New Google Analytics launched
In the first major update in 7 years, Google has announced Google Analytics 4(length: long). This will now be the default when setting up a property, and have an enhanced focus on machine learning – a sign of times to come in a post-cookie world. Universal properties will still be available, but Google has stated that they will no longer be developed, meaning that it’s worth having both types of property enabled for your site.
Updated attribution features
Google announced changes to attribution in Google Ads(length: long), summarised nicely by Search Engine Land (length: medium). Not only is YouTube now being included in attribution reports, but the threshold for data driven attribution has been lowered – now 3,000 ad interactions and 300 conversions in the last 30 days.
Performance max campaigns announced
Google also announced a new campaign type(length: long). Performance max campaigns are a new type of smart campaign, which will be eligible to run across all Google inventory. These campaigns are in very early stages of testing, but we should hear more about them in 2021.
In other news
- Facebook will be keeping the 28 day attribution window (for now)(length: short)
- Facebook released an official rebuke for Netflix’s new film The Social Dilemma (length: long).
- Google Ads has “simplified” location reporting, reducing visibility for advertisers in the standard reports (length: medium). Location type has been removed, meaning that we have to turn to the report editor to understand whether a user is physically in a location, or simply interested in it.
- Search Engine Land shared tips for setting up smart shopping campaigns (length: long).
- The value of brand bidding is a huge question for most retailers – and Search Engine Land released a blog recommending how to set up and evaluate a brand incrementality test (length: long).
- PPC Hero shared a blog summarising how to change our approach to advertising with increased automation(length: long).
- Google released tips for optimising your ad grant account during Giving Tuesday(length: long)
Everything else
- Unsurprisingly, Amazon Prime day was another record breaker, with estimated year on year growth of 43% (length: medium).
- Bing has officially rebranded as Microsoft Bing, including new logos (length: short).
- Snapchat releases first commercial – quite literally the ability to run your ad as the first ad a user sees in the day (length: long).
- Google shared Christmas shopping trends(length: long), especially highlighting that users are shopping earlier, and increasingly shopping online.
- A US congressional report called Google, Amazon, Facebook and Apple monopolies, and suggests that structural separation could be considered in the future to reduce their power (length: long).
