions. @ernohorvath
@Meriem, so you mean have a real strategy behind everything. Good call out for those who lack one. @ernohorvath I don’t think you are wrong.One thing I use to say is the platforms make things work for the large population in the USA, but smaller countries will struggle since they don’t have the population size and often get enough conversions in their home country at times. @duanebrown
Q3: Microsoft Ads. Your ride or die,….. your rock when things get crazy. What are you seeing work for Microsoft ads in June 2025?
“Ride or die” @navahhopkins
Each platform is getting a little something today./ @duanebrown
One thing I wanted to bring to this group’s attention is that pmax really cannot be run unless you have those 30 conversions per conversion action. Otherwise, it is going to default to winding down spend. So, unless you have existing conversions already, it is better to run audience ads, standalone search, or standalone shopping. Do not run pmax if you have less than 30 conversions. @navahhopkins
The other thing I wanted to share is that while this isn’t a weight in the algorithm, we’ve seen that pmax has a higher likelihood of serving in co-pilot. This is due to the mechanics of pmax and not a prioritization. @navahhopkins
I look forward to diversifying and trying Microsoft for a few local services clients sometime this year. It’s been a while since I last ran a campaign there. Love MS Clarity. @alimehdimukadam
Does anyone have feedback on the new reporting interface they want to relay back? @alimehdimukadam Let me know how it goes @navahhopkins
Microsoft Clarity is a great free tool. For those who don’t know. Think HotJar but free and beautiful looking. @navahhopkins Good to know about PMax and the threshold to turn it on. @duanebrown
I still can’t believe how many brands aren’t taking advantage of Microsoft ads! @Meriem
90% of those we onboard don’t use it or tried once for a minute and turned it off. @duanebrown
@Meriem I can’t believe how many brands don’t realize they’re taking advantage of Microsoft ads. @duanebrown What are the common reasons that it gets turned off? @navahhopkins
They didn’t make it work to get conversions. One recent client thought it was all bot traffic. These are SMB owners who don’ know how to set up campaigns. @duanebrown
Did they submit a ticket. @navahhopkins
I don’t know about the recent one but we usually don’t ask. They might have spent a few hundred dollars. So we just treat it like we are starting from scratch. @duanebrown
Microsoft is pretty good about issuing refunds if it can be proven that it’s bot traffic. So if you do think something is up, definitely submit tickets. @navahhopkins
Microsoft shopping ads work very well. Sometimes match the customer search to feed feels a little off and too broad but when it works… you can print money.Search ads on Microsoft do really well. I wish we could get more scale for volume. @duanebrown
Q4: Not just for tech bros and their inner circle. Are you making a success of LinkedIn and if so, how are you doing it today?
Data studies make the world go round. @navahhopkins
I believe a focused organic approach to LinkedIn content can outperform paid ads by a huge margin specifically for LinkedIn. @alimehdimukadam
We are not running and LinkedIn right now but a B2B ecom client does want to test it out this summer. Will have to report back later on this one. Data studies and organic content. A match made in hevean. @duanebrown
We’re running more LinkedIn than we ever have before, and it looks like some of it is working, which is great. @revaminkoff
@revaminkoff When it works… what type of ad are you running . @duanebrown
I’m seeing more Linkedin Ads lately than before, so I think more and more people try out Linkedin Ads. Have some small campaign success on it though, but we don’t have too many good prospects for Li Ads. @ernohorvath
@duanebrown video ads and carousel ads. @revaminkoff
Sounds like LinkedIn is working for some of you. @duanebrown
Q5: Reddit ads… is it working for you? They do push ads more now to brands. Not sure their IPO helped this platform either way but ads are how they plan to make money. Like all platforms.
A toy-ish related client wants to run RedditTheir AMs are being so hot and cold with us. Feels like you are just getting passed around.I do still want to test it out for a few clients. @duanebrown
Not a comment about the ads, but reddit in general has really turned it around for me. It feels like they’re doing a lot more work on the content moderation side. @navahhopkins
Not running any ads as of now but I’m curious to see the impact of AI Mode on Reddit. @alimehdimukadam
I’ve thought about advertising some of my own stuff on reddit but I’m terrified of the hate. @Pete_Bowen
I noticed the other day they changed thier tag line from the “Front Page Of The Interest” to the “Heart Of The Internet”. Focusing on organic content has been a huge focus for them alright. I would not be in business today if Reddit was not around. @duanebrown
The last we tried it was like 3 years ago, it didn’t work. I have a client who is interested in Reddit Ads, so I guess we’ll see how it goes soon. But surely there are really great communities there. @ernohorvath
They have a coupon if you spend enough money within 30 days of opening an ad account. Free ad credit is now. @duanebrown
Q6: What is hot in the land of Tiktok? Are you running ads? Still competing with Temu and Shein I bet.
Clients are just doing a ton of organic content on TikTok right now. @duanebrown
Q7: Amazon – The platform people love to hate and hate to love. Are you doing more or less Amazon these days? What is working for you?
I love the platform and insights it has to offer.For Ecom – sponsored products with dynamic bid adjustments.Yet to explore the AVOD model via Prime. @alimehdimukadam
People need to pay attention to the Amazon Disney Plus deal for targeting. That is huge and is going to have a big impact for CTV. And for what it’s worth, I know that I’m not supposed to champion any other platforms tool, but the non-seller ads are totally underutilized. @navahhopkins
@navahhopkins do you have a link to news about that deal for others? @duanebrown
https://uk.news.yahoo.com/disney-amazon-advertising-units-team-040100750.html? @navahhopkins
Less Amazon sadly, but probably just because we got a bit different client mix at the moment. @ernohorvath
I will read this post bike ride. @duanebrown
Q8: Other Platforms free for all… talk about any platform we have not mentioned or anything related to making ads work in June 2025!!
Are folks still bullish on snap and Pinterest? Same question for Walmart marketplace. @navahhopkins
I hear whispers on both ad platforms but don’t know much about that. @duanebrown
PPCChat Participants
- Reva Minkoff @revaminkoff
- Navah Hopkins @navahhopkins
- Duane Brown @duanebrown
- Ali Mehdi Mukadam @alimehdimukadam
- Peter Bowen @Pete_Bowen
- Meriem @Meriem
- Erno Horvath @ernohorvath
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