Today we’ve seen a further example of why with Google updating their Ads Search Terms Report to only include terms searched for by “a significant number of users”.
What does it mean exactly? Well, if you’ve been keeping on top of the running of your Google Ads account, and you’ve been filtering out small volume irrelevant search terms to use as negatives to save pointless clicks (and pointless spend), then it looks like you won’t be able to do this anymore (if you’ve got a high volume account, this might not apply to you as you might be filtering a lot of this data anyway).
On the face of it, this may not seem like a huge update, but incrementally this will hurt (especially SMBs). And those incremental losses will soon add up.
We’re not quite sure how many of these terms will be filtered out – whether it will be, for example, anything less than say 10 clicks – but we’ll know more regarding that over the next few weeks, yet it’s really something all PPCers should keep an eye on.
PPCRachel on Twitter was the first to notice it, and it’s sent the PPC Community into an understandable tailspin. Here are some of the best and most interesting reactions:
So what can we do? Well, it sounds like a lot of the PPC community on Twitter will be writing to Google to demand a change, so it’s definitely worth doing that yourself, because if they don’t U turn on this, there’s little more you can do. It’s almost certain that you’ll just see money bleed from your account. I know that sounds grim, but it’s a fact.
Google’s integrity has been eroding slowly for a while now, but after the recent congress hearing, and with so many lingering questions regarding their morality as a business, you thought they might try lay low for a little while at least.
Alas, it appears not, as this seems like another strong punch down, and to be brutally honest, another way to make easy money at the expense of others.
I suppose their digital ad revenue of $39.58 billion across 2020 isn’t enough. These two tweets might sum it up best.
— Itdepends (@YeahItDepends) September 2, 2020
And additionally, if you’re using Google Ads to advertise in the UK, Turkey or Austria, this news that came out yesterday isn’t going to come as any great joy either:
“From November 1, advertisers running ads in these countries will be charged an additional 2% in the UK, 5% in Austria and 5% in Turkey. “
More info here.
Not a good week for PPCers, this.
It’s going to be interesting to see how all this develops, so keep your eye on our Twitter account to stay up to date. This one might run for a while.
