In its latest article, Microsoft Advertising highlighted a series of updates to various features aimed at helping advertisers maximize ad campaign budget, reach new audiences, and increase ad options for specific verticals.
6 Updates To Audience Ads
This month’s news featured six updates to Audiences Ads, which leverage consumer intent signals, such as searches, web activity, and profile data.
This data allows brands to target an audience ready to convert on MSN, Microsoft Edge, Outlook.com, and additional publisher placements.
Screenshot from MSN, October 2023
Automating Real-Time Bids For Conversions Or Budget
To simplify bidding, Microsoft is rolling out Maximize Conversions and Target CPA.
These features will allow Microsoft to automatically adjust real-time bids for the most conversions or an average target CPA (cost per action) over a 30-day timeframe.
Expanded Audience Ads Availability
In addition to new bidding features, Microsoft expanded its Audience Ads to 58 new markets in August, now covering 187 globally.
Predictive Targeting With Audience Intelligence
The recently released Predictive Targeting for Audience Ads utilizes Microsoft’s audience intelligence to find audiences more likely to convert but not considered by brands.
Placement Across Microsoft Casual Games On Windows Computers
Microsoft is rolling out several new placements for Audience Ads, starting with Windows computer game interfaces. By 2024, it is expected to be available for all Microsoft Casual Games.
Ads For Microsoft 365 App Users
This month, Microsoft is rolling out new Audience Ad placements on the free Microsoft 365 app for consumers in the US. EU markets can expect it for Android in January 2024.
Video And CTV Ads
Announced at DMEXCO, Video and CTV Ads connect brands to high-value audiences at scale through online video and connected TV partners.
Microsoft Advertising Updates For Verticals And Professional Services
To broaden its appeal, Microsoft is renaming its Hotel Campaigns to Lodging Campaigns to include accommodations beyond traditional hotels.
Microsoft also rolled out more vertical-specific ads across its search partner network, including Credit card and Property Promotion ads.
As an industry first, Microsoft introduced Property Promotion Ads for Vacation Rentals aimed at vacation rental customers.
Microsoft plans to add more professional services ads, which include Automotive and Tours and Activities,
Microsoft’s blog post concludes with a reminder for advertisers to try the Performance Max open beta for predictive solutions and automated workflows.
The extensive updates show Microsoft’s continued commitment to providing powerful tools for brands and advertisers to reach the right audiences to maximize conversions.
United States antitrust lawsuit against Google uncovers emails of executives from Google Search, Chrome and Ads discussing schemes for increasing ad revenue.
There are two documents, one from 2019 that features top Google executives from Search, Chrome and Ads hatching plans for pumping up ad revenues before the end of the quarter. At one point they even discuss the impact on Google’s stock price and their own personal fortunes.
Another document, dating from 2017, acknowledges reluctance of the Search team to do anything that could negatively affect users.
It must be pointed out that the most outrageous document consists of top executives, including Ben Gomes, who is one of the top engineers responsible for Google’s Search algorithm.
The PDF documenting the email discussion appears to shatter Google’s longtime insistence that that the Search Team is firewalled from the Advertising side of the company.
But again, these are top executives having a discussion, not the search team itself, apart from Ben Gomes.
Search Team Firewalled From Ads Teams
Googlers have made many statements over the years, at search conferences and in Google Hangouts and on Twitter that the search side of Google does not coordinate with the advertising side.
For example, in a May 8, 2015 Google Hangout, Google’s John Mueller explained how the search team is blocked off from the Ads team.
The question he answered was about a rumor that Google makes SEO more difficult in order to make more money from the ads.
Mueller responded:
“This is definitely not true.
So, this is something where we have a very, very strong firewall essentially between the paid side of Google and the organic search side.
And that’s not something that we would kind of connect, where we would say we would make algorithms that make the search results worse so that people go and click on ads more.
…So, it’s something where we’re not artificially trying to make it more complicated or harder or the search results worse so that people click on ads.
…So, that’s something where on the one hand, we really have the strong separation between the two sides.
On the other hand, we really need to keep that upright, so that we can make sure our search results are really as neutral as possible, as high quality as possible and really provide what users want.”
Google Executives Worked Together With Google Ads Team
The 2019 email is from a Google Ads executive Jerry Dischler. It was sent to a ChromeOS executive named John Maletis.
Also in on the email discussion is Ben Gomes who worked on the Google search algorithm since the earliest days, and Prabhakar Raghavan, an executive vice president who has been involved in the Search side as well as with Google Ads.
Google Ads executive Dischler wrote:
“The Search team is working together with us to accelerate a launch of a new mobile layout by the end of May that will be very revenue positive (exact numbers still moving), but that still won’t be enough.
Our best shot at making the quarter is if we get an injection of at least [redacted]% , queries ASAP from Chrome.”
He followed those remarks by lamenting how disappointed all the different team members will be should Google’s stock price drop because the advertising side didn’t perform well enough.
Frankly, it’s shocking that anyone involved with Google’s algorithm is in a discussion with the ChromeOS and Advertising teams about ways to artificially increase search queries in order to help meet the advertising side’s performance goals for the quarter.
And as disappointing as that is, it gets even worse.
The executives go on to discuss how not meeting their revenue goals will impact their personal wealth.
Dischler continued:
“I care more about revenue that the average person but think we can all agree that for all of our teams trying to live in high cost areas another $[redacted] in stock price loss will not be great for morale, not to mention the huge impact on our sales team.
In the next paragraph he expresses pride in Google’s “pure approach” and claims he doesn’t want to “poison the culture of any team.”
And with his next breath this is where he starts handing out the poison, saying:
“I don’t want the message to be ‘we’re doing this thing because the Ads team needs revenue.’ That’s a very negative message.
But my question to you is – based on above – what do we think is the best decision for Google overall?
…Are there other ranking tweaks we can push out quickly?”
A high ranking Chrome executive, Anil Sabharwal, responds by affirming they should go ahead with changes to search ranking (ostensibly to benefit Google Ads, which is the context of the entire email).
Tellingly, he worries about “bad press” at the upcoming Google IO event.
Sabharwal responded:
“…we don’t want bad press around IO, let’s roll out #1 and #2 now and get the benefits.
Let’s also start the search ranking experiments asap and roll those out once we get the data.”
Later on in the email chain, Anil Sabharwal questions how far the executives are willing to go in terms of the negative impact to the user experience, long term retention and team motivation.
He then talks about changes to search ranking:
“We are making progress here, and I’m hopeful the search ranking improvements in Omnibox will also be a material increase in SQV, but I understand we need to do more.”
The “improvements” being discussed are a way to increase search queries and presumably ad revenues.
In another part of the email chain Jerry Dischler remarks on the short term gains from reversing “query-driven revenue loss” and references experiments on the Chrome and Search side.
He then remarks on how they need to be more aggressive about raising the advertising revenues.
Dischler writes:
“It’s a decent start but collectively we need to figure out how to do more and this work is urgent because we continue to face these strong headwinds in Q2.”
Anil Sabharwal, the Chrome executive, later discusses the changes to Chrome, specifically the Omnibox changes, that are designed to increase search queries, describing the work of the Chrome team for increasing search queries as “heroic.”
He wrote:
“1…we were able to get launch approval to rollout two changes (entity suggest and tail suggest) that increase queries by [redacted]% and [redacted]% respectively.
2. We are going to immediately start experiments to improve search ranking in the omnibox (more search results and nudging search to the top).”
The changes Google made to Chrome were so bad that the experiments were noticed by commenters on Reddit.
The executive found it humorous that the Redditors thought that the experiment was a “bug.”
Another government exhibit contains a discussion given in 2017 where the Ads side expresses frustration with the wall separating the Ads team from the search team.
The discussion calls attention to talk that the Search side should consider “query quotas.”
The document reveals:
“Ads/Revenues …the old model of things getting thrown over the wall to them has outlived its usefulness…
There’s talk of suggesting that the Search team consider new goals around query quotas, focusing on monetizable queries, returning towards focusing Search experience on high revenue countries…”
The document outlines the fears of the Search team about metrics that could lead to “unnatural search experiences” from the quest for ad revenue.
So it’s not that the Search team itself was complicit in rigging search in service of more ad revenues.
The second document acknowledges that the Search team itself didn’t want to engage in activities that would negatively impact the users.
For someone who’s used Google Universal Analytics for the past 10 years, dealing with this change has been tough.
The previous platform provided easy-to-use reports at marketers’ fingertips in an instant.
It’s easy to have a love/hate relationship with Google Analytics reports right now.
As marketers, we have limited time in our work days.
Now, we are tasked with learning a new interface (UI) and re-creating those sacred reports, all while performing our regular duties.
In this article, I’ll introduce you to five Google Analytics reports to help you get the necessary information faster when making strategic decisions for PPC campaigns.
My favorite go-to reports will help:
Analyze and expand audience segments in PPC campaigns.
Expand PPC keyword selection.
Identify successful top-of-funnel efforts to support additional budget requests.
As a result, targeted PPC keywords are more loosely managed as Google tries to master user intent.
Because of this, understanding the behavior of our target audiences is crucial for success.
The Interests segment report shows exactly that.
In the previous Universal Analytics interface, this report was called the “In-Market Segments” report.
While it’s a bit harder to find, the Interests report can be found in Google Analytics 4.
To find this report, navigate to Reports > User > Demographic details.
The report defaults to showing data by country. To view the Interest report, click the down arrow by Country and select Interests.
Screenshot from GA4, July 2023
This report shows the types of Interest segments (for Google Ads) of users who have purchased on your website.
Screenshot from GA4, July 2023
The key features of this report allow you to:
Segment by past purchasers or converters to identify the most relevant Interest segments to target.
Sort by highest revenue or conversion rate.
Layer relevant and converting Interest segments into existing Google Ads campaigns.
Create new PPC campaigns targeting those segments exclusively.
2. Site Search Report
This report is useful for many reasons aside from PPC.
By utilizing this Google Analytics 4 report, you can understand how users are searching to find what they need on the website.
The key features of this report can:
Help inform ongoing keyword strategy.
Provide expanded keyword lists based on real user behavior.
Identify potential gaps in expected vs. actual search behavior.
Speaking of gaps, the Site Search report can also help product teams understand if additional demands exist for the products offered.
For example, say you have a wedding invitation website that has a decent product assortment for different themed weddings.
When using the Site Search report, you see an increasing number of searches for “rustic,” – but none of the website designs have that rustic feel!
This can inform product marketing that there is a demand for this type of product, and they can take action accordingly.
To find the Site Search report, navigate to Reports > Engagement > Events.
Look for the event “view_search_results” and click on it.
Screenshot from GA4, July 2023
Once clicked, find the “search_term” custom parameter card on the page.
A few important notes on search terms data:
Before using this report, you must create a new custom dimension (event-scoped) for the search term results to populate.
Google Analytics will only show data once it meets a minimum aggregation threshold.
While it’s not as robust as the previous Site Search report in Universal Analytics, it does provide basic data on the number of events and total users per search term.
3. Referrals Report
This report is highly underrated, in my opinion.
The Referrals report shows the top websites that have sent traffic to your website and if any of those users convert.
To find this report, navigate to Reports > Acquisition > Traffic Acquisition.
Screenshot from GA4, July 2023
To view the websites from the Referral channel, click the “+” in the default channel group and choose “Session source/medium.”
Screenshot from GA4, July 2023
The key features of this report can:
Help identify how users are finding the website.
Analyze high-quality vs. low-quality referral traffic to the website.
Allow you to create a list of top referral websites.
To take your PPC campaigns one step further, try creating a new “Placements” audience and test it in a new Google Ads Display campaign.
This is a cost-efficient way to test expanding new PPC efforts responsibly because the referral websites chosen are known to provide high-quality traffic to your website.
4. Top Conversion Paths Report
As marketers, we’re often asked how “Top of Funnel” (TOF) or brand awareness campaigns are performing.
Leadership typically prioritizes channels that are proven to perform. So, they want to make sure marketing dollars are spent efficiently.
In today’s economy, this is more important than ever.
This Google Analytics report helps analyze and interpret TOF behavior.
If you’re running any type of campaign beyond Search, this report is absolutely necessary.
Campaigns like YouTube and Display and other paid channels like social media (Meta, Instagram, TikTok, etc.) naturally have different goals and objectives.
TOF campaigns are undoubtedly criticized for “not performing” at the same rate as a Search campaign.
As marketers, this can be frustrating to hear over and over.
Using the Conversions Path report provides a holistic view of how long it takes a user to eventually make a purchase from the initial interaction.
To find this report, navigate to Advertising > Attribution > Conversion paths.
When drilling down to specific campaign performance, I recommend:
Add a filter that contains “Session source/medium” to the specific paid channel in question (“google/cpc” for example)
Include an “AND” statement to the filter for “Session campaign” specific to the TOF campaigns in question.
Screenshot from GA4, July 2023
In the example above, we found that our Paid Social campaigns should have been credited in more of the early and mid touchpoints!
The key features of this report can:
Identify how many touchpoints to final conversion.
Analyze complex user journey interactions when multiple channels are involved (especially for longer sale cycles).
Report on credited conversions based on the attribution model.
This report can uncover necessary data to support the request for additional marketing dollars in TOF channels.
A win-win for all parties involved.
5. Geo-Location Report
This one may be a no-brainer, but surprisingly, it is an overlooked report that can help your PPC performance.
Oftentimes, once a target location is set, we tend to forget it.
Location performance is an easy setting to overlook.
If campaigns are performing well, what’s the point of changing anything, right?
Wrong!
The Locations report will show top users by city, but also revenue and conversion rate.
This is a crucial step in optimizing and maintaining performance in PPC campaigns.
I typically look for the ratio of users by area vs. the amount of revenue and conversion rate in that same area.
If a large amount of dollars is spent in a state that produces low revenue, do I want to continue spending money in a place that’s not converting?
Of course not!
Consider bidding down on those areas or potentially excluding them altogether.
To find this report, navigate to Reports > User > User Attributes > Demographic details.
In the same example of the Interests report, change the default sort from “Country” to “Region.” Or add a secondary dimension to the report.
From there, sort the report by Revenue or Conversion Rate to identify top-performing or low-performing regions.
Make sure to add a filter for specific paid media channels or campaigns if you want to segment further.
Screenshot from GA4, July 2023
In the example above, I see that California has the highest amount of revenue and sessions.
This indicates I should, at a minimum, test increasing bids in that region because of historical high performance.
Simple optimizations such as location bid adjustments can make significant impacts over time on PPC performance.
The key features of this report can:
Cross-reference where PPC campaigns are showing to users and the amount of traffic sent to the website.
Identify any performance gaps based on region.
Provide optimization recommendations for top-performing regions.
Because they provide meaningful trends over time, it may not make sense to view these every day or even every week.
The Google Ads platform has its own robust reporting features when reviewing and optimizing campaigns daily and weekly.
By utilizing these five Google Analytics reports on a monthly or quarterly basis, performance can be viewed holistically.
It’s always important to take a step back from the “day to day” optimizations in Google Ads to better understand how PPC fits into overall channel performance.
Reviewing these reports not necessarily made for PPC can give you the upper hand in making strategic improvements that can supercharge your campaign performance.
More resources:
Featured Image: Sutthiphong Chandaeng/Shutterstock
Microsoft Advertising and Snap have announced a pivotal partnership that positions both tech giants at the vanguard of advertising innovation.
Using Microsoft’s Chat Ads API, Snap aims to serve sponsored links in Snapchat’s My AI chatbot, augmenting a dynamic user experience.
Snapchat My AI Chatbot Displays Ads To 150 Million Users
Snapchat boasts an impressive reach, with more than 750 million active users per month who send billions of messages daily.
Microsoft, likewise, has been making strides with its recent advancements in AI technology, notably through Bing and asset recommendations for Responsive Search Ads.
This partnership will facilitate Sponsored Links in Snapchat’s My AI, one of the largest consumer chatbots, interacting with over 150 million people.
The following shows sample ads from CDW, ADT, and Amazon, along with the conversations that led My AI to serve sponsored links powered by the Ads for Chat API.
Screenshot from Snapchat, September 2023
New Ways To Reach Specific Demographic
For advertisers, this collaboration offers a significant ROI potential.
Using Microsoft’s generative AI technology, brands can engage deeply with Snapchat’s youthful, mobile-first audience.
Furthermore, Microsoft’s focus on mobile improvements resonates well with Snapchat’s user base, making the partnership a strategic move for both companies.
Advertisers can view the impact of Snap traffic in the Microsoft Advertising publisher report, found under the “Microsoft sites and select traffic” category.
During the testing phase, advertisers saw an increase of over 15% in mobile impressions from this category while maintaining or improving cost per acquisition.
Future Chat Ads API Partnerships
Microsoft and Snap vow to remain attuned to advertiser feedback as they refine their chat ad offerings.
This initiative is not just a one-off; it marks a strategic milestone in the continued growth of generative AI in advertising.
Microsoft encourages inaugural partners using the Chat Ads API to provide feedback through its advertising feedback portal and social media.
In addition to its current partners, Snap and Axel Springer, Microsoft has noted plans to expand the new advertising option to more partners soon.
It encourages interested companies to fill out a partnership application for help with “algorithmic organic results and ads monetization or ads monetization only.”
Screenshot from MSN, October 2023
