SEO Tools and Resources

Google Ads expanded its “Political content” declaration, allowing advertisers to set a default political-ads preference at the account level — not just within individual campaigns. The feature quietly rolled out after Google introduced the campaign-level setting in August 2025. Why we care. The shift gives advertisers a simpler, more consistent way to comply with political-ad regulations, especially as new transparency requirements — including the EU’s TTPA rules that took effect in October 2025 — continue to ramp up. Instead of updating each campaign manually, advertisers can now define their political-ad intent once and apply it across the entire account. Ho…

Google Ads is set to enhance the viewer experience of Performance Max video ads with an innovative asset optimization feature. Leveraging advanced AI voice models, this update aims to infuse video ads with realistic voice-overs, ultimately enhancing user engagement and ad performance. Why we care. Advertisers who don’t actively opt out by March 20, will have their video ads automatically enhanced with Google’s AI voice models, changing how their ads sound to viewers without requiring any creative production work. How it works. The feature only activates on videos that don’t already contain a voice track Google’s AI selects text from advertiser-provided hea…

Google Ads is rolling out a beta feature that lets advertisers connect external data sources directly inside conversion action settings, tightening the link between first-party data and campaign measurement. How it works. A new section in conversion action details — labeled “Get deeper insights about your customers’ behavior to improve measurement” — prompts advertisers to connect external databases to their Google tag. Supported integrations include platforms like BigQuery and MySQL The goal is to enrich conversion metrics and improve performance signals The feature appears in a highlighted prompt within data attribution settings Rollout is gradual …

Google Ads rolled out device targeting options for Performance Max (PMax) campaigns, which gives you granular control that was previously unavailable at the campaign level. The new targeting options appear in PMax campaign settings. You can now include or exclude specific device types You can now gain critical control over which devices see your Performance Max ads, a long-requested feature that allows for more precise campaign management and optimization. Details. The update allows targeting across four distinct device categories: Computers: Desktop or laptop devices with screens larger than 7″ diagonal. Mobile phones: Hand-held devices with phone …

Google Ads has launched a new Results tab inside its Recommendations section that shows advertisers the measured performance impact after they apply bid and budget suggestions. How it works. After an advertiser applies a bid or budget recommendation, Google analyzes campaign performance one week later and compares it to an estimated baseline of what would have happened without the change. The system then highlights the incremental lift, such as additional conversions generated by raising a budget or adjusting targets. Where to find it. Impact reporting appears in the Recommendations area of an account. A summary callout shows recent results on the main page, w…

Google Ads is rolling out a feature that lets advertisers calculate conversion value for new customers based on a target return on ad spend (ROAS), automatically generating a suggested value instead of relying on manual estimates. The update is designed for campaigns using new customer acquisition goals, where advertisers want to bid more aggressively to attract first-time buyers. How it works. Advertisers enter their desired ROAS target for new customers, and Google Ads proposes a conversion value aligned with that goal. The system removes some of the guesswork involved in estimating how much a new customer should be worth in bidding models. The feature doesn…

Advertisers digging through Google Ads change history often lose time hopping between reports, campaigns, and ad groups. A new “Go to…” button cuts out those extra clicks — a small UI tweak that can save meaningful time during audits and troubleshooting. What’s new. Google has added a “Go to…” dropdown in the Change history report. Advertisers can now jump directly from a logged change to the relevant campaign or ad group. The feature is especially useful when reviewing bulk edits, script-driven changes, or updates made in Google Ads Editor. How it works: Select one or more changes in the Change history report. Use the “Go to…” dropdown to navigate str…

Google Ads introduced View-Through Conversion (VTC)–optimised bidding for Android App campaigns, giving advertisers a visible toggle to optimise toward conversions that happen after an ad is viewed, not clicked. Previously, VTC existed only as a hidden signal within Google’s systems. Now, it’s an explicit optimisation option. The shift. Google is continuing to move app advertising away from click-centric logic and toward incrementality and influence, especially for formats like YouTube and in-feed video. This update aligns bidding more closely with how users actually discover and install apps. Why we care. Advertisers can now bid beyond clicks, improvi…

Google officially announced AI Max, a new suite of automation features for Search campaigns – and the PPC community is buzzing. While Google positions AI Max as an optional, performance-enhancing setting, many advertisers are parsing the announcement carefully, trying to separate the substance from the spin. From excitement about creative automation to concerns about keywordless targeting, reactions span the spectrum. What is AI Max? Google says: not a revolution, but an evolution First things first: what is AI Max? According to Jyll Saskin Gales, a former Googler who spoke directly with the product team: “AI Max for Search campaigns is a bundle o…

Google Ads today announced AI Max, a new tool to reach untapped queries and tailor ads with a single click. Rolling out globally in beta later this month, Google said AI Max integrates its most advanced targeting and creative tools into Search campaigns. Smarter matching. Broad match and keywordless tech help advertisers tap into high-performing queries they may have otherwise missed. Google AI learns from existing keywords, creative, and URLs to identify new opportunities. Real-time creative adaptation. New “text customization” (formerly “automatically created assets”) creates headlines and descriptions tailored to a user’s query – adapting on the fly to matc…

Google will begin enforcing a minimum daily budget for Demand Gen campaigns starting April 1, 2026. What’s happening: The Google Ads API will require a minimum daily budget of $5 USD (or local equivalent) for all Demand Gen campaigns. The change is designed to help campaigns move through the “cold start” phase with enough spend for Google’s models to learn and optimize effectively. The update will roll out as an unversioned API change, applying across all buying paths. Technical details: In API v21 and above, campaigns set below the threshold will trigger a BUDGET_BELOW_DAILY_MINIMUM error, with additional details available in the error metadata. In API v2…

The Google Ads API will no longer accept new adopters of session attributes or IP address data in conversion imports starting Feb. 2nd. Developers who already use these fields can continue for now, but Google is steering everyone toward the Data Manager API as the primary place to send complex conversion and user data. Zoom out. Google is consolidating richer data ingestion into the Data Manager API, positioning it as the long-term home for session-level attributes and IP-based signals. The Ads API is increasingly focused on core campaign and conversion workflows rather than handling complex data payloads. Why we care. This change can directly affect whether conve…

As part of the v23 Ads API launch, Performance Max campaigns can now be reported by channel, including Search, YouTube, Display, Discover, Gmail, Maps, and Search Partners. Previously, performance data was largely grouped into a single mixed category. The change under the hood. Earlier API versions typically returned a MIXED value for the ad_network_type segment in Performance Max campaigns. With v23, those responses now break out into specific channel enums — a meaningful shift for reporting and optimization. Why we care. Google Ads API v23 doesn’t just add features — it changes how advertisers understand Performance Max. The update introduces channel-level repor…

Google Ads API v17 will officially sunset June 4. Any requests made to it after that date will fail. If you haven’t upgraded yet, now’s the time. What to do: Upgrade ASAP to the latest version of the Google Ads API. Check your usage: Head to the Google Cloud Console, open APIs & Services, and view your method calls under Metrics. Look for any v17 activity, e.g. google.ads.googleads.v17.services.GoogleAdsService.Mutate. Why we care. Businesses and developers relying on the v17 API must migrate to a newer version to keep campaigns running smoothly. Any delay risks outages in campaign management, reporting, and automation. Need help? The Google Ads…

Google announced the release of version 19 of its Google Ads API, introducing several new features and improvements for developers. What’s new. Google published the highlights of what is new and those include: Added support automatically generating enhanced video assets for Performance Max campaigns. Removed all feed-related entities from the Google Ads API like Feed, FeedMapping, FeedService, AdGroupFeed, feed_placeholder_view. Users should now use assets to achieve the same purpose. Demand Gen ads now support 9:16 portrait image assets. Use DemandGenMultiAssetAdInfo.tall_portrait_marketing_images to include these assets in your ads. Added more methods …

Google announced the release of version 19.1 of its Google Ads API, focusing on expanding capabilities for Demand Generation, video campaigns, and Local Services Ads. The details. Google announced the v19.1 release of the Google Ads API, maintaining backward compatibility for users already on v19. Updated client libraries and code examples will be published next week. Demand Gen. New ad group-level Channel Controls for Demand Gen campaigns, plus enhanced Planning services support. Local Services Ads. Advertisers can now submit feedback for leads through a new LocalServicesLeadService.ProvideLeadFeedback() method. Video campaigns. Added metrics and segments …

Google rolled out version 22 of the Google Ads API, introducing new automation and AI-powered tools designed to help advertisers build, optimize, and scale campaigns more efficiently. What’s new. The v22 update adds several key features across campaign types: Generative AI for asset creation: A new AssetGenerationService (beta) lets advertisers automatically generate text and image assets using generative AI. Smart Bidding Exploration: Advertisers using Target ROAS strategies on Search can now retrieve time-segmented diversity metrics to better understand bid performance. Demand Gen campaigns: Expanded support for automated asset generation and additional b…

Google has released v23 of the Google Ads API, the first update of 2026 and the start of a faster release cadence, introducing deeper Performance Max reporting, more granular invoicing, new AI-powered audience tools, and expanded campaign controls. What’s new: Performance Max transparency: Ad network type breakdowns are now available for PMax campaigns. More detailed invoices: Campaign-level costs, regulatory fees, and adjustments can be retrieved via InvoiceService. More precise scheduling: Campaigns can now use start and end date-times instead of date-only fields. Local data access: Store location details are available through PerStoreView, matching th…

If you’ve played around with audience targeting in a Demand Gen or Video campaign lately, you may have thought to yourself, “Um… does something look different here?!” It’s not just you. Audience Builder is the new workflow for audience targeting in Demand Gen and Video campaigns, and audience signals in Performance Max campaigns. This isn’t just a cosmetic change. Audience Builder brings different capabilities than those you may be used to. This Audience Builder breakdown will cover: What is Audience Builder in Google Ads? How is Audience Builder different from the old audiences workflow? Audience Targeting vs Audience Signals with Audience Bu…

More users are now spotting Google Ads embedded directly in Google’s AI Mode results, a sign that Google’s months-long test is quietly accelerating. What we’re seeing. Google confirmed ad testing in AI Mode on desktop back in May, but sightings have jumped of late: Greg Sterling shared a screenshot of an HVAC repair query and said this was the first AI Mode ad he saw in the wild. Brodie Clark replicated the behavior soon after, noting “the time has come” as he shared multiple screenshots of ads inside generated answers. Barry Schwartz reported ongoing reports of people running into AI Mode ads on Search Engine Roundtable. Why we care. Ads sho…

PPC best practices come from a variety of places. Some of those sources are: Google Ads reps. The Help Center. Official certifications. Auto-apply and manual recommendations. Ad strength recommendations. And even automated assets to an extent. However, depending on those sources, you could end up with highly different answers. So, how do you know when to apply or be critical of a “best practice”? Many PPC professionals can relate: You see “Google” on your caller ID, and you momentarily feel a boost in ego. But reality sets in when you realize it’s often a junior Google representative or even a third-party service who needs to tick som…

Google says it’s dramatically cut down on mistaken advertiser suspensions — a long-standing frustration for many legitimate marketers using its platform. By the numbers: Incorrect account suspensions are down over 80%. Suspension appeals are being processed 70% faster. 99% of appeals are now resolved within 24 hours. Why we care. Advertisers depend on uninterrupted access to Google Ads to reach customers and drive revenue. Erroneous suspensions can derail campaigns and business operations, especially for small and mid-size advertisers. How they did it: Clarified policy language to make compliance simpler. Used Google’s Gemini AI to sharpen d…

Today, we’re exploring Google Ads brand settings, specifically brand inclusion and brand exclusion for Search and Performance Max. We’ll cover: What is Brand Inclusion in Google Ads? When should you use Brand Inclusion for Search? What is Brand Exclusion in Google Ads? When should you use Brand Exclusion? How to create and manage brand lists for brand settings Should you use Brand Settings in Google Ads? What is Brand Inclusion in Google Ads? Brand inclusion is a setting that restricts your Search campaign to only show ads on searches for specific brands. In fact, it used to be called “brand restriction.” You can include your own brand…

A new bug in Google Ads is preventing some advertisers from editing and saving existing Performance Max (PMAX) asset groups. Users report seeing error messages when attempting to make changes in the platform interface, blocking updates from being saved. Why we care. Performance Max relies heavily on asset freshness and iteration. If advertisers can’t update asset groups, campaigns risk running with outdated creative, messaging, or offers — directly impacting performance and efficiency. What advertisers are seeing. Affected users encounter an error message reading, “An error occurred. Please try again later. Value is required,” when attempting to edit asset grou…

Some Google Ads advertisers are seeing a bug that causes the option to add notes to disappear from the account change popup, making it harder to document optimizations and performance shifts. The issue was flagged by paid search consultant Odi Caspi, who says the problem has appeared intermittently over the past couple of weeks. What advertisers should be seeing: Caspi shares his view below: Why we care. Account notes are a key workflow tool for agencies and in-house teams tracking changes over time. Losing easy access to notes makes troubleshooting performance swings harder and weakens institutional memory across teams. What users are seeing. …