In 2024 we have been bombarded with so many new powerful tools and features that it’s impossible to list all of them without missing some. With the arrival of AI 2024 was a transformative year for Google and marketers gained the opportunity to connect with audiences and achieve better results in brand new ways, never seen before.
Let’s try to cover as much of them as possible.
Enhance Measurement Tools:
Due to the new regulatory changes across the industry, Google were forced to introduce new solutions to help businesses maintain engagement and tracking. Here are some of the things they introduced:
- Google Ads Data Manager: Simplifies first-party data management by centralising controls and integrating with third-party platforms.
- Confidential Matching: Matches offline first-party data with Google data securely using confidential computing technology.
- Tag Diagnostics: Offers insights into tag health and troubleshooting within Google Tag Manager, Ads, and Analytics.
- Consent Mode Enhancements: Two new API parameters and simplified deployment with consent management platforms ensure seamless consent collection.
AI in Search Ads
AI has become an integral part of search ads by enhancing ad performance and placements.
- Ads in AI Overviews: Available on mobile in the US, these ads provide consumers with instant, relevant business connections.
- Shopping Ads via Google Lens: Capitalizes on over 20 billion monthly visual searches, making products more discoverable.
- Conversational Search Campaigns: Now expanded to Spanish, French, and German, these campaigns leverage Gemini AI models to optimise performance.
- Simplified Keyword Management: Features like brand exclusions and consolidated negative keyword handling streamline campaign efficiency.
PMax updates
Pmax campaigns, which are probably the most integrated types of ads with AI have continued to add more and more features and insights that will increase ROI and performance.
- Asset-Level Reporting: Shows the best-performing creative assets.
- Budget Pacing Insights: Monitors real-time spending alongside projected performance.
- Enhanced Audience Insights: Pinpoints new demographic opportunities.
- Final URL Expansion Experiments: Tests how expanded search queries impact campaign success.
Demand Gen
Being a relatively new way of advertisement demand gen also received enhancements such as creative preferences for better ad placements and reduced lookalike segment sizes, automated discounts, virtual try-ons that deliver smarter pricing strategies
YouTube Ads
On this front, storytelling and brand safety were the priority for 2024.
- First Position Ads: Allows brands to secure top ad spots dynamically across YouTube content.
- QR Codes for Connected TVs: Seamlessly bridges TV ads with mobile interactions.
- Creator Partnerships: Enables brands to integrate with trusted creators via BrandConnect and YouTube Shopping affiliate programs.
Display Network Enhancements
The Google Display Network expanded its reach with new inventory on platforms like X (formerly Twitter). AI-powered tools for animating images, resising assets, and enhancing resolution elevate the quality and effectiveness of display ads.
Creative Solutions
Generative AI has made the creation of assets a lot simpler across all campaigns. However, these features still need a lot of work and checks before everyone can use them without issues.
Overview
All in all, as the year was heavily influenced by Ai Google understood its importance and managed to integrate it in its systems to create a powerful and impactful way for marketers to deliver engaging and innovative ads. And with so many other new emerging platforms and innovation, Google will have to keep up with the progress so that it can stay on top as it has been for the last 20+ years.
Everything will keep evolving and the only way for us as professionals to stay on top of things is to adapt. There will be features that will work and some that won’t and will be eventually scrapped but we wouldn’t know what these are without testing. We can certainly say we are in a period where everyone is exploring new possibilities and learning what works and what doesn’t. Yet, there is still a long way to go, and everyone is excited to see what 2025 will bring!
