PPC News Roundup: Automated Ad Suggestions Round Two

Rachel Poole and Sarah Kemp detail the latest in paid search industry news, including a refresh for AdWords’ automated ad suggestions test and Bing’s performance-based bid adjustments.

Automated Ad Suggestions Round Two

Earlier this year, Google launched its beta test that automatically released generated ads. Google has now made some adjustments in a bid to improve, as per the negative feedback that was originally received.

According to Google, these are the changes for round two:

1. More notification: participating advertisers will receive notifications in the interface and via email whenever an ad variation is created in an account.

2. Review period: there will be a 14-day period in which advertisers can review ad suggestions before they go live. During that review period, the advertiser can choose to edit, pause, dismiss or approve it. It’s also possible to opt out of the test altogether at any time.

But why test again?

According to research from Google, ad groups with more than two ads in their group seem to be acquiring more clicks than groups with maybe one or two ads, which provides an opportunity for increasing ad variations.

Although advertisers are advised to keep an eye on their conversion rates, this test is an effort to recognise ad groups that have the most fruitful opportunities for maximising ROI and introducing automated ad creatives.

Here’s the bottom line: Google wants to gain a deeper insight into what causes users to click.

Facebook’s Catalogue Makeover

People enjoy flicking through magazines, which is partly why Facebook has given its Collection ad format (introduced in March) a whole new look.

The new “lifestyle templates” give businesses the option to provide a detailed showcase of their products, rather like a print catalogue.

This is a mobile-only feature that also lets businesses provide links to their e-commerce websites and maps of their bricks-and-mortar store – a way to increase footfall, especially with Black Friday on the horizon.

Although Facebook is currently testing with only a few companies, it has announced plans to go global will be fully implemented by October 2017.

Bing Ads’ Performance-Based Bid Adjustments

Bing is mindful of having to refresh bid adjustments regularly according to campaign performance, particularly in the fast-paced, ever-evolving digital marketing universe.

Now, the search engine’s PPC service (Bing Ads) has decided to refresh its bid adjustment recommendations in the Opportunity tab, in an attempt to formulate sound bidding strategies and help advertisers in their marketing endeavours.

A member of the Bing team wrote:

…there may be a little more performance data needed… keep checking back, as we refresh these suggestions every day based on your most recent campaign performance.

More Paid Search News and Advice

Check out our last PPC news roundup: Optimise Site Performance With AdWords’ New Feature

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