Google Ads has quietly rolled out multi-party approval, a security feature that requires a second administrator to approve certain high-risk account actions. These include adding or removing users and changing user roles.
Why we care. As ad accounts grow larger — and more valuable — access control has become a bigger risk. A single unauthorized, malicious or accidental account change can disrupt campaigns, access, and billing in minutes. Multi-party approval reduces that risk by requiring a second admin sign-off on high-impact actions, adding protection without changing day-to-day campaign management.
For agencies and large teams especially, it helps prevent costly mistakes and improves overall account security.
How it works. When an admin initiates a sensitive change, Google Ads automatically creates an approval request. Other eligible admins receive an in-product notification, and one of them must approve or deny the request within 20 days. If no action is taken, the request expires and the change is blocked.
Status tracking. Each request is clearly labeled as Complete, Denied, or Expired, making it easier for teams to monitor what’s been approved — and what didn’t make it through.
Where to find it. Admins can view and manage approval requests from the Access and security section within the Admin menu.
The bigger picture. The update reflects growing concern around account security, especially for agencies and large advertisers managing multiple users, partners, and permissions. With advertisers recently reporting costly hacks, this would be a very welcome update.
Bottom line. Multi-party approval adds friction — but the good kind. It gives advertisers more control over who can make critical changes and helps protect Google Ads accounts from unauthorized access.
Microsoft Advertising today launched the Publisher Content Marketplace (PCM), a system that lets publishers license premium content to AI products and get paid based on how that content is used.
How it works. PCM creates a direct value exchange. Publishers set licensing and usage terms, while AI builders discover and license content for specific grounding scenarios. The marketplace also includes usage-based reporting, giving publishers visibility into how their content performs and where it creates the most value.
Designed to scale. PCM is designed to avoid one-off licensing deals between individual publishers and AI providers. Participation is voluntary, ownership remains with publishers, and editorial independence stays intact. The marketplace supports everyone from global publishers to smaller, specialized outlets.
Why we care. As AI systems shift from answering questions to making decisions, content quality matters more than ever. As agents increasingly guide purchases, finance, and healthcare choices, ads and sponsored messages will sit alongside — or draw from — premium content rather than generic web signals. That raises the bar for credibility and points to a future where brand alignment with trusted publishers and AI ecosystems directly impacts performance.
Early traction. Microsoft Advertising co-designed PCM with major U.S. publishers, including Business Insider, Condé Nast, Hearst, The Associated Press, USA TODAY, and Vox Media. Early pilots grounded Microsoft Copilot responses in licensed content, with Yahoo among the first demand partners now onboarding.
What’s next. Microsoft plans to expand the pilot to more publishers and AI builders that share a core belief: as the AI web evolves, high-quality content should be respected, governed, and paid for.
The big picture. In an agentic web, AI tools increasingly summarize, reason, and recommend through conversation. Whether the topic is medical safety, financial eligibility, or a major purchase, outcomes depend on access to trusted, authoritative sources — many of which sit behind paywalls or in proprietary archives.
The tension. The traditional web bargain was simple: publishers shared content, and platforms sent traffic back. That model breaks down when AI delivers answers directly, cutting clicks while still depending on premium content to perform well.
Bottom line. If AI is going to make better decisions, it needs better inputs — and PCM is Microsoft’s bet that a sustainable content economy can power the next phase of the agentic web.
As part of the v23 Ads API launch, Performance Max campaigns can now be reported by channel, including Search, YouTube, Display, Discover, Gmail, Maps, and Search Partners. Previously, performance data was largely grouped into a single mixed category.
The change under the hood. Earlier API versions typically returned a MIXED value for the ad_network_type segment in Performance Max campaigns. With v23, those responses now break out into specific channel enums — a meaningful shift for reporting and optimization.
Why we care. Google Ads API v23 doesn’t just add features — it changes how advertisers understand Performance Max. The update introduces channel-level reporting, giving marketers long-requested visibility into where PMax ads actually run.
How advertisers can use it. Channel-level data is available at the campaign, asset group, and asset level, allowing teams to see how individual creatives perform across Google properties. When combined with v22 segments like ad_using_video and ad_using_product_data, advertisers can isolate results such as video performance on YouTube or Shopping ads on Search.
For developers. Upgrading to v23 will surface more detailed reporting than before. Reporting systems that relied on the legacy MIXED value will need to be updated to handle the new channel enums.
What to watch:
Channel data is only available for dates starting June 1, 2025.
Asset group–level channel reporting remains API-only and won’t appear in the Google Ads UI.
Bottom line. The latest Google Ads API release quietly delivers one of the biggest Performance Max updates yet — turning a black-box campaign type into something advertisers can finally analyze by channel.
Search marketing is still as powerful as ever. Google recently surpassed $100 billion in ad revenue in a single quarter, with more than half coming from search. But search alone can no longer deliver the same results most businesses expect.
As Google Ads Coach Jyll Saskin Gales showed at SMX Next, real performance now comes from going beyond traditional search and using it to strengthen a broader PPC strategy.
The challenge with traditional Search Marketing
As search marketers, we’re great at reaching people who are actively searching for what we sell. But we often miss people who fit our ideal audience and aren’t searching yet.
The real opportunity sits at the intersection of intent and audience fit.
Take the search [vacation packages]. That query could come from a family with young kids, a honeymooning couple, or a group of retirees. The keyword is the same, but each audience needs a different message and a different offer.
Understanding targeting capabilities in Google Ads
There are two main types of targeting:
Content targeting shows ads in specific places.
Audience targeting shows ads to specific types of people.
For example, targeting [flights to Paris] is content targeting. Targeting people who are “in-market for trips to Paris” is audience targeting. Google builds in-market audiences by analyzing behavior across multiple signals, including searches, browsing activity, and location.
The three types of content targeting
Keyword targeting: Reach people when they search on Google, including through dynamic ad groups and Performance Max.
Topic targeting: Show ads alongside content related to specific topics in display and video campaigns.
Placement targeting: Put ads on specific websites, apps, YouTube channels, or videos where your ideal customers already spend time.
The four types of audience targeting
Google’s data: Prebuilt segments include detailed demographics (such as parents of toddlers vs. teens), affinity segments (interests like vegetarianism), in-market segments (people actively researching purchases), and life events (graduating or retiring). Any advertiser can use these across most campaign types.
Your data: Target website visitors, app users, people who engaged with your Google content (YouTube viewers or search clickers), and customer lists through Customer Match. Note that remarketing is restricted for sensitive interest categories.
Custom segments: Turn content targeting into audience targeting by building segments based on what people search for, their interests, and the websites or apps they use. These go by different names depending on campaign type—“custom segments” in most campaigns and “custom search terms” in video campaigns.
Automated targeting: This includes optimized targeting (finding people similar to your converters), audience expansion in video campaigns, audience signals and search themes in Performance Max, and lookalike segments that model new users from your seed lists.
Building your targeting strategy
To build a modern targeting strategy, you need to answer two questions:
How can I sell my offer with Google Ads?
How can I reach a specific kind of person with Google Ads?
For example, to reach Google Ads practitioners for lead gen software, you could build custom segments that target people who use the Google Ads app, visit industry sites like searchengineland.com, or search for Google Ads–specific terms such as “Performance Max” or “Smart Bidding.”
You can also layer in content targeting, like YouTube placements on industry educator channels and topic targeting around search marketing.
Strategies for sensitive interest categories
If you work in a restricted category such as legal or healthcare and can’t use custom segments or remarketing, use non-linear targeting. Ignore the offer and focus on the audience. Choose any Google data audience with potential overlap, even if it’s imperfect, and let your creative do the filtering.
Use industry-specific jargon, abbreviations, and imagery that only your target audience will recognize and value. Everyone else will scroll past.
Remember: High CPCs aren’t the enemy
Low-quality traffic is the real problem. You’re better off paying $10 per click with a 10% conversion rate than $1 per click with a 0.02% conversion rate.
When evaluating targeting strategies, focus on conversion rate and cost per acquisition, not just cost per click.
Search alone can’t deliver the results you’re used to
By expanding beyond traditional search keywords and using content and audience targeting, you can reach the right people and keep driving strong results.
Watch: How to build a modern targeting strategy like a pro + Live Q&A
People inspecting ChatGPT responses are spotting references to ads in the page source. One line reads: “InReply to user query using the following additional context of ads shown to the user.” The reference appears even when no ad is actually displayed.
Driving the news. Digital Marketer Glenn Gabe first flagged the issue on X after noticing the ad-related language in ChatGPT’s source code. Others have since replicated it while testing commercial queries like auto insurance.
Why we care. Ads in ChatGPT have been talked about for weeks. This piece of code spotted signals that ChatGPT ads are moving from concept to near-launch, creating a new, high-intent advertising channel. The presence of ad logic in the system suggests targeting and eligibility are already being tested, favoring early advertisers.
With limited inventory and ads likely woven into conversational responses rather than shown as banners, this could become premium, high-impact real estate that directly competes with organic answers.
Between the lines. The ads aren’t visible, but the logic appears to be live. That suggests OpenAI may already be testing ad eligibility, suppression rules for paid tiers, or internal triggers ahead of a broader rollout.
Context. OpenAI confirmed in January that ads are coming to ChatGPT for some users. The company said ads would be sold on an impression basis, and early indications suggest they won’t be cheap.
Bottom line. ChatGPT may not be showing ads yet — but the infrastructure is already in place.
On episode 339 of PPC Live The Podcast, I speak to Kirk Williams, a long-time PPC professional who’s been in the industry since 2009. Kirk is the founder of Zato, a specialist PPC micro-agency, and the author of Ponderings of a PPC Professional and Stop the Scale. He’s also a familiar face on the global conference circuit, speaking at events like BrightonSEO, SMX, HeroConf, and more.
The big f-Up: Taking on the wrong clients
Kirk’s biggest mistake wasn’t a platform error or a bad bid — it was taking on clients who weren’t a good fit.
He explains that these decisions often came during moments of pressure: wanting to grow quickly, dealing with client churn, or navigating tougher economic periods. In those moments, warning signs were present, but ignored.
The result? Short-lived client relationships that drained time, energy, and morale.
Why “bad fit” clients are so costly
Kirk is careful to define “bad” not as morally wrong, but simply misaligned. A poor fit client creates several hidden costs:
Emotional tax: Team members become drained by friction, conflict, and constant tension.
Time tax: More calls, more explanations, more conflict resolution.
Financial tax: Reduced profitability and, in some cases, refunded fees just to exit cleanly.
Over time, these costs compound and take focus away from clients where the agency can truly deliver value.
Red flags Kirk wishes he’d acted on sooner
Looking back at one particular client, Kirk shares several early warning signs he now takes far more seriously:
Emotionally immature communication during discovery
Aggressive or defensive reactions to pricing discussions
Lack of respect for the agency as a separate business with its own boundaries
A mindset that the agency exists solely to “serve” the client
These behaviors often signal deeper issues that surface later as unrealistic expectations and ongoing conflict.
Fit is about personality and expectations
Kirk emphasizes that fit isn’t only about whether someone is “nice.” You can have a pleasant contact who still isn’t a good match.
A major issue arises when clients expect PPC to outperform what the channel is realistically capable of delivering. If a business believes Google Ads alone should drive all growth — without brand, CRO, or other marketing channels — the relationship is set up to fail.
When expectations and reality don’t align, no amount of optimization will fix it.
The industry fit reality check
Some industries and client types simply aren’t a fit for every agency. Kirk openly shares that he avoids legal clients, not because they’re “bad,” but because the typical communication style and expectations don’t align with how he and his team work.
Fit is personal. Knowing who you don’t want to work with is just as important as knowing who you do.
The discovery process as a detective exercise
To solve the client-fit problem, Kirk overhauled his discovery process. Instead of selling first, he focuses on understanding.
Key areas he probes:
Why the prospect is looking for an agency now
How they believe PPC fits into their overall marketing strategy
Whether they understand trade-offs between scale and efficiency
What they disliked — and liked — about their previous agency
One standout question: “What’s something you liked about your last agency?” If a prospect can’t answer it, that’s often a signal of unrealistic expectations rather than poor past performance.
Asking better questions improves sales, too
Counterintuitively, Kirk says deeper discovery doesn’t hurt sales — it improves them. Prospects can sense genuine curiosity and alignment. By the time pricing is discussed, both sides already understand whether the relationship makes sense.
The result is fewer rushed decisions, fewer failed engagements, and far stronger long-term partnerships.
PPC isn’t a standalone growth strategy
Both Anu and Kirk reinforce a critical point: PPC cannot — and should not — carry an entire business on its own.
Paid search works best as part of a broader marketing ecosystem that includes brand, product, customer experience, and other channels. When clients expect PPC to do “all the heavy lifting,” it’s a structural problem, not a performance one.
Final thoughts: protect your team and yourself
The biggest takeaway from this episode is simple but powerful: vetting clients is a mental health strategy as much as a business one.
Strong discovery processes protect agencies, consultants, and in-house teams from burnout, resentment, and constant uphill battles. Saying “no” early can be far healthier — and more profitable — than saying “yes” to the wrong opportunity.
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Google is experimenting with showing third-party endorsement content directly within Search ads.
The test places short endorsements from external publishers under the ad description, including the third party’s name, logo, and favicon.
What’s showing up. The test was first spotted by Sarah Blocksidge, Marketing Director at Sixth City Marketing, who shared a screenshot on Mastodon. In the example, a Search ad included the line “Best for Frequent Travelers,” attributed to PCMag, complete with the publication’s favicon.
The endorsement appears directly beneath the ad copy, visually separating it from standard advertiser-written text.
Why we care. If rolled out more broadly, the change could make Search ads feel more like product reviews — and potentially give advertisers with strong third-party validation a new advantage in crowded auctions.
What Google says. A Google Ads spokesperson confirmed the test, calling it “a small experiment” –
“This is a small experiment we are currently running that explores placing third-party endorsement content on Search ads.”
Google did not provide details on eligibility, sourcing, advertiser controls, or how endorsements are selected.
What we don’t know yet. It’s unclear whether advertisers can opt into the feature, request specific endorsements, or influence which third-party sources appear. Google also hasn’t said whether the test is tied to existing review extensions, publisher partnerships, or broader trust and safety initiatives.
What to watch. If Google expands the experiment, third-party credibility could become a more visible factor in ad performance — shifting emphasis from advertiser claims to external validation at the point of search.
For now, the test appears limited, but it offers a glimpse at how Google may continue blending ads, trust signals, and editorial-style context in search results.
Google released v23 of the Google Ads API, the first update of 2026. It marks the start of a faster release cadence.
What’s new. The update adds deeper Performance Max reporting, more granular invoicing, AI-powered audience tools, expanded campaign controls, and more:
Performance Max transparency: Ad network type breakdowns are now available for PMax campaigns.
More detailed invoices: Campaign-level costs, regulatory fees, and adjustments can be retrieved via InvoiceService.
More precise scheduling: Campaigns can now use start and end date-times instead of date-only fields.
Local data access: Store location details are available through PerStoreView, matching the Stores report.
New audience dimension: LIFE_EVENT_USER_INTEREST enables life-event-based audience building in Insights tools.
Smarter Demand Gen planning: Conversion rate forecasts now vary by surface (e.g., Gmail, Shorts).
Generative AI audiences: Free-text audience descriptions can be translated into structured audience attributes.
Expanded Shopping metrics: New competitive and conversion metrics are available by conversion date.
Why we care. A faster update cycle lets advertisers and developers access new capabilities sooner, especially as Google pushes deeper into automation, AI-driven planning, and cross-campaign visibility.
Plan for upgrades. Some updates require upgrading client libraries and code, so teams may need to plan development time to fully benefit from v23.
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