A lot of exciting updates at Google This Week with Performance Max Campaigns getting support in Data Studio, updates to Google’s Advertiser Verification Program, Google Search Console launching URL Inspection API, new January 2022 features and updates to Google Display & Video 360, and more.
ICYMI, here’s what happened at Google This Week.
- Expanded SafeSearch Google Document
- Google Search Console Launches URL Inspection API
- Recommendations Roll Out To Google Ads Discovery campaigns
- Auto-Tagging For Free Listings Now Available On Google Merchant Center
- Updates In Google Search Console Error Reporting For Breadcrumbs And HowTo Structured Data
- Update To Google’s Advertiser Verification Program
- Google Display & Video 360 New Homepage Workspace And Custom Bidding Reference Panel
- Google Campaign Manager 360 Deprecating WEBM Transcodes And Floodlight Activities In Bulk
- New January 2022 Features And Updates To Google Display & Video 360
- Performance Max Campaigns Get Support In Data Studio
- Google Search Console In Google Search Results
- How Reviews On Google Maps Work
Expanded SafeSearch Google Document
Google published a new SafeSearch help document that merges together all the SafeSearch details into one document, explaining how it works, how to see if SafeSearch is filtering out your site’s content and how to optimise your site for SafeSearch.
It also goes through the metadata you can use with SafeSearch, as well as how to group your explicit content on your site into sections on your site for Google to better understand it. Finally, there is also a troubleshooting section at the bottom of the document.
Google Search Console Launches URL Inspection API
Google announced the launch of a new URL Inspection API which allows an outside app to interact with Google’s search console and provide URL inspection data, giving programmatic access to URL-level data for properties you manage in Search Console.
The URL inspection API has limits, so you can’t just run it on every URL on every site in a single day. The API has a 2,000 queries per day and 600 queries per minute limit. So don’t expect URL inspection API to run against your whole entire one-million page website today. You will have to queue things up or run it on as needed basis.
Recommendations Roll Out To Google Ads Discovery campaigns
Google Ads has added recommendations to Discovery campaigns. In addition, the ability to automatically apply recommendations has rolled out to manager accounts and the platform is also adding more recommendations for Video campaigns.
When turned on, this feature automatically applies all recommendation types that have been selected as new recommendations become available.
Auto-Tagging For Free Listings Now Available On Google Merchant Center
Auto-tagging for free listings is now available in Google Merchant Center. With auto-tagging your product listing and local product listing, auto-tagging adds a bit of additional information — a parameter called “result id” — to the URLs people click through.
When used together with a third-party web analytics tool (like Google Analytics), this will allow you to see how effectively your free listings and free local listings lead to valuable customer activity, such as purchases. You can enable auto-tagging in your Merchant Center account under “Conversion settings”.
Updates In Google Search Console Error Reporting For Breadcrumbs And HowTo Structured Data
Google recently made changes to the way it handles Breadcrumbs and HowTo structured data within Google Search Console’s reporting tools.
This may result in seeing more or less errors in Breadcrumbs, HowTo structured data Search Console enhancement, and error reports.
Update To Google’s Advertiser Verification Program
According to an email sent by Google to advertisers, Google Ads will merge its advertising identify and business operation verification programs into a unified advertising verification program in March.
Under the new program, advertisers will be asked to initiate the verification process within 30 days, and will have another 30 days to complete all the requested verification requirements, which may comprise multiple steps, including verifying their identity, their business operations or both.
Google Display & Video 360 New Homepage Workspace And Custom Bidding Reference Panel
Google Display & Video 360 teases a reference panel will be available while creating custom bidding scripts.
Google also highlights a daily dynamic workspace will be added to the Display & Video 360 homepage, allowing for a quick review of important insertion orders.
Google Campaign Manager 360 Deprecating WEBM Transcodes And Floodlight Activities In Bulk
Google teases new updates with deprecating redundant WEBM video transcodes for in-stream video in Campaign Manager 360 that were often not supported by publishers.
A Bulk Sheet button has been added to the Floodlight > Activities page so you can download Floodlight activities as a spreadsheet, edit offline, and upload activities in bulk.
New January 2022 Features And Updates To Google Display & Video 360
Google Display & Video 360 announced new features and updates with workflow improvements for line items & insertion order overviews, update to YouTube & partners video line item categories, web environment targeting update, and new notification panel.
New YouTube line item types:
Product and brand consideration (renamed from “Brand awareness“). Compatible with CPV bid strategy:
- In-stream or in-feed video ads
- Ad sequence with CPV bid strategy only
Brand awareness and reach (renamed from “Reach”). Compatible with target CPM bid strategy:
- Efficient reach (bumper, skippable in-stream)
- Non-skippable ads
- Ad sequence with target CPM bid strategy only
Performance Max Campaigns Get Support In Data Studio
Google continues its streak of updates as Performance Max campaigns can now be included in Data Studio reports providing an easily accessible, real-time view of associated performance metrics, Ginny Marvin, ads product liaison at Google, announced via Twitter.
Google Search Console In Google Search Results
Google announced on Twitter that Google Search Console in Google Search results feature will also support domain properties which means you can start seeing Google Search Console snapshot in search results.
When this snapshot card launched, it worked for all the verification methods Google Search Console initially supported. But when Google released domain properties the following year, the snapshot was not supported for that verification method. Now Google is supporting displaying the Search Console snapshot for domain properties.
How Reviews On Google Maps Work
Google has published an explainer that offers insights into how Google handles reviews on Google Maps which includes details about how Google develops and enforces policies and the role of machines and humans in content moderation.
To determine whether a review might violate policy, Google’s machine learning-powered moderation systems evaluate reviews from multiple angles, such as:
- Whether the review contains offensive or off-topic content.
- Whether the account that left the review has any history of suspicious behaviour.
- Whether there has been uncharacteristic activity at the place or business being reviewed (e.g., an abundance of reviews over a short period of time or whether the location recently received media attention that might motivate people to leave fake reviews).
Thank You for Reading
Have you noticed Google Search Console’s URL Inspection API or any other changes from Google this week?
Check back next Friday for the latest from Google This Week.
