Ads in AI Overviews, PMAX for TikTok, SEO for answer engines, and more…

It's apple-picking season, and if you're looking for something juicy (albeit rotten right to the core), have I got the picks for you. G and T are fighting lawsuits and building black boxes, and we advertisers are just trying to keep up. Allow me to break the drama down for you and provide some order amongst the chaos. First, let's dish about G…

Welp, we all knew this was coming. According to Google, they've "found that people who engage with AI Overviews (AIOs) are more satisfied with their search results, and find ads appearing above and below the overview helpful." So it sounds like AOIs will become the new coveted top-of-search ad placement that all the girls are dying to get. Both search and shopping ads can appear in AIOs when the ad is relevant to both the query and the response Google's AI provides. You can check out an example of shopping ads in an AIO response in Google's article. The ads are only running on mobile for now. Currently, there's no way to target or segment clicks from AIOs. But according to PPC expert Nils Rooijmans…

Nils is on a mission to 'open up the black box' that is Google Ads in AI Overviews. Google doesn't tell you which of your clicks come from AIOs, from standard search, from search partners… they just attribute the click to the ad. But he thinks we can get answers from the gad_source URL parameter, which "is used to identify the source of ads URLs and improve the accuracy of ads conversion measurement." Could this parameter give search marketers the answers they've been longing for? Follow his investigation to find out. And in other Google AI news…

The AI takeover continues… This one does seem quite helpful, though. Now, Google's AI will organize the SERP to provide the best possible answers and helpful links related to users' searches. The search results page will include a mix of articles, videos, forums, and more. You can see an example of what these mobile SERPs look like here. Now, let's get into the real G tea…

My dear readers all know that Google was found guilty of illegally monopolizing search a few months ago, but no punishment has been doled out yet. This week, the DOJ submitted proposed remedies to end the monopoly and suggested that Google be prohibited from using its products, like Chrome and Android, to give its search business an unfair advantage. They didn't exactly say Google has to divest, but they are proposing 'structural changes.' Google pushed back in a blog post, saying a breakup would harm data privacy, AI innovation, would give small businesses a disadvantage in the ad market, etc. Feeling a little threatened, eh? The next step is for Google to provide a detailed response to the DOJ's recs and return it to the courtroom next year. So it'll be a while before anything changes, but when it does, I'll let you know. In my final bit of search news…

So like, what's an answer engine? Basically, it's a search tool that responds directly to questions rather than providing a list of links to websites that might answer the question. Perplexity, ChatGPT, and Google AIOs are all examples of this type of LLM-powered engine. The data shows that we're moving toward a world of zero-click search, but these new engines will still crawl your site for answers, so you'll want to make sure they make your brand look good. Check out this SEO guide to optimizing for answer engines and generative search to ensure you're ahead of the curve. Now for some social news…

On Monday, TikTok announced Smart+, "a new, AI-powered performance solution designed to maximize returns by automating campaign management across targeting, bidding, and creative." All you have to do is provide assets, a budget, and an efficiency goal, and TikTok will do the rest. Sounds great, except for the fact that all these ad platforms are starting to do my job for me…

There's GMV Max, which automates TikTok Shop campaign creation, Out of Phone, an in-store advertising solution, Conversion lift studies, and privacy-enhancing integrations with third-party providers. You can get the details on all these new tools here. And in my last bit of TikTok tea…

Between the black box automation and the constant lawsuits, they're really taking a page out of Google's book… Thirteen US states and the District of Columbia are suing TikTok for harming its young users. According to Reuters, "The states accuse TikTok of using intentionally addictive software designed to keep children watching as long and often as possible and misrepresenting its content moderation effectiveness." We all know TikTok is addictive AF, so IDK how they will weasel their way out of this one. Probably just by, ya know, having a lot of money… sigh. TikTok rejected all the claims in a court filing on Monday, so we'll have to see how this legal battle pans out (if TikTok doesn't get banned first). Now, let's wrap it up with some good news for ecom marketers…

If you're an Amazon multi-channel fulfillment merchant, you'll soon be able to link your websites to Google's Merchant Center. This should make life easier for MCF merchants in a ton of ways. The main takeaway is that MCF merchants will be able to offer free, fast shipping in their Google Shopping ads, which should lead to more clicks and conversions. If you're an MCF merchant, check out the details here.

And that's all for now. Time to wrap up work and start decompressing for the weekend. Until next week, remember to stay informed but also protect your peace. I'll be back next Friday to break down all the fresh drama for you, so don't worry, darlings.

You know you love me.

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