I’ve recently experienced a glitch in Google Ads that’s been quite the headache. It has unexpectedly removed the option for adding notes in some accounts, making change tracking and documentation far more challenging. I know how important these notes are for keeping track of optimizations and performance shifts.
This issue was initially brought to my attention by Odi Caspi, a fellow paid search consultant. Over the past couple of weeks, the problem has surfaced sporadically, causing quite a bit of disruption. Let me share what advertisers are meant to see in their dashboard:
I find it incredibly essential to understand why we care about this issue. Account notes are an invaluable tool for agencies and in-house teams to trace changes over time. When we lose the ease of access to these notes, troubleshooting performance fluctuations becomes tougher, and our collective memory weakens.
In accounts affected by this bug, the “Add note” option simply vanishes from the popup where I usually annotate changes. It’s an intermittent issue, with the functionality sometimes working perfectly and disappearing at other times.
As for workarounds, Caspi mentions that clicking on an existing note could reveal the option to add a new one. However, this method works only if there’s already a note available within the current date range we’re examining.
Another workaround I came across, suggested by Paid Media Specialist Dids Reeve, involves opening the Notes panel from the “More” menu. It seems this option still allows for adding notes in some cases.
Looking forward, it’s frustrating not knowing when Google might officially recognize or address this bug. Until it’s resolved, I’ll need to be more vigilant about documenting significant changes using alternate methods.
The first reported instance of this glitch came from Caspi himself, who shared insights from his campaign reports on LinkedIn.
I’ve always been fascinated by how companies navigate complex regulatory landscapes. Recently, TikTok made headlines with the launch of a new U.S.-controlled joint venture, a decisive move aimed at aligning with American national security rules.
To ensure that TikTok can continue serving its vast user base of over 200 million Americans, the company established TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC. This step was officially taken following an executive order from President Trump on September 25, 2025.
The big picture. This joint venture stands out because it’s primarily owned by American interests, functioning independently concerning U.S. user data, content moderation, and algorithm security. While ByteDance maintains a 19.9% stake, this remains under the level that’s often scrutinized for national security.
This initiative leverages TikTok’s already established U.S. Data Security (USDS) program, aiming to protect sensitive information from foreign interference.
Why it matters to me. As someone who appreciates the dynamic between technology and regulation, this joint venture is a significant test of whether TikTok can continue its operations in the U.S. without facing bans or demands to sell its U.S. assets. It effectively transfers control of key operational areas to American oversight, addressing long-standing security concerns.
For creators and advertisers like me who rely on TikTok, this development signifies a potential blueprint for future regulations of foreign tech by the U.S.
Understanding the safeguards. User data from the U.S. will be securely stored in Oracle’s cloud infrastructure in the U.S., with rigorous audits and third-party cybersecurity certifications to ensure adherence to federal and industry standards like NIST, ISO 27001, and CISA.
The content recommendation algorithm for U.S. users will also be adapted and tested using U.S. data within Oracle’s systems, ensuring robust security through continuous source code evaluations under software assurance protocols.
Trust, safety, and content moderation at the forefront. The joint venture now holds the decision-making power over trust, safety policies, and content moderation for U.S. users, further reducing foreign influence over crucial decisions.
Balancing global reach with U.S. control. While U.S.-based security and safety controls are tightened, TikTok’s global entities still handle interoperability and commercial activities like advertising and e-commerce, supporting worldwide visibility for American creators and businesses.
Governance and leadership. The joint venture is led by a seven-member board predominantly composed of Americans, including executives from Silver Lake, Oracle, Susquehanna International Group, and MGX. Adam Presser serves as CEO, with Will Farrell as Chief Security Officer, and Raul Fernandez, CEO of DXC Technology, chairs the board’s security committee.
Ownership details. Silver Lake, Oracle, and MGX are the cornerstone investors, each with a 15% stake. Other investors include entities linked to Michael Dell, General Atlantic, Dragoneer, and Xavier Niel. These safeguards also cover CapCut, Lemon8, and other TikTok-associated apps in the U.S.
What comes next. TikTok USDS Joint Venture positions itself as a definitive response to U.S. regulatory pressures. It remains to be seen whether it will fully placate lawmakers and security agencies, ultimately securing TikTok’s future in the U.S. as scrutiny begins.
Catch-up. A $14 billion arrangement keeps TikTok operational in the U.S.
A recent bug in Google Ads is causing frustration among advertisers, as it has started blocking any attempts to edit Performance Max (PMax) asset groups. I’ve personally encountered error messages when trying to update asset groups, making it impossible to save any changes directly in the platform.
Why This Matters to Us. As an advertiser, the freshness and adaptability of our assets are crucial for campaign success. Without the ability to update asset groups, there’s a risk of my campaigns running with outdated content, potentially harming their performance and efficiency.
What I’m Experiencing. Like others, I’ve faced an error message stating, “An error occurred. Please try again later. Value is required,” each time I’ve tried editing any asset group details. This error shows up in the Google Ads UI, stopping me from saving any changes even if all required fields appear to be filled.
Google’s Response. Google acknowledges this issue and is looking into it. However, they haven’t provided a timeline for a fix or any further guidance through their official channels yet.
Temporary Workaround. For now, I’ve found that using the Google Ads Editor allows me to make necessary changes and upload them directly. While this method works, it introduces additional steps that disrupt my usual workflow of managing PMAX via the web interface.
Next Steps for Advertisers. If you’re running Performance Max campaigns like I am, it’s essential to revisit recent changes to ensure they’ve been saved correctly. In the meantime, directing any necessary updates through Ads Editor may be a wise choice until Google resolves the issue.
Looking Ahead. Until Google addresses this glitch, a new level of uncertainty might accompany managing Performance Max campaigns. It’s important for us to double-check our versions and explore alternative workflows.
First to Report. PPC professional Chelsea Harding initially flagged this issue and shared her experience about the error message on LinkedIn.
Recently, I’ve been following a concerning development involving Google, where the tech giant is urging a federal judge to halt the Department of Justice’s antitrust remedies. The primary concern? Forced ad syndication could lay bare Google’s proprietary technology and negatively affect advertisers.
In an affidavit filed on January 16 by Google’s director of product management, Jesse Adkins, the company stresses how these measures could lead to irreversible damage. The crux of the argument is about maintaining control over proprietary ad technology, which could be jeopardized if exposed.
The big picture. In Adkins’ testimony, the likely fallout includes forced exposure of confidential technology, detrimental effects on advertisers, and a loss of authority over query and pricing data.
Mehta’s final ruling could compel Google to share its search results, features, and ads with any qualified competitor for the next half-decade under the current terms.
Google contends that employing these remedies before the conclusion of their appeal would result in immediate and unchangeable damage.
Risk to Google’s ad technology. At the center of Google’s warning is the potential exposure of its search ad auctions, developed over many years by an enormous team of engineers.
Syndication on a large scale might allow competitors or outsiders to decipher Google’s ad targeting techniques, relevance factors, and auction mechanisms, according to Adkins.
Competitors could potentially use this data to enhance their ad systems, stripping Google of its competitive edge.
Sub-syndication amplifies risk. The judgment permits competitors to further share Google ads with third parties, creating multiple layers of vulnerability to scraping and misuse.
Even the most compliant partners might lack the motivation to monitor downstream entities, effectively transforming Google’s ad system into a near-open utility with limited protection.
Advertisers could face fraud. Adkins mentions advertisers are caught in this struggle, citing tactics like “trick-to-click” that incite accidental clicks or artificially inflate expenses.
One example involves a syndicator adding names of wealthier countries to queries while diverting low-cost international traffic to ads, resulting in tens of millions in click fraud within a couple of months.
As a result, users might see less relevant ads, yet advertisers would still be charged, leading to diminished conversion rates.
Pricing uncertainty. Google is also expected to offer syndication terms no less favorable than existing agreements, which are highly customized to each partner’s traffic quality and technical setup.
Imposing these terms universally could lead to suboptimal pricing and financial uncertainty linked to unpredictable query volumes.
Irreversibility is key. Throughout the affidavit, Adkins underscores the irreparable nature of the potential harm. Once proprietary ad insights are revealed, they can’t be recaptured.
Once advertisers lose confidence, it is nearly impossible to win back. Moreover, once competitors craft products based on Google’s systems, the market’s impact becomes permanent.
Google suggests that even if their appeal succeeds, it could be too late to undo the ensuing damage.
Why we care. Any court-mandated ad syndication could potentially dilute Google’s control over ad placement and targeting, resulting in irrelevant advertising and reduced conversion rates. Essentially, this affidavit highlights the risk of higher costs, lower returns on investment, and less predictable campaign performance.
What’s next. The court is set to decide whether to temporarily halt the syndication remedies while Google’s appeal is pending. Without this stay, Google might have to start licensing search ads and results to qualifying competitors under new regulations, reshaping the search advertising landscape in unexpected ways.
Dig deeper. For further reading, I recommend checking out the following resources:
As I delve into the recent statements from Google, I am struck by the urgency in Elizabeth Reid’s affidavit. She warns us that if Google is compelled by the court to share its search index and ranking data, it could seriously jeopardize user privacy, potentially inviting spam abuse.
Reid, who heads Google’s Search department, presented her affidavit as part of Google’s motion to pause the implementation of some antitrust remedies. Her warning highlights the potential “immediate and irreparable harm” that such data sharing could cause to both Google and its users.
What strikes me is how Reid articulates the danger of exposing Google’s sensitive Search assets, which could lead to reverse engineering and an escalation in spam.
Imagine, for a moment, how revealing the web search index could become problematic. Under the court’s Section IV ruling, Google might have to provide competitors with crucial web index data. This includes every URL in Google’s index, a DocID-to-URL map, and more. For us at Google, this just seems like handing over the results of 25 years of meticulous work.
Reid explains that the web index is born from proprietary systems that decide the inclusion of pages in Google Search. Knowing which URLs are indexed by Google could allow potential competitors to bypass comprehensive crawling, thereby gaining undue advantage.
Further adding to the complexity, metadata like crawl frequency offers insight into how Google prioritizes content, which again, could provide competitors with unfair advantages if unveiled.
Reid’s affidavit includes images illustrating Google’s processes. One notably shows most webpages labeled as “Spam, Duplicates, & Low Quality Pages,” an insight into how meticulous our web crawling is. It’s fascinating to think that as of 2020, Google’s index boasted around 400 billion documents.
There is also a dire warning about exposing spam scores. Such a leak could greatly weaken Google’s spam-fighting mechanisms, making it harder to protect users from low-quality content.
In terms of user data, the transparency required by the judgment would mean sharing extensive search logs used by Google’s Glue and RankEmbed models, including detailed user interactions. This suggests a large-scale disclosure of Google’s proprietary data signals, something Reid is quite concerned about.
Finally, the requirement to syndicate Google’s core search results to competitors for five years poses a significant challenge. Despite contractual limits, our control over our systems would diminish, with possible data misuse or leaks.
Reid’s testimony underscores her knowledge and dedication as she stands by Google’s motion to stay antitrust remedies while the appeal is pending. If you’re interested, you can explore Reid’s affidavit further.
I’m excited to share that Google’s Demand Gen updates are making video ads even more shoppable and measurable across platforms like YouTube and Google. With these enhancements, I can now explore new ways to engage with audiences and increase conversions.
Google is pushing more Demand Gen features into mainstream use, particularly boosting shoppable and travel ads. It’s clear to me that Google is committed to creating a comprehensive performance channel, merging discovery, video, and commerce on both YouTube and Google surfaces.
What’s new:
Shoppable CTV is now available through Demand Gen, giving viewers the option to browse and purchase products directly from YouTube ads on connected TVs. It’s a game-changer for anyone looking to enhance their advertising strategy.
Attributed Branded Searches provide advertisers, like me, with insights into how campaigns influence brand search activity on Google and YouTube. Activation requires a Google rep, and it’s a feature that promises to add tremendous value.
Travel Feeds let advertisers like me connect Hotel Center feeds to create dynamic video ads featuring real-time pricing, ratings, and availability.
By the numbers:
According to Google, Demand Gen campaigns featuring TV screens result in 7% more conversions at the same ROI. That’s a significant increase in performance for anyone leveraging these tools.
For example, LG Electronics reported a 24% higher conversion rate compared to paid social media, while reaching high-value customers at a 91% lower CPA.
Why we care. With these updates, Demand Gen becomes more competitive with paid social channels, offering actionable and measurable solutions. Shoppable CTV transforms TV impressions into direct sales opportunities, while attributed branded search proves Demand Gen’s effectiveness beyond a simple last-click model. Travel feeds, on the other hand, streamline the process from browsing to booking.
All these features offer advertisers like me the chance to drive incremental conversions, engage high-value audiences at a lower CPA, and better justify upper-funnel investments with clearer performance metrics — all within Google’s integrated ecosystem.
Between the lines. It’s evident that Google is positioning Demand Gen as a formidable alternative to paid social by utilizing premium video resources, first-party data, and enhanced measurement. This move is particularly strategic as advertisers seek scalable performance beyond traditional social media platforms.
Bottom line. With advancements like shoppable CTV, reinforced brand attribution, and travel-focused automation, Demand Gen is evolving into a versatile performance tool — a significant aspect of Google’s strategy to secure larger budgets higher up the advertising funnel.
I’ve discovered that Google is introducing a fascinating new tool called Campaign Mix Experiments (beta). This innovative framework allows me and other advertisers to experiment across various campaign types, budgets, and settings all within a single, unified setup.
How it works:
As an advertiser, I can create up to five experiment arms, each with its own unique combination of campaigns. This means I can include the same campaign in multiple arms and distribute traffic among them.
Google’s mix experiments support a wide range of campaigns, including Search, Performance Max, Shopping, Demand Gen, Video, and App campaigns, though it does exclude Hotels.
I’m able to customize traffic splits starting at a minimum of 1%, and the results are adjusted to the smallest split for a fair comparison — ensuring accuracy in our findings.
What I can test:
The beta provides an exciting opportunity to explore and test budget allocation across different campaign types. I can also assess account structures, varying between consolidation and fragmentation.
It allows me to examine differing bidding strategies, targeting options, and feature adoptions, alongside studying cross-channel performance interactions, beyond just individual campaign impacts.
Why I care. With this new tool, I can go beyond individual campaign testing, gaining insights into how various campaign types interact and identifying which combinations yield the most substantial business outcomes.
Reporting details: I can monitor results through the Experiment summary and campaign-level reporting, selecting from confidence intervals like 95%, 80%, or 70%, and focus on key metrics such as ROAS, CPA, conversions, or conversion value.
Best practices:
I make sure to keep the experiment arms similar, only altering one variable at a time. I align the total budgets across these arms unless budget allocation itself is the variable being tested.
It’s advised to avoid shared budgets and significant changes while the experiment is underway, and to run these tests for at least six to eight weeks to ensure the results are statistically reliable.
Between the lines: Google is shifting the focus from a single-campaign victory to understanding how the right mix of efforts can lead to success, especially as automation reshapes the landscape.
Bottom line: By utilizing campaign mix experiments, I gain a realistic view of how different campaign types and financial plans work collaboratively. This empowers me to make informed decisions on where my spending truly adds value.
I’ve decided to transform my expertise in SEO into a powerful fundraising initiative to assist those affected by recent ICE raids in Minnesota. Instead of standing by, I’m trading my consulting hours for donations to support immigrant families in need.
The tipping point for me came when recent events in Minnesota crossed ethical lines I had drawn. I felt a strong urge to act rather than just watch from the sidelines. I shared my initiative on LinkedIn and my blog, inviting the community to join this cause.
What’s happening. I’m leveraging my skills by offering my services in return for donations through GiveMN. This Minnesota-based platform channels funds to families and individuals hit hardest by the ICE raids.
Within just seven hours, we raised $1,850, which soon increased to $1,950. It’s heartwarming to see backing from renowned SEO agencies, SaaS companies, and individual practitioners rallying behind this cause.
Why we care. My efforts showcase a vital aspect of the search marketing industry: our community’s ability to rally resources for broader social causes. This isn’t just about professional skills; it’s about standing up for humanity and activating swift collective action.
Catch up quick. The fundraiser springs from widespread outrage following the launch of Operation “Metro Surge” by federal immigration authorities in December. This operation deployed roughly 3,000 ICE and Border Patrol agents into the Twin Cities, resulting in significant unrest.
The operation triggered issues like racial profiling, unwarranted home invasions, detentions at workplaces, and tragically, the shooting of 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good in downtown Minneapolis, sparking massive protests.
What I’m saying. As I put it, “This is NOT about politics. This is about treating all people as humans.” It’s a call to action to see beyond political lines and focus on our shared humanity.
Recently, I’ve been delving into the nuances of Google Search Console and its impression counts.
I learned from John Mueller of Google that when a URL shows up in both an AI Overview and the traditional blue links on SERPs, it is counted as just one impression, not two.
This clarification came to light through John Mueller, after a lively discussion among SEO experts, sparked by Jamie Indigo and publicly shared by Mark Williams-Cook from Candour on LinkedIn.
The background. Initially, Mark Williams-Cook had assumed that because of historical practices with SERP features like tweet boxes, the URL might be counted twice.
Testing this theory was challenging, but ultimately, Mueller confirmed that the Search Console treats these appearances as a single impression.
What’s happening. Google’s policy treats an AI Overview as a singular position in search results. Each link within the Overview shares that position, governed by standard impression rules.
So, when a URL appears more than once in the same search experience, the Search Console doesn’t double count these for the same query.
Why this happens. Google defines an impression based on a user’s visibility of a link within the current set of results. Multiple instances of the same URL on one results page are aggregated, not counted separately.
This approach aligns with other SERP features like knowledge panels, where scrolling past and returning, or seeing the URL in different elements, won’t create additional impressions.
Why we care. In this AI-centric era, interpreting performance metrics can be a challenge. Knowing that both AI Overviews and blue links count as a single impression clarifies how these listings influence visibility. Although the impression count doesn’t rise, appearing in both strengthens brand visibility and boosts credibility among Google users.
I’m excited to share that Meta is set to expand Threads ads to all users worldwide beginning next week. This move opens up new opportunities for advertisers to engage with over 400 million users.
Threads, which rivals the platform X, has seen rapid growth since its debut in July 2023. With its soaring popularity, CEO Mark Zuckerberg has high hopes that Threads could reach 1 billion users in the near future.
Advertiser Access. Advertisers have already been testing Threads ads in the U.S. and Japan. As of last April, global advertisers gained access. Meta helps streamline campaign expansions to Threads through its Advantage+ program, supporting various ad formats like image, video, and carousel. This can all be managed alongside campaigns on Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp within Business Settings.
Third-Party Verification. Meta is ensuring brand safety by extending third-party verification tools from Facebook and Instagram to Threads. Although ad delivery will start modestly, this scaling should ensure more confidence in the brand’s safety across the platform.
Why This Matters. With Threads integrating into Meta’s vast ad ecosystem, there’s an exciting opportunity for you to leverage this dynamic social platform. Early participation can give brands an edge as Threads offers a range of advanced ad formats and verification measures to avoid challenges like deepfakes.
Bottom Line.Meta’s global rollout of Threads ads is a pivotal moment for advertisers. It not only offers a channel on a rapidly expanding platform but also includes enhancements like brand-safety verification, making early adoption a strategic advantage.
