SEO Tools and Resources

New asset and channel reporting improvements are rolling out to Google Ads Performance Max. This update should make it easier to optimize budgets, identify underperforming elements, and maximize ROI across Google’s full network – Search, Display, Discover, Gmail, YouTube, and Maps. Why we care. These updates make Performance Max feel a lot less like a black box. You should get a clearer view of what’s actually driving results. With new segmentation options and ROI metrics, it’s easier to see how different assets and channels impact conversions, costs, and returns. Asset reporting segmentation. You can now break down asset performance by device, time, conversions, …

Google started rolling out new image optimization tools for Performance Max (PMax) campaigns. The feature, first announced last month, gives Google’s AI more control over how images appear in your ads. The shift to default-on image enhancements signals deeper AI involvement in creative decisions, potentially affecting ad look, feel, and performance without advertiser awareness. What’s new: Image Enhancements: Google’s AI can now automatically reformat uploaded images, adjusting layout and style to drive better results. Landing Page Images: PMax may pull visuals directly from your website to dynamically populate ad creatives. Between the lines. If y…

If you’re running Performance Max, or planning to launch a new campaign, I want to clear up one of the most misunderstood parts of Google Ads: audience signals and search themes. Understanding how to use (and not misuse) signals can strongly impact your PMax success. Why Performance Max is different than other Google Ads campaign types If you stop reading here and take nothing else away from this article, remember this: You do not get to pick your audience or keyword targeting in PMax. This is where a lot of advertisers get tripped up. Unlike traditional Search campaigns where you build a keyword list, or Demand Gen where you choose specific demographics …

Google Ads will update its Unfair Advantage Policy to clarify that the restriction on showing more than one ad at a time for the same business, app, or site only applies within a single ad location. This change, staring April 14, follows recent experiments allowing multiple ads from the same advertiser in different locations on the search results page. What’s happening. Double serving now permitted: Advertisers can now run multiple ads for the same business, app, or site on a single search results page—provided they occupy different ad locations. This could potentially increase visibility and clicks for top advertisers but may also intensify competition for …

Google Ads is now prompting advertisers to create “investment strategies” when campaign budgets are limited — a fresh addition to the budget recommendations interface. How it works. When Google detects a budget-limited campaign, a new section appears with the message: “Grow your account by creating your own Google investment strategy.” Advertisers can click “Create investment strategy” to model potential budget increases and preview possible gains in conversions, value, or clicks. Why we care. The feature encourages advertisers to think beyond daily caps and model how increased spend could impact performance. It lets advertisers model how incremental budget in…

A new column called “Original Conversion Value” has started appearing inside Google Ads, giving advertisers a long-requested way to see the true, unadjusted value of their conversions. How it works. Google’s new formula strips everything back: Conversion Value – Rule Adjustments (value rules) – Lifecycle Goal Adjustments (e.g., NCA bonuses) = Original Conversion Value Why we care. For years, marketers have struggled to isolate real conversion value from Google’s layers of adjustments — including Conversion Value Rules and Lifecycle Goals (like New Customer Acquisition goals). Original Conversion value makes it easier to diagnose performance, compare data a…

Google Ads appears to be testing an automatic assignment of New Customer Value within New Customer Acquisition (NCA) campaigns — and it’s doing so without advertisers’ explicit consent. The change, first spotted by performance marketer Bilal Yasin, has led to unexpected reporting shifts and frustration among advertisers. “Without any heads-up, and without it being in the change history, a new customer value has suddenly been applied to a customer,” Yasin wrote on LinkedIn. “It was set to 200 DKK… One thing is that Google has assigned a value, but another is that I can’t remove it again!” Why we care. Advertisers rely on New Customer Value settings to determin…

Google is rolling out a new Performance Max beta that lets advertisers pull video assets directly from Merchant Center — a small tweak with big implications for retail and e-commerce. How it works. Google Ads will now: Auto-surface product-associated videos from Merchant Center during PMax setup Shorten creative workflows for retailers and e-commerce teams Improve product-to-creative alignment, increasing ad relevance Boost performance, especially for large SKU catalogs Why we care. This update removes a friction point in PMax: getting high-quality, product-relevant video into campaigns. By auto-pulling videos from Merchant Center, Google is tigh…

Google redesigned the Asset Optimization section in Google Ads for Demand Gen campaigns, consolidating AI-powered creative controls into a single, cleaner interface. Why we care. Advertisers managing creative at scale now have a centralized panel to toggle automated features on or off — making the process less manual and time consuming. What’s new. The redesigned layout groups three key automation capabilities together: Auto-generated shorter videos — AI trims existing video assets into shorter cuts to qualify for additional placements. Automatic video resizing — Videos are adapted across multiple aspect ratios to maximize inventory coverage. Landi…

Google Ads rolled out a new Performance Max Usefulness Indicator, designed to help advertisers assess the incremental traffic impact of their search themes. The big picture: Performance Max campaigns already leverage AI to automate ad placements across Google’s properties. The new indicator evaluates whether added search themes generate new, incremental traffic or simply overlap with existing signals. This helps advertisers refine their strategies and allocate budgets more effectively. Why we care. The update, which we were told was coming in January, gives advertisers more visibility into how search themes contribute to campaign performance, allowing f…

One of the most profitable Google Ads targeting tactics is retargeting: showing ads to people who are already familiar with your business. But if you still think that “retargeting” means a Display campaign chasing users around the web with banner ads, you’re missing out on how “Your data segments” actually function today. Let’s explore how you can leverage your proprietary audience data in new ways, and what mistakes to avoid in 2026 and beyond. What are “Your data segments” in Google Ads? Retargeting means showing ads to people who are already familiar with your business. Google uses the euphemistic name “Your data segments” to refer to all the retargeting lis…

Google Ads is adding account-level placement exclusions, letting advertisers block unwanted inventory across all campaigns from a single setting. What’s new. Advertisers can now apply one exclusion list at the account level. Exclusions apply across Performance Max, Demand Gen, YouTube, and Display campaigns. Previously, blocks had to be set at the ad group or campaign level. How it works. Once a placement is excluded at the account level, Google Ads automatically prevents spend on those websites, apps, or YouTube placements across all eligible campaigns. Why we care. Placement controls have long been fragmented. Managing exclusions campaign by campaign was…

Google Ads has begun rolling out channel control for select Demand Gen campaigns. This feature will let you specify where your ads appear across Google’s properties. Yes, but. While the feature is live, segmentation by individual channel (e.g., YouTube, Discover, Gmail) is not yet available. This will limit your ability to make data-driven adjustments. Why we care. This update, first announced in January, gives advertisers more control over campaign placement, but the full impact remains unclear since performance data is still aggregated under “Google-owned channels.” What they’re saying. Greg Kholer, director of digital marketing at ServiceMaster, shared see…

Google Ads is introducing new user interface (UI)-only image optimization features, spotted last week, aimed at enhancing Performance Max campaigns, marking a shift in how advertisers can manage visual assets for better ad performance. What’s new? Landing page images: Google’s AI will now automatically pull relevant images from your ad’s landing page to dynamically insert into your ads. This aims to increase ad relevance and expand reach by tapping into more ad placements. Image enhancements: Google AI can smartly improve your uploaded images by cropping them into different versions to unlock additional ad inventory and boost campaign results. Future updates …

Google updated its documentation on how the Google Ads auction works to say, “We run different auctions for each ad location.” Previously, that document did not say that and the PPC community is wondering what changed and why Google did not announce this change more broadly. What changed. Google added these lines to the top of that document: “When someone searches on Google, we run different auctions for each ad location – for example top ads are selected by a different ad auction from ads that show in other ad locations. Your ads will only show once in a single ad location, but across ad locations your ads can show more than once.” Why the change. Googl…

You might think you’ve mastered the Google Ads search terms report, but this essential optimization tool is still widely misunderstood – and often misused. Here are five tips to help you get more from your campaigns by using the search terms report the right way. Keywords vs. Search Terms: A quick refresh When discussing keywords and search terms, it’s easy to confuse the terminology. Here’s a simple breakdown: Keyword: The term you add to a Search campaign – along with a match type – to tell Google which kinds of searches you want your ads to appear for. Search term: The actual phrase a real person typed into Google that triggered your ad. Your ad…

Google Ads is now displaying examples of how “Landing Page Images” can be used inside Performance Max (PMax) campaigns — offering clearer visibility into how website visuals may automatically become ad creatives. How it works. If advertisers opt in, Google can pull images directly from a brand’s landing pages and dynamically turn them into ads. Now when creating your campaigns, before setting it live, Google Ads will show you the automated creatives it plans on setting live. Why we care. For PMax campaigns your site is part of your asset library. Any banner, hero image, or product visual could surface across Search, Display, YouTube, or Discover placements — …

Google Ads now surfaces Performance Max (PMax) campaign data in the “Where ads showed” report, giving advertisers clearer insight into placements, networks, and impressions — data that was previously unavailable. What’s new. The update makes it possible to see exactly where PMax ads are appearing across Google’s network, including search partners, display, and other placements. Advertisers can now track impressions by placement type and network, helping them understand how campaigns are performing in detail. Why we care. This update finally gives visibility into where PMax campaigns are running, including Google Search Partners, display, and other networks. Wi…

Google Ads is rolling out recommended experiments on the Experiments page, surfacing test ideas based on an account’s setup and performance data. How it works: The platform suggests experiment opportunities — such as testing bidding strategies, creative variations, or new campaign features — and presents them directly inside the Experiments dashboard. Each recommendation includes a preconfigured experiment setup Advertisers can launch immediately or customize settings Suggestions appear alongside the standard Create Experiment workflow Why we care. By removing the need to build tests from scratch, Google is lowering the barrier to experimentation. A…

Google Ads introduced new form tracking in Tag Manager that enables codeless event creation for lead form submissions. Advertisers can now set up conversion tracking via a user-friendly interface, eliminating complex manual coding. Key features: Codeless event detection. Flexible form submission tracking. Multiple URL matching options. Why we care. This update dramatically reduces the technical complexity of setting up conversion tracking. By offering a wizard-style interface with codeless event detection, Google Ads eliminates hours of manual coding, making form tracking faster and more accessible for marketers with limited technical skills. Fi…

Google Ads rolled out a new feature that shows advertisers which campaigns their products are eligible for, directly in the Products section. How it works. A new dashboard in the Products section includes: A table showing product details, status, issues, and priority flags A line graph summarizing campaign status trends Filters to segment eligibility views A pop-up panel that lists “Eligible” and “Not eligible” campaigns per product Why we care. dvertisers can now quickly identify products that are missing from key campaigns or unintentionally overlapping across Shopping and Performance Max. The added visibility reduces the need to jump between c…

Want to make your Google Ads bigger so they can stand out more to potential customers? Of course you do! One way to do this is by using optional assets (formerly known as extensions) with your campaigns. One of the most easy-to-use Google Ads assets is sitelinks. Let’s explore how sitelinks work and whether they’re the right choice for your campaigns. This article will cover: What are sitelinks in Google Ads? How are sitelinks different from ad headlines? How many sitelinks can you use? How to add sitelinks to your Google Ads campaigns How to assess sitelink performance in Google Ads Should you use sitelinks in Google Ads? What ar…

Google is investigating a disruption affecting Google Ad Manager, according to an update posted on the Google Ads Status Dashboard. The incident began at 13:49 UTC on March 4. By 13:54 UTC, Google said it was reviewing reports that some users could access Ad Manager but weren’t seeing the most up-to-date data. What’s happening. The issue appears to impact reporting consistency. Specifically, Ad Exchange match rate and Ad Exchange request values are not aligning between Ad Manager’s interactive reports and the legacy reporting query tool (now deprecated). Why we care. Reporting discrepancies in Google Ad Manager can directly impact how you evaluate performance …

Starting on Saturday, March 1, 2025, some advertisers have noticed their ads are not running and not getting impressions or clicks. The ads are simply not being served or delivered. In fact, there are tons of complaints about this in the Google Ads Forum. Google has not yet commented on the issue. What we know. Starting March 1, some advertisers are saying that some of their campaigns are not serving ads. Some are saying they have received zero impressions or clicks on their ads. The crazy thing, this has been now going on for almost two days and Google has not responded about the issue, at least not yet, since it is the weekend. We do not know exactly how…

Advertisers contacting Google Ads support may now need to grant explicit authorization before they can even submit a help request — giving a Google specialist permission to access and make changes directly inside their account. Here’s what’s happening. Users are first routed to a beta AI chat. If they opt to submit a support form instead, they must tick an “Authorisation” box. The wording allows a Google Ads specialist, on behalf of the company, to reproduce and troubleshoot issues by making changes directly in the account. The fine print is clear. Google doesn’t guarantee results. Any adjustments are made at the advertiser’s own risk. And the advertiser remains s…