I’ve discovered that Google Ads has made it much simpler for us to access Manual CPC during campaign setups. Before this change, I had to go out of my way to select ‘a bid strategy directly (not recommended).’ Now, I can easily find ‘Manually set bids’ right under the Conversions goal. It’s a small but significant improvement in the user experience.
The change:
Manual CPC is now integrated directly into Google’s primary bidding flow.
I no longer have to bypass Google’s recommended strategies to find it.
This update is readily visible within the campaign bidding settings across the user interface.
Why it matters to me. Manual CPC has always been my go-to bidding strategy when I want hands-on control over my campaigns. Google’s previous setup often nudged me towards automated bidding, but with this update, I face less friction when opting for manual control.
The bigger picture. Despite Google’s push towards Smart Bidding, this change shows that manual bidding remains important, particularly for experienced advertisers like myself, or in niche campaigns where full automation may not be suitable.
Thanks go to: This update was shared by Hana Kobzová, founder of PPC News Feed.
Recently, I discovered an exciting update from Google Ads that could really simplify how I manage my campaigns. They’ve introduced account-level placement exclusions, making it possible to block unwanted inventory from a single, centralized location.
What’s new? Now, I can apply one exclusion list at the account level. This efficiency extends across Performance Max, Demand Gen, YouTube, and Display campaigns. Before this, blocking had to be done at each ad group or campaign level separately.
How does it work? Once I’ve excluded certain placements at the account level, Google Ads ensures that spending is prevented on those websites, apps, or YouTube placements across all eligible campaigns.
Why is this important? Previously, placement control was a fragmented and tedious process prone to errors, especially for large accounts. With this update, brand safety is now more straightforward and efficient on a larger scale.
The big picture. As Google shifts towards more automation-heavy formats like Performance Max, this change answers the demand from advertisers for stronger, more streamlined control measures without disrupting automation advantages.
Between the lines. This update allows me to:
Reduce exposure to low-quality or irrelevant inventory
Enforce brand-safety standards consistently
Save time managing exclusions across complex accounts
What to watch. I need to review and carefully consolidate existing exclusion lists, as applying a single account-level block too broadly might unintentionally limit my reach.
First seen. This savvy update was first highlighted by Google Ads Campaigns Specialist Aleksejus Podpruginas on LinkedIn.
Bottom line. Google’s updates make controlling ad placements easier, tweaking the interface just enough to significantly enhance efficiency and maintain brand safety.
I recently discovered an exciting update from Google that’s set to revolutionize how we manage our ad spends. By allowing us to set a total campaign budget over specified days or weeks, Google now takes charge, optimizing spending without the need for constant tweaks on my part. This ensures my campaigns stay on track effortlessly.
With this new functionality, I can allocate a total budget for a campaign over a given timeframe, allowing Google to automatically optimize spending so that the budget is fully utilized by the campaign’s conclusion. Previously exclusive to Performance Max, this feature is now available for Search and Shopping campaigns as well, making daily budget adjustments a thing of the past.
Why I care. Handling budgets for short-term projects like product launches or sales can be quite a challenge. Historically, I’ve had to constantly tweak budgets to avoid exceeding them or not using enough. With Google’s new total campaign budgets, currently in open beta, this hassle is significantly reduced.
The bigger picture. This update empowers me to run campaigns with confidence, without the worry of overspending. Whether I’m running a short test over a few days or a promotional push over a month, the campaign total budget feature shifts my focus from budgeting to strategy.
Real-world impact. A great example is UK beauty retailer Escentual.com, which utilized this feature during promotions. They experienced a notable 16% increase in website traffic while staying within budget without negatively affecting ROAS. As Tom Jenkins, Insights Manager, aptly put it: “The campaign total budget feature helped us hit our traffic goals while staying on budget.”
Looking ahead. This feature simplifies campaign management, granting me more time to concentrate on achieving better results. For an in-depth look, check out this blog post discussing the feature.
I’ve noticed that YouTube has recently upgraded its Promotions tool, offering creators like us a smarter way to reach our audience. Now, we can target viewers based on their interests rather than just simple demographics like age, gender, or location. This change is making things more personal and effective!
What’s new: With the latest update, we can target specific interest categories, such as Food & Dining. These categories are crafted from aggregated, anonymized data, giving us insights based on viewing habits and search behaviors.
For example, if someone frequently searches for recipes and enjoys watching cooking videos, YouTube may place them within a food-related interest segment, allowing us to tailor our promotions more precisely.
How it works: YouTube uses patterns it detects across Google services to infer viewers’ interests, applying these insights on a broad scale while keeping individual data private.
Why this matters: As creators investing in promotional videos, we can now target audiences based on their true interests, making our ads more effective and as viable as traditional Google Ads.
The big picture: Historically, YouTube’s promotion tools have felt somewhat blunt, relying heavily on demographics. This new interest-based approach aligns with a full-funnel advertising strategy, making paid promotions notably appealing for:
Growing channels looking to build a dedicated audience
Established creators experimenting with new content formats
Brands working with creators to widen their reach
What’s next:
Currently, this feature is only available on desktop
We can expect a mobile rollout in the near future
First seen: This upgrade was first discovered by Google Ads Specialist Georgi Zayakov, who shared the news on LinkedIn.
Bottom line: YouTube is equipping us with better tools to connect with the right viewers. Instead of just increasing viewer numbers, we’re now closer than ever to narrowing the gap between creator marketing and traditional digital advertising.
I’ve recently noticed a wave of concern sweeping across Google AdSense publishers due to a sudden drop in earnings. Many publishers like myself have experienced a steep decline in eCPM and RPM by up to 70%. This unexpected turn of events has left us fearing another shock to our revenue streams.
Why this matters to me is simple: relying heavily on AdSense for funding operations makes me vulnerable to such sudden swings. When traffic flows and costs remain steady, a sharp revenue decrease poses a real threat to my sustainability.
The buzz in the community intensified late on January 14th, peaking through January 15th. From the U.S. to Europe, publishers reported drastic drops in both page RPM and eCPM. Interestingly, multiple sites within the same accounts felt the impact simultaneously, and some even reported that their ads had partially or completely vanished.
Publishers like myself have voiced concerns:
“My RPM dropped by more than 80% overnight.”
“Same traffic, same placements — revenue collapsed.”
“I used to earn $500 a day, now it’s $35.”
“Never seen figures like this before.”
The numbers paint a grim picture across various regions:
Germany (.de): –64%
France (.fr): –63%
Italy (.it): –76%
Spain (.es): –90%
U.S.-focused sites report drops of 35–70%
Digging deeper, the timing of these drops coincides with an unconfirmed Google Search ranking update. This connection raises worries that visibility shifts and monetization issues are overlapping — an unsettling pattern that I, with many others, have witnessed before.
There’s another twist. Google has recognized systemic issues within Google Ad Manager. These issues include:
Declining AdX match rates
Reduced delivery from Google Ads and DV360
The hardest-hit areas are web and mobile web display inventory.
However, a few critical questions remain unanswered:
Does the Ad Manager issue completely account for the AdSense revenue declines?
Is this all a reporting bug, an ad serving issue, or the beginning of a long-term monetization shift?
The indirect impact of AI Overviews, which currently display zero ads, is also a mystery.
In the broader context, it’s not just a recent occurrence for us; many publishers, including myself, have been experiencing a decline in revenue for months. Some have seen losses of 70–80% since mid-2025, driving fears that traditional content sites are being gradually deprioritized.
The bottom line is that, whether this is a temporary glitch or a sign of a continuing trend, we’re once again in a position of uncertainty — monitoring our dashboards with little clarity and even less control.
As an advertiser, I’ve recently noticed that Microsoft Advertising is kicking off 2026 with a fresh batch of updates tailored for search-centric marketers. These updates offer me better control, clearer insights, and more streamlined campaign management across their platform.
Driving the news. In their latest product update, Microsoft has rolled out enhanced Performance Max features, broadened audience targeting options, improved Google import processes, and automated more creative aspects of search ads.
The big picture. Performance Max remains at the heart of these changes. There’s a new customer acquisition goal available in open beta that lets me prioritize new customers or exclusively target them in PMax campaigns geared towards purchase goals. Additionally, I can allocate higher conversion values to new customers, which aids the system in optimizing for long-term growth over short-term revenue.
Alongside these goals, Microsoft has also expanded transparency and controls within PMax. They now offer share of voice metrics, including impression share and losses due to budget or rank, giving me a better understanding of competitiveness in Search and Shopping placements. Plus, asset group-level URL options and tracking templates allow for more granular measurement without needing to reorganize campaigns.
What’s changing under the hood. The process for importing from Google has become more seamless. PMax campaigns now support up to 50 search themes, and asset group imports have become more flexible, meaning that non-eligible images or auto-generated logos won’t block the rest of the asset group from being imported.
Beyond PMax, I’m excited that Content Targeting for Audience ads is now generally available. I can target specific Microsoft-owned placements like MSN and Outlook, or align ads with content categories such as Finance or Travel. A new reporting view also shows where ads actually appear, aiding in refining contextual strategies.
Why we care. These updates furnish me with greater command over how automation propels growth, especially in acquiring new customers. New customer acquisition goals and additional visibility in Performance Max make optimizing for long-term value easier rather than focusing solely on immediate conversions. With smoother imports and smarter creative automation, these advancements allow advertisers like me to enhance performance without giving up visibility or control.
On creative automation. Autogenerated assets are now being rolled out as a default setting for newly created Responsive Search Ads worldwide, excluding China and South Korea. Microsoft reports that advertisers using these assets witness around a 5% increase in CTR, as the system dynamically generates and tests more headlines and descriptions based on website content. Sensitive verticals remain opt-in only, leaving existing RSAs unaffected.
The bottom line.Microsoft Advertising’s January updates aim to make automation more user-friendly, quantifiable, and advertiser-friendly, particularly for those of us managing Performance Max across multiple platforms.
Recently, I discovered that Google is offering advertisers more control over data flow, which is especially helpful when user consent is limited.
Driving the news. There’s a new tool out called Data Transmission Control, appearing in Google Ads. This enhancement builds on Advanced Consent Mode by providing a more detailed approach to managing how advertising, analytics, and diagnostic data are shared.
What’s new. As an advertiser, I can now independently adjust the flow of advertising data, behavioral analytics, and diagnostic data. If ad_storage consent is not given, I have two choices: either allow limited data with identifiers removed (which still supports conversion modeling), or entirely block the data until consent is obtained. Interestingly, I can still allow behavioral analytics even if ad data is restricted, or choose to block it completely.
Where to find it. I found the setting hidden within Data Manager → Google Tag (Manage) → Manage data transmission. It’s easy to overlook if you’re not looking carefully.
Why we care. Traditionally, Consent Mode was all about reflecting user choices. Now, with Data Transmission Control, I can decide—right down to the tag level—what data flows when there’s no consent, aligning more closely with privacy-focused strategies.
It’s empowering to have this degree of control, especially when trying to balance privacy compliance against performance metrics, which is crucial in markets with strict regulations.
Key details. It’s important to note that Consent Mode must be enabled for this feature to function. It’s set up via the user interface in Google Ads, Google Analytics, or Campaign Manager 360, and applies only to Google tags. If the feature isn’t enabled, everything stays the same, but once consent is given, data transmission resumes automatically.
First seen. This update was first reported by Google Ads expert Thomas Eccel, who shared his insights on LinkedIn.
The bottom line. The introduction of Data Transmission Control provides a subtle yet powerful way for me to ensure tighter data collection control without fully losing out on valuable measurement capabilities.
I’ve recently noticed that Google Trends has introduced a fascinating update to its Explore page, and I’m thrilled to share what I’ve learned with you. This update is powered by something called Gemini, which aims to make it easier for us to discover and compare trending search terms within our areas of interest.
When I explored the new layout, I found a fresh and handy ‘Suggest search terms’ button at the top right. Here’s a look at the updated interface:
Clicking on ‘Suggest search terms’ allows me to enter a keyword or even a natural language sentence. Gemini then helps break down all relevant terms and compares them, offering insightful suggestions. It’s amazing how Google automatically identifies and contrasts trends pertinent to my interests, providing a list of suggestions to delve deeper into.
And here’s something cool I found during my exploration:
The redesign offers a sleek, modern aesthetic that I find very appealing. Each search term is now paired with dedicated icons and colors, making it easier to match terms with their respective lines on the graph. I’ve noticed that Google has increased the number of terms I can compare and has doubled the amount of rising queries on each timeline. This is helpful in understanding why certain queries are trending.
For a bit of nostalgia, here’s a glimpse of the old design:
This update is being gradually rolled out, so while I’ve had the chance to explore it today, I understand that some of you might not see it immediately. Google has informed us that it’s currently a gradual release on desktop.
Why should you care? Well, this innovative tool presents new ways to uncover fresh and exciting content ideas for your site. Go ahead and give it a try; you might just be pleasantly surprised by what you find.
I recently stumbled upon a not-so-obvious setting in Google Ads that might allow Google to insert unapproved images into location-based ads. This could be a headache for maintaining consistent brand visuals.
Here’s what’s happening: In the Shared Library under the Location Manager, there’s a setting called “Google Owned Location Data.” If active, Google can use imagery from its database, adding them to ads linked to your business locations without your direct approval.
Why it matters: While Google might promote this feature as a means to enhance performance, it risks introducing unwanted creative elements that haven’t been vetted—posing a challenge for advertisers who prioritize strict brand standards.
The broader context: Google Ads is increasingly automating creative aspects, extending its control beyond bid and targeting strategies. This change moves decision-making about visuals significantly into Google’s hands, particularly for those utilizing location extensions.
Implications: For brands with stringent creative rules, industries subject to regulation, or franchise operations, such settings can lead to mismatches or compliance issues, often without any warning.
Action steps: If you’re concerned about maintaining creative oversight, I recommend auditing the settings in the Location Manager within the Shared Library to see if “Google Owned Location Data” is enabled.
Discovery: Paid Media Analyst Conor Crummey first noticed this update and shared his findings on LinkedIn.
In summary: This is a subtle yet significant update from Google Ads for those who value controlling their creative output. Take the time to check your settings before unapproved content makes an unwelcome appearance in your ad campaigns.
I’ve discovered a game-changer in how I interact with my Google ecosystem. With the beta release of Google’s new ‘Personal Intelligence’ in the Gemini app, I can now get personalized responses that take my searches, emails, photos, and YouTube history into account. This is all part of Google’s push to integrate our online experiences into one cohesive tool.
Before, Gemini could retrieve data from various Google apps; now, with Gemini 3, it reasons with the data to provide insightful recommendations proactively. This progress feels like a leap into the future.
Check it out: Here’s a video showcasing how this integration works:
Availability: This feature is being rolled out to U.S. subscribers of Google AI Pro and AI Ultra, promising full availability within the week. Once enabled, it can be used across Web, Android, and iOS platforms, expanding soon to more countries and the free user tier.
This innovation is exclusively for personal Google accounts right now, excluding Workspace users. However, with rising demand, expansion seems inevitable.
Privacy, Control, and Personalization: I’m thrilled that Google prioritizes my privacy. These features are off by default, allowing me to decide when to connect my apps. When apps are connected, personalization does not blanket all responses.
I appreciate how I can manage personalization settings: connect some apps, keep others out, and handle past chats. There’s also an option to give feedback if the personalization doesn’t quite hit the mark.
Why It Matters: The integration into AI Mode in Google Search means personalized experiences could transform how visible we are on these platforms. Tracking AI-driven results might become tricky, but the potential benefits make it worth exploring.
