SEO Tools and Resources

Google Ads quietly added an auto-apply setting to its experiments feature — and it’s turned on by default, meaning winning experiment variants can be automatically pushed live without manual review. How it works. Advertisers can choose between two modes — directional results (the default) or statistical significance at 80%, 85%, or 95% confidence levels. There is one built-in safeguard: if a chosen success metric performs significantly worse in the test arm, the change won’t be automatically applied. Why we care. Experiments are one of the most powerful tools in a Google Ads account. Automating the apply step could speed up testing cycles, but it also removes …

Google’s Performance Max (PMax) campaign type has reached its third anniversary. It has evolved from what critics called “an experiment funded by advertisers” into a mature advertising solution that’s reshaping digital marketing across platforms, according to Mike Ryan, head of ecommerce insights at Smarter Ecommerce. By the numbers. Here are some of the key findings from Smarter Ecommerce internal data: PMax cost share peaked at nearly 82% in May 2024. It has since declined about 0.65% per month, losing ~6% share since peak. 90% of PMax costs typically come from feed-based ads. PMax campaigns need at least 30 monthly conversions (ideally 60+) for optima…

Limited search volume doesn’t mean limited opportunity. Your entire target market might only search for your solution a few hundred times per month. High-volume advertisers can test 50 headline variations in a week, while you’re still waiting for your tenth conversion of the quarter. Most niche advertisers try to use the same strategies that work for high-volume accounts. That’s a mistake. Google’s automation needs data, and niche markets don’t generate enough searches to feed it. This mismatch either kills performance or prevents results altogether. This guide shows what actually works when search volume is low and conversion timelines stretch acros…

Ad headlines are one of the foundational building blocks of your campaign. These tiny bits of text create a first impression for your target customer, and play a real role in convincing them to click (or scroll right past). And yet, if you’re honest with yourself, does writing headlines usually come as an afterthought? In this article, we’ll cover everything you need to know about crafting Google Ads headlines across campaign types, including: How many headlines do you need in Google Ads? What is a long headline in Google Ads? Will my search ad headlines always show up? How to get Excellent Ad Strength with your headlines How to craft ad hea…

Google Ads quietly rolled out Tree Table Views within its reporting interface, offering advertisers a more structured way to analyze campaign performance data. The new view transforms traditional flat data tables into hierarchical layouts where dimensions are visually stacked and nested, creating clearer relationships between data points. The big picture. The Tree Table View offers several practical benefits: Organized hierarchy. Clearer visualization of multi-level dimensions Improved navigation. Faster insight discovery across nested segments Enhanced structure. Better organization for complex performance breakdowns For example, users can now easi…

Keyword research is one of the most important tasks for both SEOs and paid search practitioners. While there are plenty of robust tools on the market, Google Ads Keyword Planner is a great, free starting point. You can explore keywords, see their search volume, and even get an idea of potential costs – all without spending a dime on ads. In this article, I’ll answer key questions, including: Where can I find Keyword Planner in Google Ads? Should I start with keywords or start with a website? What does a “keyword” mean in Keyword Planner? How can I use Keyword Planner to plan my Search campaigns? Should I pick high volume or low volume keyword…

Google is giving advertisers more control over how AI generates ad copy, making it easier to scale campaigns without losing brand consistency. What’s happening. Google Ads is rolling out a beta feature that allows marketers to copy text guidelines from existing campaigns and apply them to new ones, eliminating the need to rewrite brand rules from scratch. How it works. Advertisers can replicate approved tone, style and messaging rules across campaigns in one click, ensuring AI-generated ads stay aligned with brand standards while reducing setup time. Why we care. The feature helps teams launch campaigns faster by reusing what already works, while maintaini…

If you’ve been poking around Audience Manager in Google Ads lately, you may have noticed a new Your data segment that looks like this: “Google-engaged audiences – for Account #######” What is that? And what should you do with it? Welcome to the wonderful new world of Google-engaged audiences, a new type of remarketing that you should absolutely be paying attention to. This article will cover: What is a Google-engaged audience? What’s so great about your Google-engaged audience? What are the limitations of Google-engaged audiences? Google-engaged audiences are perfect for small business owners What is a Google-engaged audience? A Google-en…

There are so many ways to reach your ideal customer using audience targeting in Google Ads. We’ve recently covered Detailed demographic segments, Lookalike segments and Engaged Audiences, Today, we’re exploring how to use Life Events segments effectively. This article will cover: What are Life Events segments in Google Ads? How are Life Events different from In-Market segments in Google Ads? Which Life Events can you target in Google Ads? Can you use Life Events in all campaign types? Tips for using Life Events effectively in Google Ads What are Life Events segments in Google Ads? Life events segments are one of the four types of audience …

Google Ads simplified access to Manual CPC during campaign setup. Instead of navigating through the “Select a bid strategy directly (not recommended)” option, advertisers now see “Manually set bids” directly under the Conversions goal. The change: Manual CPC is surfaced within Google’s primary bidding flow. Advertisers no longer need to bypass Google’s recommended strategies to access it. The update is visible in campaign bidding settings across the UI. Why we care. Manual CPC remains a go-to bidding strategy for advertisers who want hands-on control, but Google’s setup flow has increasingly nudged users toward automated bidding. This update lowers …

Google is investigating a data discrepancy issue affecting Google Ad Manager and Data Transfer reports stemming from an incident that began on May 2 at 14:00 UTC. The details. Users can still access the platforms, but reports for May 2 between 14:00 and 15:00 UTC may be incomplete. A filtration issue appears to have caused some data to be excluded from both Ad Manager reports and Data Transfer files. Discrepancies are possible between the two data sources. Why we care. Publishers may notice missing or inconsistent data in reports and Data Transfer files generated during a critical one-hour window, potentially affecting revenue tracking and campaign analysis. W…

At midnight on Jan. 5, hackers took over our Google Ads Manager Account (MCC). We weren’t alone. While it’s hard to get an exact count, hundreds, if not thousands, of agencies have been affected by the hacks, in turn affecting tens of thousands of accounts. While I wouldn’t wish this experience on our worst enemy, having been through it, I have some insights that I hope can help you prevent the same experience from happening to your MCC account. How we were hacked Despite having two-factor authentication (2FA) and allowed domains enabled, the hackers were able to get into our account via an employee’s email address. It was clearly a targeted hack: the night of…

A surge of sophisticated phishing attacks is letting scammers take over full Google Ads Manager accounts (MCCs), giving them instant access to hundreds of client accounts and the power to burn through tens of thousands of dollars in hours without being noticed. Driving the news. Agencies across LinkedIn, Reddit, and Google’s own forums are reporting a rise in MCC takeovers, even among teams using two-factor authentication. The attackers’ preferred weapon is a near-perfect phishing email that mimics Google’s account-access invitations. Victims say hijackers add fake admin users, link their own MCCs, and begin launching fraudulent, high-budget campaigns. In some…

Most PPC teams still build campaigns the same way: pull a keyword list, set match types, and organize ad groups around search terms. It’s muscle memory. But Google’s auction no longer works that way. Search now behaves more like a conversation than a lookup. In AI Mode, users ask follow-up questions and refine what they’re trying to solve. AI Overviews reason through an answer first, then determine which ads support that answer. In Google Ads, the auction isn’t triggered by a keyword anymore – it’s triggered by inferred intent. If you’re still structuring campaigns around exact and phrase match, you’re planning for a system that no longer exists. The new f…

Google Ads added image quality checks to its Recommendations tab, nudging advertisers to upgrade low-performing visuals. How it works. The system now scans uploaded assets and suggests edits such as “copy and edit background color to white.” Advertisers can preview suggested changes and make quick fixes directly within the dashboard. Why we care. Image quality plays a growing role in how ads perform across surfaces like Display and Gmail – and these AI-driven tips aim to help advertisers improve engagement and delivery with cleaner, more consistent creatives. Bottom line. Advertisers who act on these image recommendations could see higher engagement and be…

Early this year, I asked my team to recommend what we should stop, start, and continue doing in 2025 to improve our collaboration. As a leader, it was a valuable exercise that highlighted to me what we can do to improve different aspects of our working life. This exercise also got me thinking about how to apply the same framework to Google Ads – and use it to define what we should stop, stop, and continue doing to optimize our clients’ Google Ads programs this year. Rethinking optimization: Why Google Ads strategies must evolve Techniques once seen as “best practices” no longer work. As Google Ads has evolved, so has the complexity of optimization. …

Google Ads is giving advertisers more flexibility with the Overview tab, allowing up to five custom views. This lets marketers tailor their dashboards to track the metrics that matter most to their campaigns. Driving the news. The update was spotted and shared screenshots on LinkedIn, highlighting that users can now add multiple tabs and fully customize Overview pages for their unique needs. What’s changing. Previously, the Overview tab had a fixed layout, limiting how agencies and advertisers could monitor performance. With custom views, teams can now organize metrics, charts, and reports in a way that aligns with their workflow, improving efficiency and …

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…