PPC Experts Respond to Google Marketing Live 2024 Updates

Small businesses have expressed concerns regarding the updates from Google Marketing Live 2024, particularly around the heavy focus on AI and automation. The main concerns include:

• Budget constraints: Small businesses may not have the budgets required for machine learning to be effective within Google Ads, as machine learning requires volume to learn.
• Data dependency: Many of the new products require external data, which means the quality of input data is crucial ('garbage in, garbage out').
• Complexity of new features: Features like Meridian may be too complex for smaller advertisers to utilize effectively.
• Potential sidelining: There is a fear that profit optimization goals in Performance Max might require substantial data, possibly sidelining smaller advertisers.

Overall, small businesses need to carefully consider their marketing strategies from a holistic perspective and assess how these changes will impact their performance.

AI asset production in Performance Max (Pmax) can be utilized for rapid testing by leveraging its ability to quickly generate and iterate on creative assets. Here's how to use it:

1. Enable AI asset production: Within your Pmax campaign, turn on the AI asset production feature.
2. Input initial assets: Provide initial text examples or creative feeds as input for the AI to work with.
3. Monitor Asset Level reporting: Use the Asset Level reporting to track the performance of the AI-generated assets.
4. Iterate and optimize: Based on the reporting, make adjustments to your inputs and settings to improve the performance of your assets.

The combination of AI-generated assets and detailed reporting allows advertisers to quickly test different creatives and refine their strategies.

Several updates from Google Marketing Live 2024 are relevant to B2B and lead generation, despite some experts feeling that this area was overlooked. The updates include:

• Image to video ads: Conversion of static images into dynamic video ads.
• Brand controls: More control over where and how brands are presented in ads.
• Demand Gen lookalikes: The ability to create lookalike audiences with only 100 users.
• Profit bidding: Bidding strategies focused on profit rather than traditional media metrics.
• Ads in AI overviews: The integration of ads within AI-generated content overviews.

These updates are designed to enhance targeting and control for B2B advertisers, as well as to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of lead generation campaigns.

The new visual formats in Google Ads announced at GML 2024 include:

• Brand profiles: A new way to summarize your brand to customers with a fresh visual format.
• Virtual try-on and 3D product images: Enhancements to the shopping experience allowing users to virtually try on products or view them in 3D.
• Stickers on YouTube Shorts: Brands can use stickers on their YouTube Shorts as a creative way to engage with their audience.

These visual formats aim to diversify the ad experience away from traditional text ads and provide innovative ways for advertisers to showcase their brands and products.

Improvements to Performance Max (PMax) announced at GML 2024 include:

• Asset level reporting: Detailed reporting on the performance of individual assets within campaigns.
• YouTube creator account linking: The ability to link YouTube creator accounts to Ads accounts for promoting user-generated content.
• YouTube exclusions: Options to exclude certain YouTube content from your ad placements.
• Profit optimization goals: A focus on optimizing towards real-world bottom line metrics.
• 10% improvement for broad match: An enhancement to the broad match capability in keyword targeting.

These updates are designed to provide advertisers with more insights and control over their Performance Max campaigns, as well as to improve targeting and optimization towards meaningful business outcomes.