Greetings readers! The focus of this week’s PPCChat revolved around Google Marketing Live. Julie F Bacchini, the host, was accompanied by Ginny Marvin, who addressed the concerns and doubts raised by experts regarding the updates and features revealed during GML 2023.
Q1: What was the most important or exciting thing announced at Google Marketing Live (GML) last week in your opinion?
Really excited about the changes to the map search experience. Lots to think about for the generative portion – not ideal for board-approved only ad copy. @JuliaVyse
I am in love with the conversational campaign creation, but IMO the biggest shout-out needs to go to enhanced conversions building customer match lists. This feels like the easiest way to empower most folks. @navahf
Not necessarily relevant for my work (B2B lead gen) but the product image feature was cool! I can see that coming in handy for a lot of SMBs. @marketingsoph
The AI image editing capabilities are intriguing to me. Image quality and variety have long been an issue for clients. Particularly improving resolution and being able to swap backgrounds. Could be very handy! @NeptuneMoon
I will end up echoing what others have said already, but the image stuff will help brands out a lot. Making poor grainy images sharp, creating backgrounds or lifestyle images, etc. @lchasse
I am excited about the improved data connectors for first-party audiences. Should make things easier for advertisers. @beyondthepaid
I tweeted this earlier. GMC Next is the most interesting and most impactful for what we do today. It would have been more bold for Google not to say anything AI related. twitter.com/duanebrown/sta… @duanebrown
I think the Product Studio will have the biggest impact for #SME advertisers, especially if there’s capabilities to add mannequins or models into the image to display clothing products This feature allow will make display more accessible to small businesses. @C_J_Ridley
Two things stuck out: 1) Conversational search w/in SERPs *may* transform how people interact with (and use) Google. For the better? We’ll see. See voice search… 2) Ad placements w/in SERPs are changing. This *will* impact benchmarks we use to gauge performance. @teabeeshell
I really agree with @duanebrown about GMC Next. It has seemed for a while that Google already was parsing websites to get product info. Why not just use the data it gets and skip the feed submission part? For many advertisers, this eliminates a pain point right away. @robert_brady
This one meant a lot… The improvements to Search Term Insights for PMax @adsliaison & the product org were aware of, curious about, and open to negative feedback about the feature – even though it was an improvement on SSC that they were proud of Respect. @mikeryanretail
Q2: What was the most concerning or disappointing thing announced at Google Marketing Live (GML) last week in your opinion?
(You know this is coming) Very few announcements that are relevant for B2B. Once again we are left out of the discussion. @beyondthepaid
Other than the legal aspects of stock images (as @NeptuneMoon and others have mentioned already), mine would be how the conversational AI experience will impact Google Ads data and performance. @C_J_Ridley
I sound like a broken record but I would have loved some lead-gen-focused features. Yes, some were applicable to all account types, but something uniquely for lead gen would have gone down a treat. What would that have been? I’ve not got a clue! @marketingsoph
Kind of my perennial disappointment – so much focus on retail/e-commerce and NONE on lead gen or B2B. @NeptuneMoon
Echoing what a lot of others have already said –image editing/creation with AI could be a great tool. And as someone mostly in the B2B & lead gen space, more 1st party data integrations/connectors is also a welcome addition. @adclarke10
You knew it was coming, but B2B. My B2B clients always feel very left out of these events and yes I sometimes get them to watch them as well with me. Maybe Google is purposefully not engaging in it for reasons and leaving it to Microsoft and LinkedIn on purpose. @lchasse
If a user searches “push bike” and has a conversation with Google AI in the SERP, which includes: correct size for a child, colour options, stabilisers etc and finally pricing. What do we see in Google Ads for search term reporting for the keyword “push bike”? @C_J_Ridley
Hi @C_J_Ridley, More on that question here: twitter.com/adsliaison/sta… @adsliaison
@adsliaison Could the keyword “push bike” have multiple search terms for the same user journey? In my example, Could the single journey generate search terms in the report for: Push bike Push bike for kids Push bike for kids sizes If all met the privacy thresholds? Or is it 1 per search? @C_J_Ridley
@C_J_Ridley That’s correct. If your ads show for all of these searches/queries within this journey, and they meet the privacy thresholds, each search term will be reported. @adsliaison
B2B & lead gen once again felt like a big omission. Most examples & success stories that were talked about were either huge companies with tons of brand recognition or were in the e-commerce space (or both). @adclarke10
Felt Google was just being as thirsty as everyone else and saying AI like it is changing our jobs tomorrow vs a few years from now. @duanebrown
Will Google Ads introduce a new report for Conversational AI journeys/prompts? Letting us know what follow-up questions/prompts appear for specific keywords? This could help us tailor text assets and CTAs to resonate with the popular prompts. @C_J_Ridley
As usual, it was all retail and ecom-focused. Which is fine and far-reaching, but AI AI and more AI with NO discussion of misinformation? @JuliaVyse
The main area I was “frustrated” was on the lack of #B2B specific innovations. I don’t blame Google for the lack of SMB case studies since so many of the tools truly do help them. @navahf
At the current trajectory, Google will soon dissolve the line b/w demand gen & demand capture (w/in its ecosystem). The forced blending of the 2 may not work for all advertisers, esp SMBs. I see this as an unfortunate backslide in the history of search advertising. @teabeeshell
Q3: We have had a bunch of questions submitted for Ginny already, but what are your burning questions after GML last week?
With Google presumably seeing Generative AI as the next step for Google Ads. What training will Google Reps be given to provide value to their accounts and agencies other than telling people to use Generative AI for “OptiScore reasons”? @C_J_Ridley
What is an “agile budget”? It was talked about as if we already should know what that is and I’d not heard of it prior to GML. @NeptuneMoon
@NeptuneMoon Agile budgeting offers flexibility to respond to market & business dynamics vs. fixed budgeting based on a set timeline, specific channel etc. Jerry cited agile budgeting across sales, marketing, operations as an example of how businesses are using AI to optimize results. @adsliaison
@adsliaison Is it a new budget type in Google Ads? Or is it more of an organizational concept, like you should not be locked into a specific monthly budget level? @NeptuneMoon
How are ads going to be integrated into the new conversational AI SERP, if at all? @revaminkoff
We love you @adsliaison Would love more insights on minimums for predictive audiences in #GA4 What metrics should we start to think about with Generative AI Search? Feels like CTR and CPC will fall away. What are you the most excited about? @navahf
Hi @navahf, Here’s info on the prerequisites for predictive audiences: support.google.com/analytics/answ… Ads in SGE will trigger using the same principles that Search & Shopping ads do today: considering whether users will find them useful and relevant. Metrics will be reported as usual during the experiment. It’s early days but I’m excited thinking about ways tools like conversational experience in Google Ads, Product Studio, etc. can help businesses of all sizes re-imagine their workflows to create, test and iterate at new levels of scale & speed @adsliaison
Once Google auto-pulls SKU data into GMC Next, are we still able to modify/change data via supplemental feeds, rules and other tools? @duanebrown
Hi, @duanebrown When you switch to Merchant Center Next all existing setups & settings will be retained, feed uploads and ad campaigns will keep running. Merchants can still use feeds & multi-feed support is coming soon. You can expect more features & improvements to come. @adsliaison
@adsliaison Thank you Ginny. Glad we can still use feeds. Being able to build custom feeds has allowed us to spend more $$$. Brand sites can have limited data at times. Multi-feed is important for our global clients. Hope to see it SOON! @duanebrown
I would like more details on the updated data connectors and when they’ll be available. @beyondthepaid
Hi @beyondthepaid Helping advertisers of all sizes use their first-party data in a privacy-centric, seamless way is a priority — we’ll have more to share on this in the coming months! @adsliaison
This as well. I would ask about B2B, but I won’t, lol @lchasse
@lchasse I know many of the case studies were retail-focused but we see these new tools that use GenAI working for all types of marketers, B2B included. We’ll continue to experiment and take in feedback from B2B marketers to help ensure they provide value. @adsliaison
Weren’t the alleged PMax reporting improvements/added transparency already there? The ranges for search provided have always been very broad. @revaminkoff
@adsliaison where can we see details about “privacy” as it specifically relates to masked search queries? At times, it feels like they slip away unannounced. We, advertisers, understand (+ have to accept) it conceptually. Pointing to [HERE] for customers would help. @teabeeshell
Hi @teabeeshell, The privacy thresholds for the Search Terms Report haven’t changed. You can point to this Help Center article which notes that search terms are reported when “a significant number” of people have used them in a couple of places support.google.com/google-ads/ans… @adsliaison
What is going with support? It’s been cut so drastically that it’s almost impossible to get help (unless you have a very generic question which a help guide can resolve). @marketingsoph
What does the future of agency support look like? Getting rid of agency reps for Google premier partners and just assigning reps for each client is REALLY unwieldy for those of us with a lot of clients – and doesn’t help Google win new biz. @revaminkoff
Our last few support reps are solid Google FTE instead of Teleperformance newbies unlikely to pass a Google certification pre-test. They’ve also not been calling clients professing agency “incompetence” either. Are we just getting lucky? We like this! @scottclark
Presubmitted Questions
I’d like to learn more about “Demand Gen” to see if there might be some opportunity there for SMBs and/or those of us generating leads for small businesses. @pixsym
@pixsym We will have more to share on this in the coming weeks, stay tuned! @adsliaison
If my competitors and I are all using generative AI to create our creatives, how does Google ensure we won’t get similar copies? @MelSearchThings
@MelSearchThings All of the AI-generated is grounded in your inputs like your website & what you input in the conversational experience. The more unique details you use to guide and inform the AI, the more likely the generated ad assets will be unique. @adsliaison
@adsliaison What if I do not use a website? Many times I just use a single high-converting page. @ppcClickShark
@ppcClickShark Then it will use that page as an input – as well as any other inputs you add including what you enter in the conversational experience. And just a reminder, this is opt-in and you’ll be able to review and revise any assets created in the conversational experience. @adsliaison
There was this question too – it was confusing during the preso. Advertisers want to drop brand from PMax campaigns, not a tool to turn broad match into brand campaigns. And what’s to stop an advertiser from making sure they show up on competitor brands? @beyondthepaid
When Jerry said the LLM was “tuned from Ads data” what does this mean? Is the Google Ads AI training on all advertisers’ content and then using that to make recommendations? Is my client’s ad copy training the AI/LLM to build similar ads for competitors? @NeptuneMoon
@NeptuneMoon GenAI helps create new assets based on your own inputs, such as website content, existing ads and your prompts in the conversational experience. Advertiser data is used in the LLMs in a highly aggregated way only. ACA & conversational experience are both opt-in features. @adsliaison
PPCChat Participants
- Julia Vyse @JuliaVyse
- Navah Hopkins @navahf
- Sophie Logan @marketingsoph
- Julie F Bacchini @NeptuneMoon
- Lawrence Chasse @lchasse
- Melissa L Mackey @beyondthepaid
- Duane Brown @duanebrown
- Chris Ridley @C_J_Ridley
- Travis @teabeeshell
- Robert Brady @robert_brady
- Mike Ryan @mikeryanretail
- Ashton Clarke @adclarke10
- AdsLiaison @adsliaison
- Reva Minkoff @revaminkoff
- Scott Clark @scottclark
- Samara Hart @pixsym
- Melissa Liu @MelSearchThings
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