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YouTube Ads: Unlocking high impact at minimal cost

Tuesday, June 27th, 2023

Advertisers were shown how to improve their YouTube marketing strategies with cost-efficient, high-impact, tried and tested methodologies at SMX Advanced.

The secret to creating high-reach, low-cost environments and making campaigns more effective lies within four specific variables, according to digital advertising expert Corey Henke.

Unlocking high-impact, low-cost campaigns

The four variables marketers need to look into as a top priority are:

• Ad type / bid type: Henke advised that these fields are the most important variables and specifically encouraged marketers to take advantage of new ad types, noting that he personally has seen tremendous success with YouTube’s recently-launched in-feed video ads. He also stressed the importance of choosing the right bid type for your campaign for optimal conversions.
• Creative variation: There are many creative variables, so advertisers must test wisely. Length of videos is always a great way to start, but creative variables must also be considered. Henke advised looking at factors such as male versus female, different actors, different intros, different music, product demonstration versus funny, and so on.
• Target with intent: Research and strategize with custom audiences, target with intent and grow your YouTube audiences with optimized detailed demographics. Henke said this approach should help marketers achieve significant performance improvement.
• Data analysis (attribution): To measure the success of your campaign, review multiple areas of importance and make sure that they are the right areas.

Henke added:

• “I think this approach is the best opportunity for high-reach, low-cost campaigns.”

Ad types – how to get the best bang for your buck

Researchers have studied the effectiveness of various ad types. The most scalable solutions:

• Skippable video ads: Play before, during or after videos. Viewers can skip the video after five seconds.
• Non-skippable video ads: These ads are 15 seconds or shorter, and play before, after or during the video. Viewers can’t skip this content.
• Bumper video ads: Six seconds or shorter and play before, during or after another video. Viewers can’t skip this ad type.

YouTube has recently prioritized these ad formats, while longer forced content has been deprioritized. They also have the most inventory, according to Henke, meaning:

• “Marketers can get the best bang for their buck on YouTube.”

Bid types – getting TV-level results from YouTube

Choosing the right bid type can help marketers achieve TV-level volume success within YouTube. However, the bid type that is best for your campaign will depend on your brand’s goals and objectives. The two bid types Henke put forward for comparison were:

• Direct response bid types: Primarily desktop
• Branding bid types: Minimal desktop

The big difference between the two options lie within the CPM (cost per mile), view rate and conversion rate – but not the CPC (cost per click). Henked added:

• “If you want somebody to fill out a form or buy a product, you will definitely use a conversion campaign.
• “There are a variety of ways to reach users at scale for minimal cost inside of CPM and cost per view campaigns. So you have your bumpers, your non-skippables, your in-stream which will be your skippables – and how those compare.
• “Non-skippables don’t come with any views and that’s because nobody’s making it past 30 seconds. It’s either 15 seconds or below. So they really only have the advantage of impressions at a lower CPM. Whereas if you’re doing in stream, which is skippable, you are going to get the app the upside of views and also the amount of people which make it past 30 seconds.
• “I think YouTube has a good understanding of who is going to convert.”

Creative variation for optimal impact

Marketers have multiple ad types to choose from and users consume these various formats in different ways. Henke discussed the advantages of feed ads, skippables, non-skippables, stories, reels and live TV. He noted that skippable and non-skippable ads are great options because of the attention they attain – but skippable is his favorite go-to because of the unlimited link feature.

• “With unlimited link, you have a huge opportunity to engage a user over a long period of time. What we’re seeing is more users want to spend more time within their platforms as opposed to brands’ websites. That’s where we have the biggest advantage with unlimited link and being able to optimize creative for view rate,” Henke said.

To determine whether this is the right option for your campaign, Henke encouraged advertisers to test the different video ad options. Henke noted that 2 minutes 24 ads have more people completing the ads than other options.

• “This is a huge opportunity. It’s close to one minute of time with a user and your ad on average – some spend more, some spend less. But then also being able to have a competitive CPC along with a great view rate really shows that the long form is going to be the best value,” Henke added.

Targeting and retargeting are ‘huge opportunities’

Thorough research to identify user intent will give marketers an important advantage when it comes to understanding consumers who are relevant to your product or service. Retargeting is another necessary and big opportunity for brands wanting to expand their reach.

Reflecting on his own approach to targeting and retargeting, Henke revealed his favorite targeting tool is the detailed demographic combination report, which focuses on age, gender, parental status and household income.

Looking at demographics, in combination with the creative, will help drive maximum success, he said:

• “These variables when combined together give you a unique look at which specific audience might be converting the best and being able to segment this audience. When you can segment immediately you should see results faster. So that’s why this is so important, the targeting, the creative, the bid type and the ad type to create this high reach, low-cost environment,” Henke said.

Success with in-feeds

In-feeds are a new ad product launched by Google Ads and one of the biggest changes to the system since bumpers rolled out five years ago.

In-feed ads appear on YouTube’s personalized feed and allow users to click the ad thumbnail, while the video is simultaneously autoplaying. Some key benefits to in-feed ads as opposed to shorts include:

• More impressions
• Increased views
• Higher spend
• Longer ad length
• Unique call to action
• Authority of face to camera
• Auto-play in the feed
• Premium placement at top of feed

• “I think the value really is that you’re getting more earned views. That’s a clear indicator that that is a quality audience that we have here,” Henke said.

YouTube attribution tips

It’s important to be able to identify the causes of wins and losses in your campaign in order to make informed decisions and necessary adjustments.

Think about the Halo Effect. Henke offered some implementation strategies here:

• Precision targeting: “When I talk about precision targeting, that means really looking at that detailed demographic and dialing in almost immediately because if you’re hitting your target audience, they’re going to make those Halo effect type of user behaviors, meaning they’re going to go and search,” he explained. “They’re going to go to another platform and find your brand on Instagram or LinkedIn. They’re going to make these other things that don’t necessarily involve a direct click. And that’s important. You want your quality audience to be there. Another thing is checking your placement report to make sure your ads aren’t running on kids’ channels and that they’re mostly running in the places that you want them to run.”
• Trend analysis: This will be different for every advertiser. The big question here is what is this experience with creative competitive to a website’s first visit? And secondly, how does your video compare to somebody coming to your website for the first time? Henke added:
  • “I believe that your video should be competitive and it should possibly give a better experience because it’s in platform and it’s long form.”

Getting started

Ready to get started with Henke’s high-reach low-cost approach to YouTube Ads? Here’s what he suggested:

• Targeting: “Dialing into those combination audiences out the gate,” he said.
• Device: For high reach, it’s advised to exclude computers and tablets – but keep these options in if you’re trying to convert a user immediately. “Ultimately, this is a high reach low-cost strategy and we’re going to probably be paying a premium for those devices,” he said.
• Bid type: This should be either CPV or CPM.
• Ad length and variation: As a general rule, the longer the ad length, the better it is for your campaign. However, Henke emphasized that you should do your own research and find out what works best for your brand. “It could potentially unlock some really good cost,” he said.
• Ad type: Keep your ad types to in-feed, skippable, non-skippable or shorts.

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A PPC marketer’s guide to retail media

Friday, June 23rd, 2023

Most people know that Amazon, Walmart and Instacart have paid search placements on their websites. However, you may not know about their involvement in programmatic, display, social media and Google Shopping.

It is crucial for PPC marketers to understand this because retail media (a.k.a. commerce media) is driving customers to retail sites that can transact multiple brands and items in a single transaction.

This is especially true at retailers that hold everyday essential items, providing a path to regular visits, both online and offline.

Elizabeth Marsten, VP of commerce strategic services at marketing firm Tinuiti, shared her insights on the 2023 retail media landscape and all the need-to-know essentials in her session at SMX Advanced.

What is retail media?

Retail media is basically a type of paid search. Every business has some sort of paid search offering in which they are able to harvest existing demand.

However, retail media differs from paid search in the sense that it is split into two categories, onsite and offsite:

• Onsite
  • Sponsored search (product ads)
  • Display banners
  • Browse, category pages
  • Coupons
  • Offers

• Offsite
  • Programmatic display (ideally through a curated network)
  • Social media
  • Email / newsletters
  • SMS / push notifications
  • Google Shopping PLAs
  • OTT

How does retail marketing work?

Retail marketing is rooted in first-party data that’s been collected by companies for the last three decades. This data has been enabling marketers to better understand customers, how they behave and molded the shape of what we know to be retail marketing.

• “Just think about how much, for example, Kroger knows about you if you are someone who buys groceries on a pretty regular basis from a Kroger. Maybe you started your loyalty card program with your phone number, which you still enter every time you check out. Whether or not that’s through an app or a self-checkout stand,” Marsten said.
• “At the checkout stand itself, you have been entering that phone number for probably a good 20 years maybe. So even when you were getting cash back in those early 2000s and you bought a pack of gum or a Twix, you entered that phone number just in case. Well, technically, that data is what has led us to much better-targeted advertising for things you might actually want.”

What do paid search marketers need to know?

Marketers have been collecting data on consumers for 30 years and during that time, the industry has seen three big digital waves.

• The first big wave came in approximately 2002 when Google Ads started rolling out, along with similar products from companies like Microsoft and Yahoo. It took tech giants 14 years to reach $30 billion in advertising revenue.
• The second big wave started gaining traction in 2008 with the rise of social media. Brands like Meta, Twitter and Reddit took 11 years to achieve $30 billion in advertising revenue.
• The third wave began in 2016 with the arrival of retail media. This sector took just five years to hit the $30 billion goal.

Explaining why retail media has evolved so quickly, Marsten said:

• “If you worked for Google or Microsoft in the last 10 years or so, you probably have noticed that there aren’t a lot of big changes – for example, some of you may remember when Google renamed the Content Network to the Display Network. Those are pretty monumental changes that happen over time relative to digital advertising.
• “Now, when it comes to retail media, we are experiencing one of these every six months or so. So that is how fast things are coming up and changing and pivoting as we go on.”

Why in-store still matters

In store is still hugely important to retail media because this sector operates differently to D2C websites.

• “I care about in-store sales, I care about sales at the shelf and I care about sales at the self-checkout because I care about those digital touch points. “They tell us how we’re going to engage with the customer over and over again,” Marsten said

Marsten went on to talk about Walmart, which made $3 billion in advertising revenue last year. The company has huge retail media expansion plans in the future, and one significant advantage it has over competitors like Amazon its stores.

• “That’s 4,700 plus touch points in the United States alone. Think about how often folks go to get the essentials – I will be there every time outside and inside with my digital capabilities,” she said.

Google Shopping PLAs

Retail marketers have the option of purchasing Google Shopping ads via Target Roundel, which appear in Google SERPs. Customers who click through will be taken to the target.com experience – but this is funded by you.

So you can essentially work with Target Roundel to boost in-store sales via Google searches in order to fill out your marketing budget. It’s a popular choice with many major retailers such as Best Buy and Home Depot, but there are details to consider:

• The product you’re selling must be in store.
• Run through Roundel so limited reporting mid-flight (monthly only).
• In store sales included.
• Could be complementary or competitive.

• “It does take a minute in terms of reporting. But you do get in store sales. If someone searches local inventory, then they go in the store and they buy it because they see online that it’s in stock, they just go in the store and buy it. And you will get credit for that. It is pretty cool. It is something that I would say keep an eye on in terms of capabilities and what it could be. I’m pretty excited about what their roadmap looks like for next year.”

How is retail media working with Microsoft?

Retail media has multiple connections to Microsoft, including:

• Hardware: In-store screens and Xbox
• Activation: Promote IQ, Microsoft Ads, Xander and Netflix
• Automation / Research: ChatGBT
• Insights: PowerBI
• Data: Azure / Project Oakes
• CDP: Dynamics 365 Customer Insights

How is retail media working with Google?

Not to be outdone by Microsoft, retail media also works closely with Google in the following ways:

• Hardware: Pixel and Nest.
• Activation: DV360, YouTube, Google Ads and SA360.
• Automation / Research: Bard and Trends.
• Insights: Google Analytics and Looker.
• Data: Google Cloud and Pair.
• CDP: Customer Data Platforms and Google Cloud.

Commenting on retail media’s relationship with Google, Masrten added:

• “Similar to Microsoft, if you were a retailer and perhaps you had a Google stack, working with a whole bunch of different capabilities at Google, you can make it really easy for a brand to come in and activate across multiple channels or multiple platforms. But also, hopefully, eventually, we’ll get to a spot where insights can come forward in a way that is digestible and actionable. I would say we’re still working on that. This is a big wave and we’re still going!”

Key takeaways

Marsten concluded her talk by outlining the four key points she would like marketers to keep in mind when it comes to retail media:

• Lots of similar options: There are a lot of similarities in terms of who’s working with who.
• A bit jumbled: We’re still building out and there are similarities with Google and Microsoft regarding how they built out their capabilities.
• Stores. Stores. Stores: A lot of opportunity left to tie together. Think about how much money transacts through a store and potential capabilities from an in-store experience perspective.
• Watch the intersection of PPC (Google and Microsoft) and retail media for overlap: You better believe that they’re not going to be left out when it comes to retail media.

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Google has removed attribution models in GA4

Friday, June 23rd, 2023

Google Analytics today officially removed first click, linear, time decay, and position-based attribution models. This leaves only last click and data-driven, as Google announced would happen in April.

Charles Farina shared a screenshot on LinkedIn:

Not Google Ads (yet). Google will soon retire the four rules-based attribution models in Ads and starting in mid-July. You can continue using these attribution models until September, when they will be removed completely.

In a followup to their April announcement, Google Ads yesterday announced:

• “We will be removing selectability of these models for all conversions in Google Ads beginning in mid-July. This means that newly created conversions will no longer have first click, linear, time decay, or position-based as an attribution model option. Existing conversions not using these models will also no longer be able to switch to these models. If your account has conversions using these attribution models, these conversions can continue to use them until they’re removed completely in September.”

Why we care: Many marketers are upset about Google limiting us to having only the last click and data-driven attribution models. Removing these attributions means marketers have fewer insights to help make informed, data-based decisions.

How will marketers be impacted? If your Ads account has conversions using these models, you can continue to use them until September. But after that deadline, the models will be removed and data may be lost.

If you are working on conversions not using these models, you will not have the option to switch over after mid-July. In addition, newly created conversions will no longer have the option of even choosing these four models.

Why now? Google has taken the decision to retire the four attribution models because of “increasingly low adoption rates, with fewer than 3% of conversions in Google Ads using these models” according to a Google spokesperson.

• “For these reasons, first click, linear, time decay, and position-based attribution models across Google Ads and Google Analytics 4 will be going away. Data-driven attribution, last click, and external attribution won’t be impacted.”

Dig deeper: Data-driven attribution: How to think about Google’s default attribution model

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GA4 gives marketers choice in Google Ads conversion credit eligibility

Thursday, June 22nd, 2023

Google is rolling out changes that will give advertisers better insights into conversion performance.

For the first time, marketers working with GA4 will be able to choose which of their channels should be eligible to get conversion credit for web conversions shared with Google Ads. This applies to Google paid channels (formerly, Ads-preferred) and Paid and organic channels (formerly, Cross-channel).

Why we care. This new capability will tell you which channels contribute to a conversion, helping you better understand and measure the impact of your campaigns. This data will prove incredibly useful to advertisers as they’ll be able to create new strategies to increase conversions and revenue with more confidence and certainty.

How it works. Advertisers can view which of their channels are eligible for credit for each conversion in Google Ads, under the Conversions summary, Conversions detail, and Campaigns tabs. In Google Analytics, this information can be found in the Attribution settings page.

Which channels are eligible. There are two channels to be considered in this insatnce:

• Google paid channels: Only Google Ads paid channels are eligible to receive conversion credit.
• Paid and organic channels: Paid and organic channels are eligible to receive conversion credit, but only credit assigned to Google Ads channels will appear in your Google Ads accounts.

Advertisers should note the default channel is Google paid channels, however, marketers do have the option to choose PPC and organic channels instead.

How to change the setting. In Google Analytics, this set-up can be edited at any time by going to the Admin > Attribution settings page. Once you have updated your preferences, changes will take effect on conversions moving forward.

What Google has said. The search engine explained in a statement:

• “You can now select which channels are eligible for conversion credit for web conversions shared with Google Ads: Google paid channels (formerly, Ads-preferred) or Paid and organic channels (formerly, Cross-channel).”

Deep dive: Click here for more information about what channels are eligible to receive credit for conversions and how to import conversion into Google Ads.

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Google updates when 4 attribution models will be retired

Thursday, June 22nd, 2023

Google will start to retire four rules-based attribution models in Ads and Analytics from mid-July:

• First-click.
• Linear.
• Time decay.
• Position-based.

Marketers still using these attribution models will be able to continue doing so until September, when they will be removed completely.

Why we care: This update will affect the Google Ads accounts of all marketers still using these attribution models. Moving forward, any model that isn’t last-click will prove more difficult to monitor as every marketer has different data-driven attribution formulas.

• “In the past, you could use linear and give each touch the same credit. You will no longer be able to do so. There will be no impact on last touch, as that is still available. But finding some of the first-touch information will be much muddier because there will no longer be a way to see the formulas that compute the attribution scores.”

How will marketers be impacted? If your account has conversions using these models, you can continue to use them until September, but after that deadline, the models will be removed and data may be lost. If you are working on conversions not using these models, you will not have the option to switch over after mid-July. In addition, newly created conversions will no longer have the option of even choosing these four models.

Why now? Google has taken the decision to retire the four attribution models because of “increasingly low adoption rates, with fewer than 3% of conversions in Google Ads using these models” according to a Google spokesperson.

• “For these reasons, first click, linear, time decay, and position-based attribution models across Google Ads and Google Analytics 4 will be going away. Data-driven attribution, last click, and external attribution won’t be impacted.”

Dig deeper: Data-driven attribution: How to think about Google’s default attribution model

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Master CTV advertising: A guide to launching your best campaigns by Cynthia Ramsaran

Thursday, June 22nd, 2023

When it comes to Connected TV, you don’t need to walk the road less traveled when there is already a bridge to success.

Successful advertisers have already done the hard work of figuring out what a winning performance-focused CTV strategy looks like. MNTN looked at the top 25% of advertisers on its platform and put together a guide—so you don’t have to optimize alone.

Learn more by registering for and attending “Trust the Trail(blazers): Launching Your Best CTV Campaign,” presented by MNTN.

Click here to view more Search Engine Land webinars.

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Microsoft rolls out predictive targeting to all advertisers

Thursday, June 22nd, 2023

The Microsoft Audience Network has moved predictive targeting to general availability.

Following a successful pilot, all advertisers will now be able to use the feature in their campaigns.

Why we care: Predictive targeting can help advertisers easily find new audiences that they may not have previously considered targeting. Not only are the identified audience relevant, but they are viewed by bots are more likely to convert, which could result in a higher ROI for marketers.

Successful trial. Microsoft has been trialing this tool for 10 months and has reported that advertisers on average have seen a 46% increase in conversion rates.

How it works. Microsoft bots examine ads along with the landing pages associated with them, before using its audience intelligence signals to match that content with relevant audiences. The bots have been designed to help marketers deliver the right message at the right time to drive better performance.

How to set it up. In order to integrate predictive targeting into your marketing campaign, you need to toggle on an ad group setting in the audience campaigns. You can do this in two different ways:

• Option A: When setting up an audience campaign, predictive targeting will now be the default targeting option. If you want to use predictive targeting, simply leave the settings as they are.
• Option B: If you want to expand your reach beyond targeted audiences for your campaign, you can choose to apply a marketing list or an in-market audience. To do this, simply toggle on predictive targeting and the Microsoft bot will serve to your targeted audience while simultaneously using predictive targeting to find users outside of that audience who are still relevant.

Is it the same as optimized targeting? It is similar in the sense that this tool can help marketers reach their ideal audience with little to no input. However, this tool was designed specifically to assist marketers using the Microsoft Audience Network using a combination of existing advertiser assets and Microsoft Audience Intelligence.

Microsoft shares best practices. The tech giant has identified best practices to help marketers achieve the best results:

• Microsoft bases its decisions and algorithms on ad content and landing page.
  • Use clear and descriptive ad copy.
  • Make sure your landing page provides a good user experience.

• Use predictive targeting in combination with automated bidding across all campaigns.
  • “In terms of automated bidding strategies, we have a pilot target for CPA and maximum target conversion which are launching in the summertime. So the recommendation for now is to use it with enhanced CPC,” according to Microsoft.

• Apply predictive targeting to all of your campaigns to see how it performs.
  • “You’ll also have a reporting line item in the campaigns grid and the audiences tab – that will show you exactly what predictive targeting is delivering for your campaigns.
  • “Don’t just set audience targeting and forget about it. Report, review and adjust as necessary, keeping an eye on budgets and making sure you’re staying competitive,” Microsoft said.

Deeper dive: For more information on Microsoft’s predictive targeting feature, read its complete guide here.

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3 simple PPC optimizations you may have overlooked

Wednesday, June 21st, 2023

As PPC pros, we’re trained to look for new ways to optimize our PPC programs. 

But in this quest, our natural bias is to focus on the big stuff, like revamping account structures or updating landing pages. These projects can make a real difference in performance but take time to complete. 

Fortunately, not every optimization has to be a weeks-long project. Some optimizations are relatively quick and simple but can still pack a punch. Here are three you may have overlooked.

1. Reevaluate Microsoft Ads

Many advertisers only advertise on Google networks, where competition can be high. In contrast, fewer advertisers are on Microsoft Ads.

With less competition, some advertisers effectively squeezed out of Google Ads can still get some traction on Microsoft. It’s one reason I’ve always advocated for Microsoft Ads. 

True, the volume of leads and sales we get for our clients with Microsoft Ads is typically only 5% to 10% of what we get from our Google programs. But still, that’s not an insignificant amount, especially for B2Bs in competitive spaces. 

But unfortunately, Microsoft Ads is changing – and not for the better. 

The context

Earlier this year, Microsoft announced that the Microsoft Audience Network is now integrated with their search network. You have no option but to advertise in both spaces. You can’t opt out of one or the other. 

Naturally, Microsoft touts the value of being in both networks, writing: 

“We’ve conducted studies across accounts that are running search and audience traffic to understand the incremental value for advertisers. We found that advertisers maximize performance and drive lift when combining their Microsoft Search and Audience Network efforts.”

In theory, this sounds great. I’ve always believed in future-proofing your brand with campaigns that grow awareness – so it’s not like I have anything against the Microsoft Audience Network.

But still, I would much prefer to control the terms of how I advertise. 

When Microsoft made this change, it initially didn’t seem like a big deal. Microsoft assured us that while we couldn’t opt out of the Audience network, we could add a few main exclusions to cover us.

So everything would be okay, right?

Moving away from Microsoft

At the time of this writing, this change took place about three months ago.

Some of our client accounts remain largely unaffected. But one of our larger accounts is hurting and bad. 

Despite daily monitoring and updating of site exclusions, we haven’t been able to turn things around.

No matter what we do, Microsoft keeps increasing impressions and ad spend on the Audience Network, with little to show for it. 

Performance has been so dismal we’re at the point of recommending that this client funnel their Microsoft Ads budget to Google or LinkedIn instead.

2. Rethink retargeting 

Retargeting (now known as Audience Segments) may seem a little 2010. But it is still around because it’s a great way to re-engage with someone previously engaged with you.

However, retargeting is widely underutilized and a little bit misunderstood.

The context

If you haven’t refreshed your thinking about retargeting recently, here are three reminders about how to optimize it:

Narrow your focus

Retargeting has been around for so long that we forget it’s not just a way to reach people who have previously visited a website. 

You can also retarget people who’ve viewed a particular video on your YouTube channel, any video on your YouTube channel, or your video ad (or some combination of the three) – making it even more targeted.

As you can see from the image below, you have multiple targeting options, from website visitors to app users to YouTube users and more:

Add exclusions

Don’t forget to exclude audiences that you don’t want to retarget. These could be:

• People who have already converted.
• Past customers who are unlikely to purchase again.
• Audiences who aren’t relevant to the category of solutions or services you’re promoting. 

Unless your business is very narrow with one point of focus (e.g., you sell only one product to one type of audience), you should never target all previous website visitors. 

Audit your audiences regularly

Retargeting isn’t “set and forget.” As your business changes and grows, you’ll need to update the audiences you target accordingly. Have you added a new service line or adjusted your target market? Make sure those changes are reflected in the audiences you target.

Retargeting with a limited budget

We applied these strategies recently when a B2B client gave us a special launch budget to create awareness for a new product. 

The budget wasn’t huge. So rather than retargeting people who had visited the client’s website, we retargeted people who had watched a video of the new product in action – a much smaller segment of prospective customers. 

The result? This strategy worked extremely well for this client – and at a very reasonable cost. 

3. Revisit sitelinks 

Like retargeting, sitelinks have also undergone a recent name change, now known as “assets” instead of “extensions.” Whatever they’re called, they remain my favorite ad extension. 

The context

Like retargeting, sitelinks are ripe for optimization. Many advertisers fail to optimize them in three ways: 

Not quickly fixing disapproved sitelinks

Every PPC Pro knows that ads can get disapproved. Most of us monitor and address these disapprovals promptly.

But just like ads, sitelinks can also be disapproved. Unfortunately, the reporting of disapproved sitelinks isn’t nearly as obvious, and they’ll often go unnoticed until an account is audited. 

Not turning off automated sitelinks

Turning off automated sitelinks is another way to optimize. We do this as a matter of course whenever we onboard new clients.

Generally, we don’t like to give Google permission to create content on our behalf. At a minimum, we want the opportunity to review and approve.

That’s not to say that Google creates bad sitelinks, exactly. It’s just that, in our experience, Google-created sitelinks rarely align with our client’s goals.

Not implementing a sitelink strategy

As hinted above, you want your sitelinks to support your goals. 

If one of your goals is to sell products, you should create sitelinks to support that goal. Maybe you could use them as a way to upsell or cross-sell products.

However, even if sales is your primary goal, you don’t want to overdo it. Not every sitelink has to be (or should be) sales-y. 

Save some sitelinks to grow brand awareness or tell people about your new product. Use them to provide helpful information, such as links to educational webinars or other events. 

Optimization doesn’t have to be long or complex

Optimization is a never-ending task. But that doesn’t mean every optimization must be difficult or time-consuming. 

Sometimes minor changes, whether that’s shifting budget from one platform to another or retargeting a slightly different audience group, can happen in mere minutes – as these three examples prove. 

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Essential guide to Google Reviews by Digital Marketing Depot

Wednesday, June 21st, 2023

Every business owner wants to get positive reviews. But apart from their feel-good potential, reviews serve another important function that’s sometimes easy to overlook: they can actually help boost your business in search engine rankings.

The “New Business Guide to Google Reviews” by GatherUp is an essential resource for growing businesses looking to attract more customers through the power of Google search.

This comprehensive guide provides step-by-step instructions on how to claim and optimize your Google My Business profile, how to solicit and respond to customer reviews, and how to deal with Google and their overall review process.

Visit Digital Marketing Depot to download your copy today.

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Microsoft Ads announces major policy updates that start July 1

Wednesday, June 21st, 2023

Microsoft is urging marketers to review and adjust their ad campaigns as it prepares to roll out a major policy update.

Advertisers can expect big changes to their Microsoft Advertising accounts in the coming months, as new policies and resources start being introduced from July 1.

Why we care: Advertisers will potentially need to take action depending on how their brands are impacted by the updates. Microsoft says the changes are set to help marketers reach greater audiences and offer more security for consumers to align with upcoming regulatory changes.

The update comes just two weeks after Microsoft announced advertisers might see a small increase in conversions when it rolls out its new Cross-Device attribution model later this month.

What are the new rules? Microsoft has confirmed additional policy updates which will have a significant impact on marketers working in sectors such as health and gambling: The new policy updates are as follows:

• Vitamin and supplement ads are given the green light – The Microsoft Audience Network will now permit vitamin and supplement ads. However, claims must be accurate and truthful. Marketers cannot say that their product “cleanses the liver,” for example. Under the new policy, landing pages must be product pages as opposed to advertorials or video content.
• Gambling ads are now approved – Marketers in the gambling and betting sectors can now place ads on the Microsoft Audience Network. However, advertisers must be licensed in the market they wish to reach and have gone through the gambling enablement process to obtain approval.
• Gambling ads in Belgium are banned – Microsoft will cooperate with Belgium authorities when it rolls out a ban on gambling advertising. The tech giant has announced it will begin enforcing rules to ensure local laws are adhered to from July 1 and is telling marketers to ensure that they no longer target this market.
• Restrictions on gambling ads in Ireland – Microsoft is introducing a watershed on gambling ads in Ireland and is urging marketers to update any relevant ad campaigns that may be impacted. However, an exact date has not yet been confirmed.
• Ban on clinical trial ads – From Aug. 1, Microsoft will be rolling out a global ban on ads promoting clinical trials or experimental treatments across all ad types.

How are Microsoft Ads accounts changing? Microsoft has given some insight into how these updates will impact Microsoft Ads accounts:

• Ad and ad component disapprovals – including keywords, ad copy and landing pages.
• Store or product disapprovals.
• A three-strike violation policy – this policy already existed but the tech giant has explained its rules in more detail.
• Immediate suspension penalty for egregious violations – this policy already existed but Microsoft has provided more clarity as to how these violations are classified.

What has Microsoft said? The company said the changes are meant to provide greater visibility for advertisers and users.

• “We will be updating some of our advertising policies with a focus on helping you reach greater audiences for some products and services. Some updates will help further protect those who use our products and services, and some updates will align with upcoming regulatory changes. We are also making updates to our policy pages to provide better alignment on some policy areas by moving content to different pages or adding examples and clarity where needed.”

Deeper dive: For more information on Microsoft’s policy changes, read its Advertising Policy here.

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