On January 5, Google removed all App campaign placement data from several reports within the Google Ads API and the AdWords API. “We made this change because the data provided didn’t fully represent the complete view of the placements that help developers monitor brand safety for their advertisers,” the company said in its announcement on February 28.

Why we care. Keeping an eye on where your ads show up can help you steer clear of unwanted placements and associations. If you’re looking for App campaign placement information in the reports (mentioned below), it won’t be there. Instead, Google advises that you reference the App Campaigns Brand Safety Placement report, which can be accessed via the Google Ads UI.

Where the data was removed from. Google removed App campaign placement data from the Google Ads API’s Group Placement View and Detail Placement View reports.

App campaign data was also removed from the AdWords API’s Automatic Placements Performance and Placement Performance reports.

AdWords API is on the way out. The legacy AdWords API is scheduled for deprecation on April 27. Developers must migrate over to the Google Ads API before then.

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Google AdSense will separate YouTube earnings into its own AdSense for YouTube homepage and payments account, the company announced Wednesday. The change will begin in March and roll out over the following months.

YouTube publishers were first made aware of this change in an email sent by Google in January.

Why we care. Soon, YouTube earnings will no longer appear alongside AdSense earnings. Making note of this change and alerting colleagues and/or stakeholders will help eliminate confusion when the change rolls out.

AdSense publishers aren’t actually earning less, those earnings are simply being reorganized. Unfortunately for some, it may take longer to reach the payment thresholds since AdSense and YouTube now each have their own threshold.

Separate payment thresholds. YouTube earnings will be bucketed into its own payments account, meaning that YouTube and AdSense payments accounts will have separate payment thresholds. This could affect payment timing for some as it may take more time to reach the payment threshold.

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Google AdSense publishers have been complaining this morning that the report that shows their estimated earnings on the AdSense console overview page is wrong and significantly lower than what is expected. It seems there is some sort of bug with the report on the overview page, but the reports within the reporting tab seem to be more aligned with expected publisher earnings.

The complaints. There are a number of complaints in the AdSense forums that have concerned publishers worried that something is wrong and their AdSense earnings have dropped significantly from what they normally see on a daily or monthly basis. There is one thread that has the most detail, which can be found over here.

A top contributor, not a Google employee but a volunteer recognized by Google as someone who is helpful in the forums, wrote “Looks like there are issues with the statistics on the main dashboard page (it’s happening to my account too): go to the Reports tab which seems to be showing the accurate figures.”

Don’t panic. There is no need to panic, just yet, it seems like this is a widespread issue where many publishers are waking up to these reporting glitches. Google has yet to confirm that there is a bug but it seems like the reports are not all matching up and there may be some reporting pipeline delay.

Why we care. If you noticed your AdSense earnings are unusually low this morning from the overview page report, you are not alone. Dig into the reporting tab to confirm the estimated earnings look accurate and you can alway reach out to AdSense support for help.

We have yet to receive a confirmation from Google on the issue, but if and when we do, we will update this story.

Postscript. Google has confirmed the issue over here saying “We’re aware of a problem with AdSense affecting a majority of users. We will provide an update by Feb 23, 2022, 7:00 PM UTC detailing when we expect to resolve the problem. Please note that this resolution time is an estimate and may change. The affected users are able to access AdSense, but may not have access to the most recent data. AdSense is currently double-counting metrics when using the Sites dimension / breakdown.”

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The Supreme Court of Georgia has rejected an attempt by Edible Arrangements to sue Google for theft, conversion, and racketeering. This legal fight dates back to 2018, when Edible Arrangements, which sells fruit baskets, platters and other treats, filed a federal lawsuit against Google for trademark infringement and unfair competition.

The claim. Edible IP, which owns the trademarks and intellectual property of Edible Arrangements, claimed that Google selling the keyword “Edible Arrangements” to competitors violates Georgia law. Edible said Google began auctioning the “Edible Arrangements” keyword to advertisers in “approximately 2011.” 

This amounted to “theft” because Google never contracted with Edible IP for the right to use the Edible Arrangements name. The Georgia case was not about trademark infringement. It was about Google directly selling its name and “goodwill” to competitors.

One other thing to note is Google’s Advertising Policies Help page, which states: “We don’t investigate or restrict trademarks as keywords.” That means anyone can bid on your branded terms.

The decision. Not surprisingly, the court sided with Google. Selling keywords doesn’t rise to the level of theft. According to the ruling:

“… trade names are only protected from use by others to the extent that such use is deceptive or there is a likelihood of confusion by the public. … The common law likewise does not provide a basis for Edible IP’s civil theft claim. Under the common law, a cause of action based on the use of a trademark or trade name has also generally been predicated on either an intent to cause consumer confusion or the likelihood of creating confusion or misunderstanding.”

EDIBLE IP, LLC v. GOOGLE, LLC

In short, Edible IP failed to argue that Google’s usage of the Edible name led to any consumer confusion or that Google had any intention to deceive the public, according to the court.

You can read the full ruling here.

Why we care. If you work for a brand or business and find yourself in a similar situation where others are using your trademark or name as keywords on Google Ads, the odds are not going to be in your favor. Google has faced and won numerous (though not all) cases involving trademarks over the years. This ruling doesn’t change anything in how Google Ads works or you do your day-to-day job, but this is a good reminder that it’s always important to understand what keywords you can and can’t use in your search ads. 

Here’s some past Search Engine Land coverage of similar cases:

• Google To Allow Trademarks To Be Used In AdWords Copy In US (2009)
• Google Wins Legal Battle Over AdWords Trademark Issue In Europe (2010)
• Google And Rosetta Stone Agree To Settle Suit Over Trademarked Keywords (2012)
• Interflora Wins Five-Year Battle Over Google AdWords Trademark Infringement (2013)

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Facebook estimates that, in aggregate, it is now underreporting iOS web conversions by approximately 8%, down from the 15% in September 2021. The company cited increased adoption of best practices as the main reason for this improvement.

Why we care. While this figure can vary for individual advertisers, 8% is roughly half of 15%, meaning that iOS conversion reporting has gotten a lot better for Facebook advertisers. Still, it’s not completely accurate, which could mean that conversions may be higher than reported for some businesses.

In addition, Facebook expects some degree of underreporting to remain as part of its baseline.

Why Facebook is underreporting. The social media company has cited Apple’s iOS privacy changes as one reason for its diminished reporting capabilities. App Tracking Transparency enables iOS users to request that apps not track their activity, which limits Facebook’s (and other apps’)  ability to track users for advertising purposes.

Facebook has been very vocal about its opposition to Apple’s privacy measures and has even ran full-page newspaper ads against the changes.

Recommendations for better web conversion campaign reporting. For more accurate conversion reporting, Facebook recommends that advertisers running web conversion campaigns:

• Integrate with the Conversions API – This can create a direct connection between your marketing data (from your server, website platform or CRM) and Facebook.
• Verify all domains – This can be especially important for conversions across multiple domains (i.e., websites that use redirectors or geo-redirects).
• Allow enough time before analyzing campaign performance – Due to the nature of delayed data and modeled reporting, Facebook recommends waiting at least 72 hours (or the full length of the optimization window you’ve selected) before evaluating performance.
• Align conversion events with campaign priorities – The order of your events in Event Manager should reflect your priorities (e.g., if purchases are your most valuable goal, ensure that purchases are in the number one position).

Recommendations for better app conversion campaign reporting. For those running app conversion campaigns, Facebook recommends:

• Using a 24-hour conversion window – This helps Facebook’s systems optimize for faster and more predictable feedback cycles.
• Optimizing for your business objective – Miscategorizing your objective can make it more difficult for Facebook to optimize for that objective.

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Snapchat is launching mid-roll ads for Snap Star Stories, the company announced Monday. The new, attributable ad product is currently in closed beta and the company expects to roll it out more widely later this year.

Why we care. This new feature gives advertisers another product they can use to reach potential customers. Being able to tie conversions from these ads to a given creator also helps advertisers understand their ROI.

Since creators will get a slice of the revenue generated by their mid-roll Snap Stories, the format might encourage more adoption among influencers, which could, in turn, also increase user engagement and adoption.

What is a Snap Star? This is a term used to describe Snapchat’s verified users. Eligibility is determined by factors such as account engagement, Stories for a public audience, authenticity, content quality and adherence to Snapchat’s community guidelines and terms of service.

What are Snap Stories? Snap Stories are a collection of Snaps that play in the order they were taken. Snap Stories are only available for 24 hours.

The new mid-roll ads would play in between Snap Stories for verified creators.

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Microsoft Advertising has launched in 29 more countries in Europe and Africa, the company announced Monday. This expansion will increase the platform’s reach by 41 million customers, adding 400 million monthly searches on Microsoft and partner sites, according to the company.

Why we care. Advertisers that use Microsoft Advertising can now reach potential customers in 29 new markets. This update may make Microsoft Advertising more attractive to advertisers that sell products or services internationally.

The company plans to continue expanding throughout 2022 by launching in new markets in Latin America, the Middle East, Africa and Asia.

The new markets. Beginning today, the following markets are available on Microsoft Advertising: Albania, Andorra, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Latvia, Lichtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Poland, Portugal, Romania, San Marino, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Turkey and the Vatican City.

As such, Microsoft Advertising will also support the following languages: Albanian, Bosnian, Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, Estonian, Greek, Hungarian, Icelandic, Latvian, Lithuanian, Macedonian, Maltese, Polish, Romanian, Serbian, Slovak, Slovenian and Turkish.

Supported products and ad formats. In each new market, Microsoft Advertising will support: text ads, Responsive Search Ads, Dynamic Search Ads, Shopping Campaigns, audience targeting (age, demographic, location, device), remarketing, Dynamic Remarketing, automated bidding (maximum clicks, maximum conversions, target cost per acquisition (CPA) and target return on ad spend (ROAS)), Universal Event Tracking (UET) and Conversion Tracking.

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