The Google Ad Error Message Nobody Wanted to See

A terrifying error message on Google Ads' platform is causing nightmares for marketers. Will machine learning eventually control everything about our Facebook ads? Andrew Foxwell weighs in. And more!

January 07, 2022

AUDIO MARKETING: Spotify Makes It Easier for Listeners To Act On Ads 

Image: Spotify

Spotify has announced a new way for advertisers to target podcast listeners with a new ‘call-to-action’ ad card feature.

The ads will include:

  • An image

  • Customizable text

  • Clickable buttons

 Quoting the company:  

CTA cards will appear in the app as soon as a podcast ad begins playing, and will resurface later on while you’re exploring the Spotify app—making it easier to check out the brand, product, or service you heard about while listening. CTA cards will make it easier for you to directly discover the products and services you’re interested in without having a hard-to-remember promo code or vanity URL.

… We’re making podcast ads interactive for the first time, transforming the format from something that can only be heard, into an experience that you can also see — and, most importantly, click.

Additionally, advertisers will be able to access analytics based on confirmed ad impressions.

As ads are the least favourite part of Spotify, this may be a way to make advertisements feel less intrusive. 

They're starting with this new ad product today in the U.S. — for now, the ads will only appear on their own Spotify Original & Exclusive podcasts, but plan to open it to more inventory later.

ONLINE ADS: Two Significant Meta Platform Ad Changes

Image: Canva

There are a couple of significant changes to Meta's ad platform to let you know about.

First, Instagram has made two updates to video ads:

1. You can now create ads from existing Instagram videos. 

  • After you upload a video select "Use Existing Post" within the Ad Setup section and choose the video.

2. A new range of aspect ratios will be supported for video ads in Instagram Feed and Instagram Explore.

Second, advertisers can now use Automated Lookalike (LAL) Audiences in addition to their retargeting.

Previously, advertisers were using retargeting with Dynamic Ads to remind people about products they've previously browsed or purchased, and may have seen a decrease to their retargeting audience size as more people are opting out of app tracking with iOS 14.5+.

So what does it do?

Quoting the company:

When you turn on the automated lookalike audience option, it will automatically create a lookalike audience based on your retargeting selections. If you choose to not use the automated lookalike audience you may see a decrease in your audience size.

PPC: Google Ads Error Could Be an Advertiser’s Worst Nightmare

Image: Canva

Who could blame you if you jumped off your chair this morning, when you saw the error message in Google Ads reading “Broad match keywords are on. Keywords will be saved as broad match" — an error message that came up when you tried to enter "exact match" keywords.

I'm sorry, what?! 

Because broad match is pretty much the opposite of what advertisers want when using exact match keywords. 

One user yesterday tweeted Google after seeing the alert and asked "where are you hiding these new settings so I can keep my client's account from spending on BS keyword variations?"

Where indeed, Google? Well, turns out, it was just a bug.

Google replied to that tweet saying:

This message is an error that we are working to remove. The message was intended for a potential opt-in experiment, but it has no impact on how keywords are saved or the traffic to which these keywords match. Our apologies for the confusion.

COOKIES: One Button To Reject Them All

Image: Canva

You know that dumb privacy banner on all web sites nowadays asking you to accept cookies? The Accept button is easy. But the Reject Cookies button is buried under a bunch of clicks asking you to turn off different groupings or some other nonsense.

Well, the French think it's dumb too. And now, both Google and Facebook are being fined for making it too confusing for consumers to reject browser cookies. 

France's data protection agency has fined Google $170 million and Facebook $68 million because "refusing cookies should be as easy as accepting them."

According to EU law, when citizens give up their data online, they must do so with a full understanding of the choice they are making. 

The agency believes that tech giants are tricking users by using manipulative "dark patterns" to get them to accept cookies. 

Image: CNIL

Quoting the agency: 

The websites offer a button allowing the user to immediately accept cookies. However, they do not provide an equivalent solution enabling the Internet user to easily refuse the deposit of these cookies. Several clicks are required to refuse all cookies, against a single one to accept them…

There is a 3-month deadline to change the ways of the companies in France.

WORDPRESS: Core Vulnerabilities Puts Millions of Sites at Risk

Image: Canva

The popular CMS WordPress has announced high threat level vulnerabilities and is advising that users update their sites immediately. 

The company said four vulnerabilities have been patched that are rated as high as 8 on a scale of 1 to 10. 

Usually, we see these in plugins. But in this case, the vulnerabilities are in the WordPress core.

Since the vulnerabilities are now public, it is important for users to update their WordPress installations to the latest version, which is 5.8.3.

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