In this monthly post, we bring you the latest from all of the major platforms. Check back towards the end of the month for an updated version of this post.
Google Ads
What: Google Ads releases phrase match and broad match modifiers
Details: Last year, Google Ads started allowing exact match keywords to match to close variants. Building on the success of that, and to keep advertisers from needing to build exhaustive keyword lists, Google Ads is adding broad match modifiers and phrase match keywords which will begin matching words within the search query with others that share the same meaning as the keyword.
Impact: Google expects advertisers who use phrase match and broad match modifiers to see 3-4% more clicks and conversions on these keywords. Of those new clicks, Google expects 85% to be net new – meaning they are not covered by existing keywords.
What: Gallery ads (beta) available in 11 languages globally
Details: Google announced Gallery Ads as Google Marketing Live. ICYMI – Gallery Ads are swipeable, image-based ads that give customers the information they need about your products or services at the top of the search results page. (Check out this On-Demand Webinar for more of the highlights from Google Marketing Live.) Gallery ads are now available as a beta for 11 languages.
Impact: Since so many smartphone users expect to get immediate information while using their smartphones, gallery ads seem to be a great option for advertisers, especially for mobile. Check your Google Ads account to see if you’re able to create gallery ads.
What: Google Ads rolls out the account map
Details: If you have a manager account with multiple sub-accounts, the account map is a new tool that helps advertisers visualize the account structure, view each accounts performance, and navigate to the account a bit easier.
Impact: For complex accounts, the new account map is a timesaver. It is a bit easier to navigate than the former pages and tables format.
Microsoft Advertising
What: Microsoft Advertising introduces campaign-level associations
Details: Campaign-level associations help advertisers apply and manage audience associations at the campaign level, so audience targeting doesn’t need to be done for the ad grpups. Now advertisers can apply audience targeting to all ad groups within the campaign at one time.
Impact: This is a timesaver for advertisers with more complex audience targeting.
What: Microsoft has aquired PromoteIQ
Details: PromoteIQ is a provider of vendor marketing technology to online retailers and brands with clients like Kroger, Kohl’s and Overstock.com.
Impact: Microsoft hopes this relationship will help them empower their retail and manufacturing clients with additional solutions for growing their e-commerce businesses.
What: Pinterest created the ads logging integration test suite
Details: Pinterest created this test suite for the engineering team to run automated tests on new code releases.
Impact: Pinterest hopes this will allow for more test cases of new code, which will help catch and fix bugs earlier in the release cycle. It also allows Pinterest to re-allocate the engineering team’s manual QA time toward building new features.