PPC news - March 2025

Google enhances Responsive Search Ads with AI

Google is updating Responsive Search Ads (RSAs) with AI-powered improvements designed to boost relevance, engagement, and performance.

What’s changing?

• Smarter ad combinations: Google’s AI will now adjust headlines, descriptions, and assets dynamically to improve results. Some elements may be omitted if they don’t contribute to better engagement.
• New uses for headlines: Headlines that aren’t used in RSAs may now appear as sitelinks, with up to two headlines serving in sitelink positions to drive more traffic.

These updates streamline ad creation while maximising ad impact. Advertisers gain more flexibility without extra work, with AI optimising assets to match search intent more effectively.

Google is making RSAs more adaptive, ensuring ad elements are used where they perform best. These improvements should help advertisers increase visibility and conversions while keeping messaging relevant.

X introduces AI-powered ad tools with Grok

X has launched two AI-driven ad features to help advertisers automate content creation and gain real-time performance insights, powered by its AI assistant, Grok.

What’s new?

• Prefill with Grok – Advertisers can input a website URL, and Grok will generate ad copy, imagery, and a CTA, with options for customisation.
• Analyse campaign performance with Grok – This tool provides performance insights and recommendations to refine targeting and creative strategy.

These updates reduce manual effort in ad creation and analysis, allowing advertisers to optimise campaigns more efficiently.

The phased rollout began on 21st February and will expand to more advertisers over time.

LinkedIn introduces tools for better marketing attribution

LinkedIn has rolled out two new features: Conversions API (CAPI) and the Revenue Attribution Report (RAR) to help marketers track performance more accurately and optimise campaigns.

What’s new?

• Conversions API (CAPI): Connects first-party data from websites, phone sales, and events directly to LinkedIn for improved conversion tracking and campaign optimisation.
• Revenue Attribution Report (RAR): Links CRM data to LinkedIn ads, offering up to 365 days of revenue tracking at the company level.

With growing attribution challenges, these tools provide more accurate tracking and deeper performance insights, helping marketers prove impact and maximise ROI.

Google reverses fingerprinting ban, raising privacy concerns

Google has lifted its 2019 ban on fingerprinting, allowing advertisers to track users across devices using data like IP addresses and device details.

This change gives advertisers more precise tracking for cross-device attribution but comes with major privacy concerns. Regulators, particularly in the EU, may push back, and the UK’s ICO has already called the decision “irresponsible.”

What to expect

• No explicit user consent required.
• Greater scrutiny from privacy watchdogs.
• Potential regulatory challenges in the EU.

This move signals a shift in Google’s privacy approach, favouring advertising revenue over user control and could spark legal battles ahead.

Google Ads introduces AI-powered creative tools for advertisers

Google is rolling out new AI-driven features to help advertisers create more engaging and effective ad assets, including AI-generated lifestyle imagery, asset-audience recommendations, and new testing capabilities.

What's new?

• AI-generated lifestyle images: Advertisers can now generate images featuring adult people using text prompts, expanding creative possibilities across Performance Max, Demand Gen, Display, and Apps campaigns.
• Asset-audience recommendations: AI suggests image themes that resonate with target audiences, such as “nature” or “ocean” for travel brands.
• New Performance Max testing: A beta program lets retailers compare the impact of adding creative assets (text, images, videos) to their product feed campaigns.

These updates aim to streamline creative production and improve campaign performance, making it easier for brands to tailor visuals to their audience while leveraging AI for efficiency.

Google updates Display & Video 360 API with new features

Google has launched the beta version of Display & Video 360 (DV360) API v4, introducing mandatory optimisation objectives and removing some campaign targeting controls.

What’s new?

• DV360 API v4 (Beta):
  • New insertion orders must specify an optimisation objective.
  • Targeting management removed from Campaign and InsertionOrder resources.
  • FirstAndThirdPartyAudience renamed to FirstPartyAndPartnerAudience.
• Enhancements in v3 and v4:
  • Support for asset-based creatives.
  • Integration with Integral Ad Science for quality sync.
  • Expanded geographic targeting options.

Google’s push for structured campaign objectives signals a move toward more automated, performance-driven programmatic advertising. Advertisers should update their client libraries and follow Google’s migration guide for a smooth transition to v4.

Google Demand Gen ads now auto-generate short videos

Google Ads is rolling out a new video enhancement feature for Demand Gen campaigns, automatically creating shorter versions of existing video ads.

What’s new?

• The feature will automatically generate condensed versions of your video ads.
• It will be enabled by default across all Google Demand Gen campaigns.
• Advertisers have until March 10 to opt out.

Short-form video is highly engaging, especially on mobile and social platforms. This update offers an easy way to extend reach without extra production costs. However, quality control is key, advertisers should monitor results to ensure the edits align with your campaign’s messaging.

Next steps

• Manage the setting via Google Ads or through a Google sales rep.
• Test the feature before opting out to see if it improves performance.

This move reinforces Google’s push toward AI-powered ad automation, helping advertisers maximise reach with minimal effort.

Google Ads introduces Performance Max usefulness indicator

Google Ads has launched the Performance Max Usefulness Indicator, a new tool that helps advertisers measure the incremental traffic impact of search themes.

The tool:

• Evaluates whether added search themes bring in new traffic or just overlap with existing signals.
• Helps advertisers refine targeting and allocate budgets more effectively.

While Performance Max already automates ad placements, this feature gives advertisers more visibility into search theme performance. However, direct control over search queries remains limited due to Google’s AI-driven optimisations.

Google is expected to expand Performance Max insights further, potentially offering more granular reporting and budget recommendations in the future.

Meta simplifies Advantage+ campaign setup, adds leads campaigns

Meta has expanded its AI-powered advertising tools to enhance campaign results, offering more automated optimisations and personalised recommendations. Early tests show significant cost reductions and performance improvements.

What’s new?

• Streamlined Advantage+ setup: Automatically applies AI optimisations to sales, app, and leads campaigns, eliminating the need for manual configuration.
• Advantage+ leads campaigns: Specifically designed to find high-quality leads more efficiently, with early tests showing a 10% lower cost per qualified lead.
• Expanded opportunity score: Provides a 0-100 rating on campaign setup, offering actionable recommendations for improvement.

Meta is now offering its advanced AI tools across all campaign types, simplifying the process and making it easier for advertisers to leverage AI optimisation without manual intervention.

These features will be integrated into Ads Manager later this year, combining AI optimisations with personalised recommendations for better campaign performance. This move signals Meta's effort to streamline its platform and stay competitive in the ad space.

Google Ads runs different auctions for each ad location

Google recently updated its documentation regarding how the Google Ads auction works, specifying that different auctions are run for each ad location. Previously, this was not explicitly stated.

The updated document clarifies:

• Different auctions are held for various ad locations, such as top ads versus other ad locations.
• Ads will only show once in a single ad location, but across multiple ad locations, they can appear more than once.

This change comes after a redefinition of top ads last year, where Google began mixing ads with organic results, leading to dynamic placement and potential confusion regarding how auctions were handled.

While Google hasn't provided full clarity, the change is likely related to ongoing experiments with double serving ads and their evolving ad placement strategy. The update aims to offer more transparency as Google tests different ad configurations.

There has been mixed feedback from the PPC community. Some express concern that multiple auctions could affect the competitiveness of the auction, while others worry it might erode the quality of the search engine results pages (SERPs), giving larger brands an advantage.

This change could influence how your ads rank and the costs associated with them. Understanding the auction mechanics is crucial for managing bidding strategies effectively. Google claims this adjustment clarifies how their auctions work across placements.