Google Ads will phase out the option to use enhanced cost-per-click (eCPC) for new Search and Display campaigns starting in October. Key dates: October: eCPC option removed for new campaigns. March 2025: All remaining eCPC campaigns transitioned to Manual CPC. Why we care. ECPC is the most light touch of automated bid strategies, so it…
AI winter is a term that describes funding cuts in research and development of artificial intelligence systems. This usually follows after a period of overhype and under-delivery in the expectations of AI systems capabilities. Does this sound like today’s AI? Over the past few months, we’ve observed several key generative AI systems failing to meet the…
Publishers impacted by recent Google algorithm updates might never fully recover to previous traffic levels. That’s one thing that stood out to me in a newly published interview with Google Search Liasion Danny Sullivan, conducted by Barry Schwartz. Ranking improvements possible? Schwartz pointed out examples of websites impacted by recent Google algorithm updates to Sullivan….
Google Ads will automatically opt new accounts out of serving ads on parked domains, starting in October. A parked domain is basically a placeholder web address. It’s been registered, but typically it has little or no content and sometimes shows ads. Why we care. This update allows advertisers to avoid wasting budget on low-value ad…
Asked to describe his work for a lay audience, Allan Shtofenmakher responds with an unexpected question: “Have you ever seen the movie ‘Wall-E?’” Recalling that the 2008 Disney-Pixar movie’s view of Earth from space was “brown and dusty and just surrounded by tons and tons of space junk,” he cautions, “If we’re not good stewards…
Sam Madden, the College of Computing Distinguished Professor of Computing at MIT, has been named the new faculty head of computer science in the MIT Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS), effective Aug. 1. Madden succeeds Arvind, a longtime MIT professor and prolific computer scientist, who passed away in June. “Sam’s research…
Google Ads rolled out a new feature under its Insights page called Unintended Consequences. This card is designed to alert you about potential issues within your campaigns, such as ads being displayed to irrelevant audiences or appearing in unintended locations. Why we care. The Unintended Consequences card provides you with critical insights into how your…
Google Ads will enforce stricter rules starting in November under its Circumventing Systems policy, specifically targeting advertisers in the Gambling and Games sector. Advertisers with a Gambling and Games certification must undergo recertification if their business has significantly changed since their original certification. Why we care. This update means that any significant changes to an…
Product-focused, keyword-only campaigns are a common type of campaign used in Google Ads. If you sell vintage T-shirts for women, you might set up standalone keyword campaigns based on the keyword “vintage T-shirts women.” For many B2C retailers, this approach works well. But for others, product-based, keyword-focused campaigns aren’t necessarily your best strategy. We inherited the…
With the emergence of conversational AI models like ChatGPT, there is an increasingly loud debate about how the future of search and information retrieval could evolve. Traditional search engines like Google have long been the primary method for accessing information on the web. Now, advanced AI models offer a new approach to finding and retrieving…
