A new episode of Marketing O’Clock is here! Hosts Jess Budde, Greg Finn, Mark Saltarelli, and Christine “Shep” Zirnheld are here with the digital marketing news and pick-up lines you need to know.
If you are unable to listen on Spotify, check out the video version of this week’s episode on the Search Engine Journal YouTube channel.
Microsoft Advertising Introduces Auto-applied Ad Suggestions
The controversial new feature, rolling out in April, will use variations of existing ad copy and targeting to auto-generate ads for ad groups in Microsoft Advertising accounts. Anyone who wishes to opt-out of the feature can do so in the account settings tab.
Advertisers who are opted-in to this feature can find the ad suggestions in their recommendations tab. There, they’ll have the opportunity to edit, pause, or dismiss them before they automatically go live after 14 days.
Anyone who is opted-in will also receive an email notification when the ad suggestions are pushed live.
Instagram Will Allow Story Drafts
Instagram will soon launch story drafts so users can save stories before posting them live, allowing social media managers to ensure stories are posted at the optimal time for their audience or event.
Google Ads Clarifies First-Party Data Requirements
Google Ads Liaison Ginny Marvin clarified Google’s policies around first-party data in response to a tweet from Navah Hopkins.
Hi Navah, Thx for your patience. Subdomains, country TLDs and vanity URLs owned by the same company would be considered a first party context. (I believe for vanity URLs there's a 5 domain limit per first-party set.)
— Ginny Marvin (@GinnyMarvin) March 19, 2021
Information collected by forms on subdomains, country TLDs, and vanity URLs that are owned by the same company are considered first-party data and can be used to generate audiences in Google Ads.
Microsoft Introduces Responsive Ad Unit for Car Sales
Automotive ads, currently in open beta, can display in the Bing search results or the Microsoft Advertising Network. These ads utilize a keyword-less campaign structure and use the product information provided by the advertiser to match to relevant queries.
Advertisers in the US or UK who want to try automotive ads can contact their Microsoft Advertising rep or apply online.
Take of the Week
David Kyle’s client got this email from a Google rep and it makes us really, really sad. Keep your friends close and your clients closer.
Here's an email from a Googler backdooring my agency, telling him we "missed" turning on automatically applied updates, which is an important setting, that he urgently needs to turn it on, and asks him to get it done by EOD. 😠 #ppcchat #googleads pic.twitter.com/8ULR9Nhr7A
— David Kyle (@DavidKyle) March 25, 2021
ICYMI
Forget what you’ve heard, Shaun Elley can confirm that Microsoft Shopping campaigns can (and do!) work.
PSA – Microsoft (bing) shopping can work (seen a lot of nay-sayers recently).
Launched these campaigns about a week ago as a test – currently at about 3.5x roas on this $5k after the first week #ppcchat pic.twitter.com/2e0TxDxeaq
— Shaun Elley (@selley2134) March 25, 2021
Lightning Round
We answer your important digital marketing questions during our lightning round segment:
- Who should you turn to the next time need a creative pickup line?
- What do Facebook advertisers need to know about the iOS 14.5 updates?
- When will Twitter Spaces be available for desktop?
- Where can your clients now find a list of your competitors?
- Why is Google Ads recommending advertisers use their competitors trademarked terms in ad copy?
- How can you see actual data for YouTube earned action columns?
For more information on today’s articles, head over to the Marketing O’Clock site to subscribe to the show and the Marketing O’Clock newsletter.
Featured Image Credit: Samantha Hanson
