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Microsoft Advertising introduces Performance Max brand lists

Thursday, July 18th, 2024

Microsoft Ads

Microsoft Ads is rolling out a new feature called “brand lists” for Performance Max (PMax) campaigns. It promises more control over your brand image and ad visibility.

Brand lists allow advertisers to exclude their ads from appearing alongside specific brands, potentially improving ad relevance and return on ad spend (ROAS).

How it works.

Why we care. This PMax feature offers advertisers more control over the sites and searches they see their ads against. It allows advertisers to avoid association with competitors or brands that don’t align with their values.

Key features.

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Between the lines. This move signals Microsoft’s efforts to compete with Google Ads by offering more granular control over ad placements.

What they’re saying. Microsoft touts the benefits as helping advertisers “mitigate risks” and “display ads with relevant content.”

The big picture. As digital advertising becomes more complex and automated, platforms are introducing more tools for brand safety and ad targeting precision.

Courtesy of Search Engine Land: News & Info About SEO, PPC, SEM, Search Engines & Search Marketing




Microsoft Advertising introduces Performance Max brand lists

Thursday, July 18th, 2024

Microsoft Ads

Microsoft Ads is rolling out a new feature called “brand lists” for Performance Max (PMax) campaigns. It promises more control over your brand image and ad visibility.

Brand lists allow advertisers to exclude their ads from appearing alongside specific brands, potentially improving ad relevance and return on ad spend (ROAS).

How it works.

Why we care. This PMax feature offers advertisers more control over the sites and searches they see their ads against. It allows advertisers to avoid association with competitors or brands that don’t align with their values.

Key features.

Get the daily newsletter search marketers rely on.


See terms.


Between the lines. This move signals Microsoft’s efforts to compete with Google Ads by offering more granular control over ad placements.

What they’re saying. Microsoft touts the benefits as helping advertisers “mitigate risks” and “display ads with relevant content.”

The big picture. As digital advertising becomes more complex and automated, platforms are introducing more tools for brand safety and ad targeting precision.

Courtesy of Search Engine Land: News & Info About SEO, PPC, SEM, Search Engines & Search Marketing




Survey: Search marketers less happy with their jobs vs. last year

Thursday, July 18th, 2024

Can't get no job satisfaction

Search marketers are less satisfied with their jobs than they were a year ago, according to a new Search Engine Land survey.

Why we care. Search marketing continues to be a rewarding career. However, any job comes with a variety of challenges and responsibilities that were beyond the scope of the 2024 Search Engine Land Career and Salary survey. But what is clear from our data is that job unhappiness increased.

Job satisfaction decline. While 67% of search marketers are extremely or somewhat satisfied with their job, this number is down from 76% a year ago.

Job dissatisfaction also increased to 20%, up from 13% a year ago. 

Search marketing challenges. The most frequently cited challenge is securing sufficient resources – time, talent and money – according to 54% of respondents.

Most rewarding aspects of search marketing. For 55% of respondents, demonstrating and proving a positive business impact was the most rewarding aspect of their job.

Career priorities. What do search marketers want? Growing their income was the highest priority for 69%. Unsurprisingly, 97% rated “grow my income” as either a high or moderate priority.

Three other personal career high priorities were:

Key responsibilities of search marketers. At the director-level and higher positions (i.e., director, senior director, VP, SVP, C-suite), 81% said researching and recommending new marketing technology products was their top responsibility. 

The top responsibility for 67% of managers/staff was designing and managing internal workflows and processes. 

Other responsibilities that fell to the majority of search marketers of all levels were:

Here’s the full list of responsibilities we asked about:

High usage of spreadsheets. A significant majority of directors+ (71%) and managers/staff (75%) spend at least 10 hours a week working in spreadsheets (e.g., Excel, Google Sheets, Airtable). As was the case a year ago, spreadsheets continue to be a fundamental tool for search marketers.

Also of note:

Methodology. Our survey results are based on responses from 291 individuals in North America (79%) and Western Europe (21%). Due to the limited number of respondents, other regions were excluded. We used the “median” results for salaries to filter out values that might skew the results. 

The 2024 Search Engine Land Salary and Career Survey was conducted between December and February. Invitations to take the survey were amplified on and by Search Engine Land. The survey included more than 20 questions related to career roles, salary, technology, job satisfaction and challenges/frustrations. Respondents were also asked to reveal their age and gender.

Courtesy of Search Engine Land: News & Info About SEO, PPC, SEM, Search Engines & Search Marketing




Google under investigation in Italy over user consent practices

Thursday, July 18th, 2024

Italian competition watchdog AGCM launched an investigation into Google’s user consent practices for ad profiling.

Why it matters. This probe highlights growing scrutiny of Google and the data practices of Big Tech in Europe, especially under new regulations like the Digital Markets Act (DMA).

Details:

Why we care. If Google is forced to change its consent practices, it could limit the data available for ad targeting, potentially reducing the effectiveness of campaigns. For example, cost per acquisition could increase. This could then lead advertisers having to be more strategic with where they spend then budget.

Context. Google is subject to the EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA) as a designated “gatekeeper” platform.

Between the lines. This investigation by Italy’s regulator appears to address concerns not yet covered by the European Commission’s ongoing DMA probe into Google.

What to watch. The outcome of this investigation could have implications for how tech giants design consent flows and communicate data practices to users across the EU.

Courtesy of Search Engine Land: News & Info About SEO, PPC, SEM, Search Engines & Search Marketing




Google under investigation in Italy over user consent practices

Thursday, July 18th, 2024

Italian competition watchdog AGCM launched an investigation into Google’s user consent practices for ad profiling.

Why it matters. This probe highlights growing scrutiny of Google and the data practices of Big Tech in Europe, especially under new regulations like the Digital Markets Act (DMA).

Details:

Why we care. If Google is forced to change its consent practices, it could limit the data available for ad targeting, potentially reducing the effectiveness of campaigns. For example, cost per acquisition could increase. This could then lead advertisers having to be more strategic with where they spend then budget.

Context. Google is subject to the EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA) as a designated “gatekeeper” platform.

Between the lines. This investigation by Italy’s regulator appears to address concerns not yet covered by the European Commission’s ongoing DMA probe into Google.

What to watch. The outcome of this investigation could have implications for how tech giants design consent flows and communicate data practices to users across the EU.

Courtesy of Search Engine Land: News & Info About SEO, PPC, SEM, Search Engines & Search Marketing




Google under investigation in Italy over user consent practices

Thursday, July 18th, 2024

Italian competition watchdog AGCM launched an investigation into Google’s user consent practices for ad profiling.

Why it matters. This probe highlights growing scrutiny of Google and the data practices of Big Tech in Europe, especially under new regulations like the Digital Markets Act (DMA).

Details:

Why we care. If Google is forced to change its consent practices, it could limit the data available for ad targeting, potentially reducing the effectiveness of campaigns. For example, cost per acquisition could increase. This could then lead advertisers having to be more strategic with where they spend then budget.

Context. Google is subject to the EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA) as a designated “gatekeeper” platform.

Between the lines. This investigation by Italy’s regulator appears to address concerns not yet covered by the European Commission’s ongoing DMA probe into Google.

What to watch. The outcome of this investigation could have implications for how tech giants design consent flows and communicate data practices to users across the EU.

Courtesy of Search Engine Land: News & Info About SEO, PPC, SEM, Search Engines & Search Marketing




AI and Google advertising: What’s next?

Thursday, July 18th, 2024

What comes next?

AI is impacting every aspect of Google, including SEO and Google Ads

In a recent article in Search Engine Land, Anna Crowe masterfully discussed the impact of generative AI on SEO. It’s a great article, and I encourage you to read it if you haven’t already.

I want to expand on what Crowe wrote, focusing on AI’s impact on Google advertising, both now and in the future. 

The impact of generative AI on search volume and CTRs

One of the most startling findings in Crowe’s article is that AI is increasing Google search volume, but organic listings aren’t benefiting from that increase. 

Crowe estimates that search volume is up 6 times searches per day (thanks to AI), yet AI is leading to a 60% decrease in average CTR.

This, in turn, could lead to a 30% reduction in organic traffic.

In Crowe’s words, “Every single website is going to feel the pain.” 

Why aren’t organic listings benefiting from the increased search volume? Because organic listings are being moved further down the SERPs than ever before. 

Google’s introduction of AI Overviews on SERPs is one of the main contributors to this phenomenon.

If you haven’t seen them yet, here’s what these AI Overviews look like on SERPs:

Google AI Overviews example

As of this writing, AI Overviews have been rolled out only to U.S.-based searchers. 

As you can see, AI Overviews push organic results further down the page. Consequently, organic listings – even those with top search rankings – can fall below the fold. 

Given this placement, it’s not surprising that traffic to these sites is dropping.

The impact of AI Overviews on advertisers

The situation on the advertising side of the equation looks quite different.

Crowe reports that we will start seeing ad placements above AI Overviews and put them at the top of SERPs. 

This prime placement of ads on SERPs isn’t too surprising, given that advertising is an important revenue source for Google. Why wouldn’t they reserve that prime real estate for advertisers?

It’s also possible (although I’m just speculating) that the “cards” that contain organic links at the bottom of AI Overviews might someday be replaced with ads.

With these changes, two questions are top of mind for Google advertising professionals:

The impact of AI on CPC

Crowe also speculates that we may see a drop in CPCs with these additional ad placements (a.k.a. “ad inventory”). 

While I agree it’s possible, it’s not something I’m counting on – or even all that excited about, to be honest. 

I feel this way for two reasons: 

Are search keywords getting a second life? 

Advertisers have witnessed a steady decline in the power of standalone keyword targeting over the past few years, and many advertising pros (myself included) predict that this trend will continue. 

With AI-driven campaign types on offer, such as Performance Max and Demand Gen, standalone keyword-based traditional search advertising seemed to be on its way out. 

But now, I’m starting to think that keywords are rising from the dead for two reasons:

Ginny Marvin, Ads Product Liaison at Google, outlined these changes in a recent LinkedIn post

These updates include automatically including misspellings in negative keyword lists and allowing brand inclusions and exclusions across additional campaign types – they’re updates we’ve wanted for years! 

Success lies in mastering all aspects of your Google Ads program

What does all of this mean for Google advertisers?

This means that to be successful, you need to master all aspects of your Google Ads program, from Search to Performance Max to Display ads and more.

Even more importantly, you need to know how to integrate all of the targeting options, ad formats and campaign types to achieve peak performance. 

To be more specific, here are six recommendations to stay ahead of the AI curve.

1. Make sure you’re current on match types

Broad match isn’t what it was a few years ago.

The “new” broad match is dramatically different. It’s so different that it’s too bad Google didn’t give it a new name. 

Today’s broad match uses contextual signals and other signals, such as keywords in the ad group, landing page, user search behavior and user location, to understand intent.

Dig deeper: What to know about PPC keyword research tools and match types

2. Make sure you’re current on Google campaign formats

With Google’s commitment to AI, you can be sure that AI-driven campaigns like Performance Max aren’t going anywhere. 

If you haven’t already, add a Performance Max to the mix and see how it affects account performance.

Get familiar with the pros and cons of this format and how it will interact with your current search keyword-targeted campaigns, as it will only become more important.

3. Stay committed to using the best combination of keyword match types and campaign types 

Your best-performing combination might include Performance Max, or it might not. The only way to know for sure is to test. 

Don’t let biases or preconceived ideas get in the way of bringing in more targeted traffic. It’s not a question of whether Search is better than Performance Max or vice versa. It’s a question of what works best for every Google Ads program. 

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4. Don’t even try to copy and paste strategies

Abandon the idea that you can copy and paste a successful strategy from one campaign to another. It’s not so simple. 

We’ve repeatedly found that strategies that work well in one account may differ dramatically from those that work well in another – even when the accounts provide similar services or products in the same industry.

5. Invest in original, high-quality content

Crowe points out in her article that Google is facing an indexing crisis. The amount of content that Google has to crawl and index is growing exponentially – thanks, in part, to AI-generated content.

As a result, Google might not even try to index all content, starting with content that’s generic. 

To quote Crowe again, “Today, the best way to get your content seen by Google is through content written with experience and opinion. AI cannot write based on experience.”

Dig deeper: PPC landing pages: How to craft a winning post-click experience

6. Remember, you are a marketer first

All of this may sound overwhelming, but it’s not really. 

Ever since I started in Google advertising, oh so many years ago, I’ve always approached it with a marketing-first mindset. My primary focus is always on how we can use a client’s Google Ads account to achieve the goals of the marketing teams we support.

It’s a focus that my team and I continue to maintain today.

Whenever we encounter accounts that are overworked, over-targeted and over-tinkered, we start with the fundamentals.

We start by asking, “How is this ad program supporting the company’s goals?” or even, “Does this ad program support the company’s goals at all?” Often, it does not.

It’s a straightforward approach, but you’d be amazed at how well it works. We strip things down and laser-focus on aligning the advertising of the client’s product/service with the client’s business and marketing goals. 

How we achieve that alignment may be a little different than before with the introduction of AI, but the basics still apply.

AI may have created new challenges. But the solution remains the same. 

Reason for optimism

I’ll leave you with one final note of optimism. 

Even though Google is eager to keep people on its pages as long as possible, that doesn’t mean your website will become obsolete anytime soon. 

No matter how well information is presented on the SERPs, users still need to go to your site to talk to you about your service or product (for now, at least). You still have plenty of opportunities to engage with them and win them over on your own home turf.

However, as mentioned above, it is more important than ever to ensure that your website is well-designed and has the content you need to engage and convert leads.

This is just the beginning of AI and Google Ads 

There’s no question that AI is changing Google Ads in many important ways and will continue to do so. 

That’s why all of the predictions and recommendations I’ve written about above are just for this moment. 

A month from now, a year from now, we’ll need to reconsider keyword management and how it relates to account strategies once again.

Because generative AI will continue to evolve – and how people use it will evolve along with it. 

Courtesy of Search Engine Land: News & Info About SEO, PPC, SEM, Search Engines & Search Marketing




Google tightens AdMob policies, reshaping ad placement rules

Wednesday, July 17th, 2024

Google announced significant updates to its AdMob policies, set to take effect this month, aimed at improving clarity and transparency for publishers.

These changes will impact how and where ads can be placed within apps, particularly in private communication spaces, affecting publishers’ monetization strategies.

Key changes:

Why we care. The new “Ads in Private Communications” policy will limit where ads can appear, potentially reducing some inventory in messaging-heavy apps. Advertisers may also need to change their strategies to reach users in apps with significant private messaging components.

Details:

Between the lines. These refinements reflect Google’s efforts to adapt to evolving digital communication trends and increasing privacy concerns.

Bottom line. Publishers should review these updates to ensure future compliance and adjust their monetization strategies accordingly.

Courtesy of Search Engine Land: News & Info About SEO, PPC, SEM, Search Engines & Search Marketing




Survey: Search marketing gender pay gap is widening

Wednesday, July 17th, 2024

Gender pay gap

Men earn an average of 36% more than women in search marketing in 2024, according to a new Search Engine Land survey.

While there is less of a gender pay gap disparity in senior positions, there is still a disparity. 

Additionally, women were more likely to have changed jobs or received promotions more recently than men. And men and women are similarly satisfied with their current role, the survey revealed.

Why we care. People should receive equal compensation for equal work, regardless of gender. However, Search Engine Land’s 2024 Salary and Career Survey indicates that isn’t happening. The gap between salaries for men and women in search marketing hasn’t closed. Rather, pay inequality has widened.

Men earn 36% more than women. Men earned an average of $130,000 in 2024 (vs. $105,250 in 2023) while women earned an average of $95,000 in 2024 (vs. $83,265 in 2023). 

Men in senior positions earn 8% more than women. The search marketing pay gap is less pronounced in senior positions. 

Job changes and promotions. 38% of women were promoted or changed jobs in the past 12 months, compared to 25% of men.

Job satisfaction. Women are slightly more satisfied with their current roles. A majority of men and women reported being either extremely or somewhat satisfied with their roles:

However, compared to last year, both men and women are less satisfied with their roles. In 2023, 24% of men and 27% of women said they were extremely satisfied, while 56% of men and 45% of women were somewhat satisfied.

Men and women were equally neutral about their roles – 14% – while 22% of men said they were somewhat or not satisfied with their roles, compared to 18% of women: 

Methodology. Our survey results are based on responses from 291 individuals in North America (79%) and Western Europe (21%). Due to the limited number of respondents, other regions were excluded. We used the “median” results for salaries to filter out values that might skew the results. 

The 2024 Search Engine Land Salary and Career Survey was conducted between December and February. Invitations to take the survey were amplified on and by Search Engine Land. The survey included more than 20 questions related to career roles, salary, technology, job satisfaction and challenges/frustrations. Respondents were also asked to reveal their age and gender.

Courtesy of Search Engine Land: News & Info About SEO, PPC, SEM, Search Engines & Search Marketing




The Kanban approach to efficient PPC campaign management

Wednesday, July 17th, 2024

The Kanban approach to efficient PPC campaign management

Have you ever found yourself in one of the following situations?

These issues may not all have the same solution, but I’d argue that a top-tier tracker that helps you stay organized and makes it simpler to report to stakeholders will essentially eliminate these problems. 

You don’t need an expensive certificate in project management to help manage your own work in a way that makes sense and sets you up for success.

If you’re without a project management tool or find your company’s chosen tool isn’t serving you, I’d like to introduce you to the Kanban board for PPC and other paid media digital channels. 

This board-based tool is baked into several free project management tools, such as Monday.com, Trello and Asana.

Originally developed in the manufacturing sector, Kanban boards have evolved into excellent tools for personal productivity and project management. 

This article will explore how Kanban boards can revolutionize your approach to PPC and other paid channels, enhancing your work tracking and organizational skills.

Understanding Kanban boards

You’ve likely seen a Kanban board in the wild; it consists of columns and cards. 

Kanban board exampleSource: LinkedIn

Each column represents a stage in the workflow, such as To Do, In Progress, In Review and Completed. The cards in these columns represent individual tasks that need to be addressed.

This powerful system’s simplicity is its strength. It allows you to visualize your workload and manage tasks more effectively. One of the key benefits of Kanban boards is the visual clarity they provide regarding tasks and their progress. 

Seeing all tasks laid out in front of you makes it easier to track progress and identify bottlenecks. Since about 65% of us are visual learners, it’s beneficial to use a tool that leverages this. 

The flexibility of Kanban boards means they can be tailored to fit your particular workflow, making them ideal for the diverse tasks involved in PPC/SEM. 

Another key advantage of Kanban boards is the boost in focus. They essentially force you to only pay attention to the tasks at hand and avoid overwhelm. 

By breaking down larger projects into small, manageable tasks, you can concentrate on one thing at a time, reducing the mental load and ultimately increasing your own efficiency. 

The structured approach that Kanban boards require not only helps in completing tasks more effectively but also in planning and prioritizing future work, such as following up on how past optimizations are performing. 

Setting up a Kanban board for PPC tasks

When setting up a Kanban board for PPC and other paid channels, the first step is to tailor the columns to your specific workflow.

Kanbans are most effective when they’re relevant and specific to you and how your company gets work done. 

To start, break down your work into single tasks, from beginning to end.

For example, the creation of a new campaign might be broken out thusly:

Once these tasks are identified, you can create relevant columns that reflect the stages of your workflow and assign deadlines and priorities to help you manage your time and ensure you’re working on the most important stuff first. 

Comprehensive Kanban board  example
Digital marketing Kanban board  exampleSource: AgileSherpas

Columns such as “In Progress” can be an extremely effective strategy for avoiding overwork caused by multiple stakeholders who don’t keep track of how much work they’re requesting from you. 

Limiting the number of tasks in the “In Progress” column at any time prevents you from becoming overwhelmed and ensures that each task receives the attention it needs. 

Columns such as Internal or External Review can help you get an idea of where bottlenecks often occur, while your Done column can help you communicate your value and accomplishments to your own manager during Performance Reviews. 

Dig deeper: PPC management checklist: Daily, weekly and monthly reviews

Daily workflow with Kanban boards

Kanban boards are only useful if you use them, which is why it’s essential to integrate them into your daily routine. 

Ideally, your Kanban board should reflect your work utterly, meaning you shouldn’t need to check multiple apps or locations to get an idea of what you need to work on on any given day. 

Start each day by reviewing the board. Assess what needs to be done and move tasks across columns as progress is made.

In addition to viewing your board regularly, you also need to update and review it regularly to maintain its effectiveness. At the end of each day, take a few minutes to review what you’ve accomplished and update the status of your tasks.

Weekly reviews can help you adjust your plans and strategies based on the progress made and ensure that your workflow is still aligned with your goals.

Implement Kanban boards to boost your PPC productivity

Kanban boards offer numerous benefits for organizing and managing PPC tasks. 

By providing visual clarity, flexibility and a structured approach to task management, they can significantly enhance your productivity and the efficiency of your campaigns by helping you stay organized. 

Whether you’re just starting with Kanban or looking to refine your current system, these boards can (and should!) be tailored to fit your unique workflow.

Don’t be afraid to begin with a simple setup. Build the habit of starting and ending your day with your board.

You can evolve your board over time as you become more comfortable with the system and make changes to tasks and columns that reflect how you, as an individual, handle your work. 

Regularly review and update your board to ensure it remains aligned with your goals and priorities.

May I suggest adding an “Audit Kanban board Set-Up” task in your to-do column with a due date of two weeks from now?

I guarantee the ongoing optimization of your personal workflow will lead to better results in your campaigns.

Dig deeper: How to improve PPC campaign performance: A checklist

Courtesy of Search Engine Land: News & Info About SEO, PPC, SEM, Search Engines & Search Marketing




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