From an overview of our July performance metrics, to the exciting developments shaping the landscape of digital advertising, the following snapshot speaks to a month of innovation and growth in the world of Google Ads.
July Google Ads Performance
MoM Performance: Impressions, cost, and clicks all increased by 5-10% compared to June, indicating consumer appetite is healthy, despite tough economic conditions. However, revenue saw a slight drop of 6%. This trend towards window-shopping could be attributed to dwindling stock as end-of-season sales come to a close. Additionally, the drop in revenue primarily affected Brand revenue, which may be linked to Performance Max (PMax) campaigns being the main revenue driver.
YoY Comparison: Year-over-year, we saw a positive increase of at least 5% in cost, impressions, clicks, and click-through rate (CTR). Conversely, revenue decreased by 4%.
Top Revenue Drivers: In July, revenue generation was largely driven by PMax campaigns and, notably, by Generic Search. This may be due to Brand search ads appearing within PMax campaigns, where, if a PMax ad isn't shown, a Generic text ad appears as a substitute, and vice versa.
Google Platform Updates
In July, Google announced several significant updates affecting Google Ads and the broader Google ecosystem:
Third-Party Cookies: Google will not phase out third-party cookies as previously planned. Instead, a new privacy experience will be introduced in Chrome. This shift marks a major change in Google's privacy strategy and comes as a relief to many in the advertising industry who were scrambling to prepare for a cookie-less future.
Ad Creation Integration: Google is integrating Merchant Center with Google Ads, allowing advertisers to use existing product images directly in Google Ads’ AI image editor. This makes it easier to create high-quality visual assets for campaigns.
Digital Advertising Trends: According to new data from Skai, digital advertising spend increased in retail media and paid search during Q2 2024, despite rising ad prices. Conversion rates have remained steady, suggesting that opportunities still exist for advertisers who adapt to the evolving landscape. Google search advertisers increased their budgets by 14% year-over-year in Q2, down from 17% in the previous quarter. Shopping ads saw a 16% increase, while click-through rates for text ads declined.
For more information on the latest Google updates, contact your strategist or email hello@ph.digital.