le Ads: 5 areas you may not have known about.

Google Ads is the oldest and most popular digital advertising platform. It has been in existence for over 23 years.

In recent years, there have been conscious efforts to simplify and consolidate the levers available within an account.

It is a great way to simplify the campaign creation process for those who are not marketing-savvy.

As someone who has dedicated a career to digital, this can be frustrating. Some of the features and tools I used to have are slowly disappearing.

After using Google Ads over a decade I believe that most advertisers and agencies do not utilize certain areas enough.

This guide will highlight some lesser-known features and tools of the platform, which can be very powerful when used correctly.

1. Remarketing of dynamic products

Google Ads’ first, and most underutilized feature is to check a small area called “dynamic parameter.”

Google Tag is the only way to ensure that you pass the correct parameters through.

There is a misconception that Performance Max will automatically remarket dynamic products. This is true only if you have set up your pixels correctly.

We believe that if you don’t dynamically remarket to your potential clients, especially when a client visits a product and doesn’t purchase, it is a big mistake.

Google should be able to see what products customers are interested in.

It does in a general sense, but for the best results you should ensure that the “id” value is passed through to your pixel.

Google Ads tags need to be able to see this variable in order for them remarket properly.

Google Help article on Tag your website for dynamic Remarketing. It is important to work closely with your developers in order to ensure that the structured data gets through.

Use the Datalayer Checker Chrome plugin. This will allow you to and your developers to identify the variables that you wish to pass through.

How to find this feature in Google Ads

• Click on Tools & Settings, Audience Manager, Your data source and Details.
• Review the
  
  ‘id’
  
  parameter.
  • You’ll need to consult a developer if you don’t already have one to ensure that you pass it on.
  • Check that the IDs you see match those in Google Merchant Center. Dynamic remarketing won’t work if they don’t.

2. Seasonal adjustments

Most marketers are reliant on algorithms to perform their tasks in the age of intelligent bidding.

In many cases, however, a computer is unable to anticipate or understand external factors.

Seasonality Adjustment is the next setting you should know if you are using smart bidding.

This less-known feature within Google Ads lets you give the algorithm for smart bidding a head start on what to expect.

It is most useful when you are certain that the conversion rate will either increase , or decrease significantly.

Smart bidding will take into account the dates you enter and the conversion rate variance.

How to find this feature in Google Ads

• Click on Tools & settings > Strategies for bidding > Advance controls
• Click on New seasonality adjustments after you have navigated to Seasonality Adjustments.

3. Data exclusion

In the same area you will see my next hidden option, data inclusion.

You can exclude dates from a campaign, account or type of campaign. Google says:

Data exclusions can be used to compensate for major conversion tracking issues or outages. They can negatively affect Smart Bidding’s performance if used frequently or for a long period of time.

This can be extremely helpful if your conversion rate drops or if the pixel overreports.

You can remove the data from the algorithm if you are able to identify the problem. If you have a tracking problem, you can avoid wasting a lot of money.

How to find this feature in Google Ads

• Click on Bid strategy > Advance controls.
• Click on Add a new data exclusion after you have navigated to Data Exclusions.

4. Account-level automated extensions

I used to scratch my head when I received screenshots from customers asking, “What’s this?”

The asset I did not recognize was (formerly extensions).

Google has begun rolling out extensions for accounts.

The extensions are generated automatically based on the website. They can range from longer headlines and site links to callouts.

Google, I apologize.)

Google may tell you these are better for performance, but I haven’t seen it myself.

You may have noticed that your click-through rate has increased if you are lucky enough to receive a large number of Seller reviews.

We have seen a rise in the click-through rate for large retailers using dynamic images. Dynamic images crawl your website and apply relevant imagery for your ad.

How to find this feature in Google Ads

• Click Ads and assets > Assets > More Options > Account-level automatic assets > More > Advanced Settings.

5. Your data insights

This last one can be used in a variety of ways. This one is always a favorite of mine.

The hidden feature, Your Data Insights takes your pixel information and gives you a quick read on your client base.

We like to focus on two main areas:

• We’re highly rated for the In-Market Audience.
• We have a high index for Affinity Segments.

These data can be used to create personas, customer profiles and for targeted marketing. In some campaigns, all segments can be used to bid again.

This information can be used to adjust creative or copy for ads. It’s fun to see some of the things you didn’t expect. When you look closely, you’ll understand what I mean.

How to find this feature in Google Ads

• Click on Tools & Settings, Audience manager and Your data insights.

Google Ads: How to maximize your results by utilizing features that are often overlooked

Google Ads has many hidden options, which advertisers are often unaware of.

Each of the features that I have mentioned will give you a little more control and insight into your campaign. This article should help you to find new ways to improve your Google Ads campaign.

The post Google Ads: 5 hidden areas you may not have known about first appeared on Search Engine Land.