Users of Google Ads know that the functionality of the tool is constantly changing. There are two primary reasons for this. Firstly, as Google’s privacy policy changes they sometimes change the click data they give users access to. Secondly, because Google Ads is a free tool, Google often takes a number of liberties when testing changes with its functionality.
Google’s latest change to Google Ads seems to be part of the latter reason. Although this time it’s quite evident that they got one of their previous test measures wrong. Due at least partly to a uproar amongst the users, the Rotate Indefinitely option has been reinstated after only a couple months off.
Impression share metrics have also been tweaked slightly to increase the usability of the tool, and make data analysis easier.
Rotate Indefinitely
The rotate indefinitely option allows users to show lower performing adverts in their campaign as often as the higher performing adverts. This option was in contrast to optimising adverts around clicks and optimising around impressions, which both delivered higher valued clicks, rather than rotating evenly.
Google argued that they removed the option because it caused higher overall click costs and made the adverts appear in lower positions. The function of Rotate Indefinitely that Google obviously missed was its potential as advert testing tool that required very little administration.
The opt-out form for the current Rotate Evenly option will now be taken away and campaigns set to that will be automatically switched to Rotate Indefinitely at the end of October. The option will still be under the Settings/Advanced section though.
Impression Share
The Impression Share (IS) ratio reflects the percentage of impressions you have for a specific keyword. It’s a calculation of the number of impressions, divided by the impressions you were eligible for. Eligibility is calculated according to your various targeting settings, quality scores, bid values and range of other subtle metrics.
The Google Ads tool will now have additional columns in the reports that allows users to see the display impression share and search impression share, in addition to some other slight adjustments. This will let users segment by hours of the day and assess advert coverage as well as create the usual range of graphs and charts based on this new data variable.
As Google Ads develop, one can hope that Google will begin to get a much better feel for what users really value in the tool and what they could do without. As evidenced, it may take a little trial and error but in the mean time, it is comforting to know that at least they’re listening.