It’s been a busy start to 2022 with both Google & Microsoft Ads rolling out new features and updates. This includes some exciting announcements on both platforms that are definitely worth testing and keeping an eye out on.
Google Ads
It has recently been very focused on changes surrounding privacy & measurement, but we’ve also seen some new features aimed at simplifying account management, including the below:
- Expanded Text Ads can no longer be edited or created after June 2022 – while this is news from last year, some might appreciate the reminder (especially considering we’re 3 months away from this deadline)
- Enhanced conversions for leads – a similar feature to enhanced conversions for web. Google has made the announcement this month, saying that “With enhanced conversions for leads, you can set up your offline lead measurement through the Google Ads or Google Tag Manager interface. This means that you no longer need to make changes to your customer relationship management (CRM) system or website. You can then measure and report on converted leads by using your first-party data already stored in your CRM. This data is hashed and secured before being sent to Google in order to protect user privacy.”
- Automated extensions will be able to show alongside manual ones starting mid-march – previously if manual callouts, structured snippets or sitelinks existed, the dynamic ones were not eligible to show. We definitely recommend reviewing which auto-apply settings accounts are opted into, but it’s becoming even more important with these changes
- New Experiments Page – Google has rolled out an easier way to set up & measure experiments – the new page provides an easy reporting overview and allows advertisers to set up ad variations or other experiments in 3 easy steps
You can read more about Google Ads changes here.
Microsoft Ads
It has been expanding its platform, as well as differentiating itself from Google with a new, unique feature – some of the key changes are outlined below:
- LinkedIn acquiring analytics platform Oribi – while there are no announcements on how this might impact Microsoft Ads, LinkedIn is owned by Microsoft and Microsoft Ads features a LinkedIn integration element. It’s worth keeping an eye out on how this might impact Microsoft Ads & LinkedIn Analytics
- Advertisers can now manage Audience Network Campaigns in Microsoft Editor – this integration aims to provide a more seamless experience & save time
- Auto-apply recommendations released – similarly to Google Ads, advertisers can now benefit from auto-apply recommendations & manage them from the recommendations tab
- Dynamic Descriptions for Dynamic Search Ads – this feature is unique to Microsoft Ads, and further simplifies the creation of Dynamic Search Ads, fully relying on machine learning for ad copy generation
- Expansion to 29 new markets, and 19 new languages added – the full list can be found here
- Marketing with purpose business attributes are now available in all markets, including new ones:
Source: Microsoft Ads Blog
