Just in time for the Q4 holiday rush, Google is expanding its first-party data tools, with several updates aimed at making advertiser data easier to connect and measure.
Data Manager is moving into more Google products, while its API is getting a broader standard that could simplify cross-platform data connections.
Google Ads is also getting a new metric designed to answer a question that hasn’t always been easy to quantify: Is all of this first-party data work improving measurement?
Data Manager Is Coming To Google Analytics & DV360
Google is integrating Data Manager directly into Google Analytics and Display & Video 360.
Data Manager already gives advertisers a central place to connect first-party sources such as CRM, offline, and app data. Expanding it into GA and DV360 should make those connections easier to manage across Google’s products.
Google said advertisers that connect offline and app data through Data Manager see an average 26% increase in incremental ROAS.
Enhanced conversions are expanding into GA and DV360 as well.
For advertisers already using several Google products, the updates should cut down on some of the separate setup work required across platforms.
That’s especially relevant as Google continues asking advertisers to provide better first-party signals for measurement and automated bidding.
The Data Manager API Is Getting A Broader Standard
Google is also making its Data Manager API universal by adopting the IAB Tech Lab’s Event and Conversions API (ECAPI).
ECAPI provides a common standard for sending conversion and event data across advertising platforms.
For advertisers working across multiple platforms, that could simplify how those connections are built and maintained. Instead of developing platform-specific pipelines, teams can use the same standard across supported advertising systems.
This could be really helpful for larger advertisers managing several data sources and destinations. Maintaining those connections can require significant technical resources, particularly as more first-party data gets incorporated into campaign measurement.
Google is also adding built-in diagnostics to Data Manager. The diagnostics can identify and address data issues before they affect campaign performance.
That gives advertisers another safeguard for offline conversions, CRM data, app events, and other first-party signals feeding Google’s measurement and bidding systems.
Google Ads Gets A Data Strength Uplift Metric
One of the more interesting additions is a new Data Strength Uplift Metric in Google Ads.
The metric estimates how many additional conversions an advertiser “recovers” through its first-party data setup. It also gives advertisers more visibility into the impact of improving their measurement infrastructure.
For example, an advertiser might implement enhanced conversions, improve tagging, or connect additional first-party data sources. If measured conversions increase afterward, it can be difficult to determine how much came from recovering conversions that previously went unmeasured.
The new metric is designed to provide more insight into that impact.
Google said advertisers that improve data strength through Google tag gateway see an average 14% conversion uplift. Individual results will depend in part on the advertiser’s existing measurement setup.
For advertisers investing time and resources into first-party data, the metric could help show whether those changes are improving conversion recovery. It also provides more context around measurement improvements that may otherwise be difficult to see in standard campaign reporting.
What This Means For Advertisers
Google has been pushing advertisers toward stronger first-party measurement for years, and these updates continue in that direction.
As more data feeds Google’s bidding and optimization systems, advertisers need reliable ways to connect those signals and know whether their measurement setup is working. The Data Manager expansion could make some of that easier, especially for advertisers using several Google products.
The Data Strength Uplift Metric adds more visibility into a part of measurement that can be difficult to quantify.
Advertisers spend time and resources improving tagging, connecting offline data, and implementing enhanced conversions. Being able to see how much additional conversion data those efforts recover could make it easier to evaluate that investment.
There is a limit to what the metric can tell advertisers, however. Recovering more conversions doesn’t say much about the quality or business value of those conversions.
Advertisers still need to connect platform measurement with CRM data, revenue, profit, lead quality, and other downstream outcomes. A more complete conversion count is useful, but advertisers still need to know whether Google is receiving the right signals to optimize toward.
Better Measurement Still Depends On Its Input Signals
Google is giving advertisers more ways to connect first-party data and see what they’re getting from those efforts.
The new uplift metric should provide more context around the work advertisers put into improving their measurement setup. Being able to see how much conversion data is recovered makes that investment easier to quantify.
The number of recovered conversions doesn’t tell advertisers whether they’re the conversions the business wants more of.
Lead quality, revenue, profit, and other business outcomes still need to factor into which signals get sent back to Google.
As these measurement tools improve, advertisers should have a better view of how their first-party data setup is performing. They still need to make sure the data feeding Google’s automated systems reflects the outcomes they’re trying to drive.
Featured image: Andrey Popov, Shutterstock
