In this Month’s digital news, Google introduces new reporting to Performance Max to give you insights into your channel performance. AI-powered intention models are reshaping advertising, exploring their real-world impact across industries, and the future of advertising in a privacy-first world.
Google’s updated QRG now includes fake EEAT content and other deceptive practices, signalling the importance of authenticity. If you are using Microsoft Ads (also known as Bing ads), you are now required to implement Microsoft Consent Mode. Meta’s Catalog ads now support dynamic overlays. Sticker-style labels that highlight prices, discounts, and free shipping. YouTube’s AI Overviews test could reshape how users find videos. Will it boost discovery or cut into views for creators and brands?
Google introduces updates to PMax
Google has introduced several updates to Performance Max aimed at improving transparency and campaign optimisation. A key addition is channel level reporting, which provides performance data across individual Google channels such as Search, YouTube, Display, and Maps. This includes a new visual summary and a detailed channel distribution table covering metrics like clicks, conversions, and cost. Full search terms reporting has also been added, allowing advertisers to analyse and manage search performance in greater detail. Additionally, asset level reporting now includes impressions, clicks, and cost, enabling more precise evaluation of creative performance. Diagnostics features highlight potential issues across specific channels.
Read more here.
How AI-powered intention models are reshaping digital advertising
Contextual targeting is evolving from basic keyword methods to AI driven models that incorporate user intention. These systems assess content not just by topic but by intent informational, navigational, or transactional to identify users closer to decision making. AI models trained on intent labelled data can score content accordingly and align ads with both high intent and campaign relevance. This approach improves targeting precision without relying on third party data, aligning with privacy first strategies. Case studies show strong performance gains across industries, with significant cost reductions and better engagement. Intention based targeting is emerging as a key tool in privacy conscious, outcome focused advertising.
Read more here.
Google’s updated Raters Guidelines target fake EEAT content
Google have updated their Quality Raters Guidelines to expand on multiple forms of deception that Google wants its quality raters to identify, including fake EEAT content, signalling the importance of authenticity. Guidance around fake EEAT content includes:
- Not claiming to have a physical location when you are an online only business
- Not having fake author profiles
- Not displaying factually incorrect information about content expertise (e.g. claiming to have credentials or expertise that you don’t)
All of this indicates the importance of building up your EEAT over time, naturally, so that Google trusts your website.
Read more here.
Microsoft Consent Mode. How to configure it?
If you are using Microsoft Ads (also known as Bing ads), you are now required to implement Microsoft Consent Mode. If you haven’t implemented Microsoft consent mode already and are in the required locations, you probably noticed a drop in conversions attributed to campaigns. Implementing consent mode should get your conversion tracking and attribution up and running again.
Read more here.
Meta adds dynamic overlays to Advantage+ Catalog ads
Meta has updated its Advantage+ Catalog campaigns with dynamic overlays, allowing advertisers to add price, discount, and shipping labels directly onto product images. Options include current price, sale price, percentage off, and free shipping, all customisable or optimised by Meta’s AI. Though a subtle change, these overlays could significantly boost ad performance by making promotions more eye-catching in crowded feeds, giving advertisers greater flexibility and helping drive higher conversion rates.
Read more here.
YouTube is testing AI Overviews in its search results
YouTube is now testing AI Overviews within its search results to highlight relevant clips from videos tied to a user’s search, continuing the expansion of AI-generated results into the whole of Search. As Google’s AI Overviews have reduced visibility on and traffic from the SERPs, could YouTube’s own version of AI Overviews reduce views for brands and content creators on this platform too?
Read more here.
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