n to trust the lack transparency of ad platforms

As I write this article I notice the irony in my headline…

It took me a month to learn to trust the three main platforms: Google, Bing (I refuse it to be called Microsoft Advertising) and Facebook (I still hate calling Meta Meta). These platforms have just laid off tens to thousands of employees in the last month.

The Google Ads UI is then down for 3 hours on the first day back to work after Google’s mass layoff. This is the longest time I can remember in my 18-years of experience with this.

Let’s pretend that we don’t see the elephant in the room, and then we will discuss ways we can trust the things we cannot see on the platforms.

A series of platform-related changes (HT0_ Performance Max and Facebook Advantage+) have made it more opaque than ever about where, when, and how ads will appear.

Don’t bother asking Yelp to provide detailed reporting. (In their defense, however, they have remained consistent).

The ability to quickly quantify some of these data on the analytics side, (hello GA4), is now as viable and successful as being a starting New York Jets QB for more than two years.

You can also say “Watch me Jon!” You can say, “Watch me Jon! I’ll pull out of Facebook or Google and be just fine.”

After I’m done laughing, and you have explained to your CMO why you blocked one of your largest traffic sources as the big bad conglomerates won’t provide more details, we can start having a serious conversation about reality.

Here’s the deal:

While I may be complaining about the lack of transparency on the platforms, the truth is that advertisers do not have any choice. Ad platforms and some foreign and domestic governments are forced to comply with privacy-obsessed demands in an era where advertisers value their privacy.

It is now time to accept the fact that transparency and insight are returning to us week after week.

Platforms don’t want your money today

It is not what they think, but it is not bad to not be able to identify how many Performance Max impressions come from GDN placements. They don’t intend to leave us with broken garbage performance for a month before running off.

Every advertising platform knows that their number one goal, to make money, is what they do.

However, if the ad capabilities are not transparent and perform poorly, the advertisers will pull out and lose the revenue. Yahoo Gemini is a great example of this.

This must instill in advertisers the belief that even though they want your money, it doesn’t mean they won’t work to make you more profitable. Keep in mind, advertisers are valued over the quarter by ad platforms.

Keep in mind that you won’t be able to see everything before or after a launch. They do operate with some degree of mystery.

The platform with all its advanced algorithms will produce the best possible scenario (i.e. ideal volume, conversions and seasonality, budget, linking, etc.). They will likely perform better than any manual under “unique to me” conditions.

They don’t do it because they want to make a profit, but because they care about growing your business.

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Terms.

You are still in control, despite what you may think.

Advertisers have the power to remove an ad unit. However, one should not do this without first evaluating the following:

This is where things get tricky. These questions can be weighed together, but it is possible to only answer one of them. This is what I like to call it: “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”

This approach has been used by many people at some point.

That 1,000% moment is when you can’t explain the CMO where your ads were, what they show for and not entirely to whom they are shown to.

You can’t make a mistake unless you have a safety issue. However, you can produce quality and volume at the same time.

Google thought your ads should also show for them because they consider all behavioral points, many of which we don’t understand, and they see another group that is close to your ideal target that is more likely than yours to convert if they are shown one Gmail ad spot.

Each graphic design major or creative director wants to have final say in the creative layout, collaboration and placement of their ads.

Guess what? Every consumer would need a different number of mental synapses in order to understand every scenario.

You, the advertiser, have once again the directional control and, more importantly, the kill button. You must trust the platform to fine tune it.

It is possible to still obtain the details but it will take more effort.

It is not necessary to be able to see exactly where your ad triggers. (Disclaimer – I get what you are thinking and I agree. The sampling thresholds make data collection a nightmare with GA4.

Simple scripts and parameters can help you track additional data or placements within URLs, provided you are willing to sacrifice something. This can then be passed back to your CRM system or analytics.

It will be difficult to pull the strings. Absolutely.

Does it make sense to address the necessary evils? Yes.

The feds have shown that the big 3 platforms don’t hide data for fun (I hope), but to protect a lot of data. It’s not difficult to find it all if you are willing to spend the time.

Takeaway

You have lost much transparency in the details. The black box method is more powerful than ever.

This has led to a renewed focus on A/B Testing. Accept what you can’t control (placement and audiences, loyalty to a particular Real Housewives franchise), but focus on what you can control.

After you have focused on these, you should do all possible tests to ensure you have a real control element.

The most important thing is to observe the performance. Stop it if it’s not working. Regroup, stop it, then replan and start your next paid search plan.

This will reduce the amount of transparency but still accept it. It will allow you to move on to the future and the next hidden gem that could ruin your month as an advertiser.

It doesn’t matter what you think, it won’t be worthwhile spending the time to find out what % of your Bing traffic comes from Yahoo.com.

Search Engine Land first published the post Learning how to trust the lack transparency from ad platforms.

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