Microsoft is bringing experimentation to Performance Max campaigns, giving advertisers new ways to test campaign changes and measure incremental impact without disrupting live performance.
What’s new:
Uplift experiments let advertisers measure the incremental impact of Performance Max campaigns against a control group.
Upgrade experiments allow advertisers to compare an existing campaign with an upgraded Performance Max version before fully rolling out changes.
Both experiment types are available under Campaigns > Experiments for eligible accounts.
Why we care. Until now, Microsoft Ads experiments were limited to Search campaigns. Expanding testing to Performance Max gives advertisers a safer way to validate campaign changes, optimize performance, and make data-driven decisions before committing budget.
Between the lines. As experimentation expands, Microsoft has also renamed its existing experiment offering to Search optimization experiments, distinguishing it from the new Performance Max testing capabilities. The move reflects Microsoft’s broader push to provide advertisers with more sophisticated optimisation tools across automated campaign formats.
The bottom line. Microsoft is closing a key gap in its Performance Max offering by introducing dedicated experiment types, giving advertisers more confidence when testing upgrades and measuring the true impact of automated campaigns.
First spotted. The help docs were spotted by PPC News Feed founder, Hana Kobzová.
Google is updating the All Campaigns selector with a redesigned interface that makes it easier for advertisers to navigate large and complex account structures.
What’s happening. The new All Campaigns selector is rolling out across Google Ads, bringing a refreshed layout and improved navigation tools.
What’s new:
The selector has been moved to a new location in the interface.
Campaigns now appear in an expandable hierarchical view, making campaign groups and nested structures easier to browse.
A new search function lets advertisers quickly locate campaigns and campaign groups.
Why we care. The update could save time for advertisers managing large accounts by making it faster to navigate between campaigns, particularly in accounts with multiple campaign groups or complex organisational structures.
The bottom line. Google’s redesigned All Campaigns selector aims to streamline campaign management with a clearer hierarchy and built-in search, helping advertisers navigate complex accounts more efficiently.
First spotted. The update was identified by performance marketer Vivek Gupta on LinkedIn, and is rolling out gradually, so it may not yet be available in every Google Ads account.
Google is updating its advertising policy to clarify how it limits certain ads while estimating a user’s age, offering advertisers more transparency as it expands age assurance technology worldwide.
What’s happening. Google has renamed its Default Ads Treatment policy to “Categories restricted while Google is estimating a user’s age.” The change better reflects that the restrictions are temporary and only apply while Google’s systems determine a user’s age.
What’s changing:
The policy has a new name to more clearly describe its purpose.
Google has updated the policy language to emphasise that the restrictions are interim protections during the age estimation process.
Enforcement remains unchanged.
What’s different: Google has also narrowed the list of ad categories restricted during the age estimation process.
Previously, Google restricted ads for:
Adult content and pornography
Alcohol
Gambling
Shocking content
The updated policy now restricts only:
Adult content and pornography
Alcohol
Gambling
Why we care. The update doesn’t introduce new advertising restrictions, but it provides greater clarity on when and why certain ads may not be served. Advertisers in affected verticals can better understand that these limitations are tied to Google’s age estimation process rather than permanent policy changes.
The bottom line. Nothing changes for advertisers operationally, but Google’s updated policy makes it clearer that restrictions on adult, alcohol and gambling ads are temporary safeguards while a user’s age is being estimated.
Google is expanding measurement capabilities for YouTube brand campaigns, giving advertisers better visibility into how video ads drive engagement, brand interest, and downstream business outcomes.
What’s new:
Shorts Ad Actions for Video View Campaigns: Advertisers running Video View Campaigns that are opted into YouTube Shorts will now automatically benefit from Shorts Ad Actions in budget optimization. Google is also adding new reporting columns to measure these interactions.
Attributed Branded Searches: Now available globally in Google Ads, this new reporting metric measures branded Google searches that occur after users see or view a YouTube ad, helping advertisers quantify how awareness campaigns influence purchase intent.
Why we care. It can be hard for marketers to connect upper-funnel YouTube campaigns with measurable business outcomes. These updates provide stronger signals that link brand advertising to engagement and search intent, making it easier to justify brand investment and optimise campaigns.
By the numbers:
According to Google, YouTube Shorts ads that generated more than 10 seconds of watch time and a like delivered:
15% higher brand consideration
20% higher brand favourability, according to Google.
Google also says that every additional branded search generated is associated with an average $31 increase in sales.
Between the lines. Google continues to blur the distinction between brand and performance marketing by introducing metrics that connect awareness campaigns with downstream actions. Attributed Branded Searches, in particular, gives advertisers another way to demonstrate that YouTube campaigns can influence high-intent behaviour before a conversion takes place.
The bottom line. Google’s latest measurement updates help advertisers better prove the value of YouTube brand campaigns by linking video engagement and branded search activity to business outcomes—offering stronger evidence that upper-funnel advertising can drive measurable results.
Every PPC professional has a story they wish they could erase. For Danny Gavin, founder of Optidge, it wasn’t a failed bidding strategy or a campaign that overspent. It was something far simpler—and arguably much more painful.
Danny joined me on PPC Live The Podcast, to talk about the technical issue that meant leads generated through a landing page never reached the client. For one to two months, the campaigns continued delivering qualified prospects while the client believed nothing was working.
The mistake that no one spotted
At the time, Danny’s agency was still small, with just a handful of people managing client accounts. One client, an autism therapy provider, was seeing healthy campaign performance inside Google Ads.
Clicks were increasing. Cost per lead looked strong. Everything inside the platform suggested success.
Yet the client was becoming increasingly frustrated because no enquiries were arriving.
The problem wasn’t Google Ads.
It wasn’t the landing page.
It was the email notification system.
Every lead submitted through the form was successfully stored in the database, but a technical failure meant the notification emails stopped reaching the client. Since neither side realised the emails had failed, the issue continued unnoticed for weeks.
By the time the problem was discovered, dozens of leads had gone cold.
Why the emotional impact was worse than the technical problem
For Danny, the financial loss wasn’t the hardest part. The hardest part was feeling that his agency had let the client down. Because the client was someone he knew personally, the mistake felt deeply personal.
His team had spent weeks proudly reporting positive campaign performance while the client saw no return from their investment.That disconnect created feelings of guilt, regret and helplessness.
As Danny explained, it felt as though they had taken the client’s money without delivering value—even though the campaigns themselves had actually worked.
Honesty became the first step
When the problem became clear, there was no attempt to hide it. Danny believes honesty is the only viable response when mistakes happen.
Rather than making excuses, the agency investigated immediately, exported every lead stored in the database and supplied the client with everything they had recovered. While many of those opportunities had already gone cold, at least the client had access to the data that still existed.
From there, the focus shifted from blame to prevention.
Building systems that stop the same mistake happening twice
The experience fundamentally changed the agency’s processes.
Instead of relying on a single notification email, they introduced multiple safeguards, including:
CC’ing the agency into every lead notification.
Automatically logging every lead into a shared Google Sheet.
Regularly testing forms to confirm both submissions and notifications work correctly.
Routinely checking with clients that leads are actually being received.
These checks are now part of the agency’s standard operating procedures rather than assumptions that technology is working correctly.
Why communication matters as much as optimisation
Looking back, Danny believes the technical issue wasn’t the only problem. Communication also failed, no one had asked the simple question: “Are you actually receiving the leads?”
Today, communication is one of Optidge’s core values.
Rather than expecting PPC specialists to handle constant client communication alongside campaign management, the agency introduced dedicated account managers whose primary responsibility is keeping clients informed.
The lesson is simple – campaign metrics alone don’t define success.
Success only happens when the client experiences the results you’re reporting.
Sometimes clients remember how you responded
Initially, the relationship with the client ended. Danny assumed the mistake had permanently damaged any trust they had built.
Years later, however, the same client reached out again about potentially working together. In her email, she described Optidge as the most professional agency she had worked with. It reminded Danny that while clients don’t forget mistakes, they often remember how agencies respond to them.
Transparency, professionalism and genuine effort to improve can leave a stronger impression than perfection.
Common PPC mistakes Danny still sees today
Although the incident happened years ago, Danny believes many agencies continue making similar mistakes.
One of the biggest is focusing purely on traffic rather than business outcomes. Sending visitors is no longer enough.
Successful lead generation requires understanding what happens after someone clicks.
He regularly audits accounts where agencies fail to:
Feed qualified lead data back into advertising platforms.
Review search terms thoroughly and maintain negative keywords.
Build landing pages tailored to campaign intent.
Measure lead quality rather than simply counting conversions.
Without these fundamentals, campaign optimisation is based on incomplete information.
Where AI is genuinely helping lead generation
Danny believes AI has significant potential for lead generation—but not in the way many marketers expect.
One of the biggest opportunities is analysing phone calls.
Instead of manually listening to every conversation, AI can now:
Generate call transcripts.
Categorise calls by quality.
Identify whether a call became a genuine sales opportunity.
Help agencies feed qualified conversion data back into Google Ads.
This allows optimisation based on real business outcomes instead of surface-level metrics.
Google is giving Standard Shopping advertisers access to a bidding strategy that was previously tied to a Target ROAS goal, potentially reducing the need to use Performance Max solely for value-based bidding.
What’s happening. Google is rolling out Maximize Conversion Value bidding for Standard Shopping campaigns without requiring advertisers to set a Target ROAS.
Previously, advertisers looking to optimize for conversion value had to use a Target ROAS bidding strategy. The new option allows campaigns to maximize conversion value while giving Google’s bidding system more flexibility.
Why we care. Advertisers can now use Google’s value-based bidding without being constrained by a Target ROAS goal. This gives Standard Shopping campaigns more flexibility while preserving the control and transparency many advertisers prefer, potentially removing the need to run feed-only Performance Max campaigns just to access Maximize Conversion Value bidding.
Between the lines. Many advertisers have continued to favour Standard Shopping because it offers greater control and transparency than Performance Max. However, those wanting Google’s value-based bidding often created feed-only Performance Max campaigns simply to access Maximize Conversion Value bidding without a ROAS constraint.
With this update, that workaround may no longer be necessary.
Why advertisers should care. Advertisers can now combine the control of Standard Shopping with a more flexible value-based bidding strategy. For some accounts, it could simplify campaign structures and reduce reliance on feed-only Performance Max campaigns.
The bottom line. Google is narrowing one of the biggest feature gaps between Standard Shopping and Performance Max, giving advertisers another reason to stick with Standard Shopping while still benefiting from automated value-based bidding.
First spotted. This update was spotted by performance marketer Yash Mandlesha, who shared spotting the option on LinkedIn.
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