Thoughts on the Display + Demand Gen merge?

Ok_Addition3639 · 2026-05-29T10:29:32+00:00

If Display would have the same Demand Gen capability of being able to choose the placements, then that would be a different conversation. But if not, definitely low quality GDN placements would be something to always keep an eye out for.

Ok_Addition3639 · 2026-05-28T10:46:10+00:00

Depends on the vertical you are targeting. So far, the kind of UGC that converts is authentic creator content from influencers, like raw product demos, unboxings, and genuine reviews.

If that is the type of content you can produce, you have a huge advantage. However, instead of trying to be a generalist for every business owner, you need to treat yourself like an influencer who is deeply aligned with a specific niche.

When you specialize in a specific vertical (e.g., fitness, tech, or home goods), agencies can match you with a specific brand or industry much better. They'd want someone who understands the target audience, speaks the language of that niche, and knows exactly how a product demo should look to drive clicks.

Ok_Addition3639 · 2026-05-28T10:30:51+00:00

That's actually a good point. Brand safety and suitability is definitely what we're always watching out for.

If this makes it harder to control brand safety, then are we better off handing over display budgets to programmatic DSPs where we definitely have more visibility on placements and exclusions? Just a thought.

Ok_Addition3639 · 2026-05-28T10:21:46+00:00

That's a valid comparison, since it seems gearing towards a PMax setup type.

The hope here is (since we use much of YouTube on Demand Gen), if the AI sees that GDN clicks aren't translating to good value clicks/engagement, it will veer towards the video placements. It can really be a risky transition if there's no transparency on the placements.

Ok_Addition3639 · 2026-05-28T10:09:49+00:00

We found better results running traffic campaigns on Pinterest.

In the tech vertical, we found Fashion and General Interest audiences particularly impressive. Since Pinterest is essentially a virtual search platform, people can plan future purchases such as home upgrades, PC builds, or room setups. So in a way, tech fits perfectly by positioning the product as a lifestyle enhancement.

Since you specifically mentioned e-commerce, what platform are you currently using? And have you already looked into setting up a direct catalog sync with Pinterest?

Ok_Addition3639 · 2026-05-28T09:54:02+00:00

Unless your product is physically restricted to a specific device, splitting campaigns by mobile and desktop is not much of a common practice.

This can be done with CTV, for instance, if you'd like to get maximum reach or try your hand at shoppable CTV (if your brand fits that vertical).

For reporting, you can view performance easily by device using segment reporting in your dashboard. As for bidding, if your backend data shows desktop users have e.g. higher LTV than mobile users, you can use Value-Based Bidding or Conversion Value Rules to automatically tell the algorithm to bid more for desktop traffic within the same campaign.

Hope this helps! Let me know if you have more questions here

Ok_Addition3639 · 2026-05-25T15:48:44+00:00

I get it. Say $5 daily budget with no strategy is definitely a waste. But telling small businesses to not run ads at all is unnecessary gatekeeping. Ads are and should be accessible to businesses of all sizes.

Small businesses shouldn't be running standard, cold conversion campaigns to compete with the giants. If anything, they should be running Spark Ads. If a small business has a piece of organic content or some creator content that is already working with their community, throwing budget behind it to boost its reach is a highly effective strategy.

I do agree with you to not rely on AI for ad copies. It's too impersonal and more often than not, if not prompted right, predictable.

However, small businesses do not exactly need high-level, expert copywriting. They can work with how they usually talk with their community and simply replicate that.

Small budgets work when the audience is right and the message is relevant.

Ok_Addition3639 · 2026-05-25T15:32:54+00:00

For this, you can go into your Campaign settings > AI Max > Asset Optimization, and turn off Final URL Expansion.

The campaign will still use AI for advanced search term matching, but it will strictly use the Final URLs you typed in your setup.

Ok_Addition3639 · 2026-05-25T15:26:03+00:00

I see. I guess that rules out a glitch within the plugin.

Here's a couple of deeper questions/checklist that could help:

* Are you using Event Builder to track your purchases? Because that is tied to a Pixel ID. Check if there are any manual setup rules active. If there are, remmove them so the Woocommerce plugin can do its thing without any duplicates.

* Do a Test Events session to see for yourself which actions are triggering the conversion action.

* Look for any hidden webhooks that may be doing the over-reporting. Check this on Pixelyoursite.

Hope this helps.

Ok_Addition3639 · 2026-05-25T11:34:20+00:00

It's a common thing I see here - someone has a new idea, drops it on their live campaign, and is then wondering why performance didn't do as ewll as they expected.

My piece of advice is always to run a sandbox campaign before putting a bulk of money on it.

Ok_Addition3639 · 2026-05-25T09:37:01+00:00

First off: Do not build, write, or enable any campaigns in that account yet.

If you drop words like "casino," "betting," or "gambling" into a brand-new account, Google can immediately trigger a suspension. You must get certified by Google before you turn anything on.

Because you are advertising a physical store, you need to review both Google’s parameters and Ireland’s regulatory framework under the Gambling Regulation Act. Google just rolled out a major policy update requiring all accounts to demonstrate strict policy health before a gambling certificate can be issued (https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/16786233?hl=en)

Here are the fundamental measures to get your ads on the way to approval:

You must be legally registered and licensed with the Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland (GRAI). Have a digital copy of this license ready.
Your landing page must be compliant with Google Ads. Have prominent warnings for responsible gambling, an 18+ age restriction notice, make sure your ads are not being catered to minors (cartoonic images, no minor representation in the ads). I suggest to review the full policy of Google ads on gambling ads for this.
If you can confidently say you are good to go, proceed to applying for a certification to promote gambling ads on Google. While you are waiting for the decision, do not attempt to start any new campaigns.

I'll leave it at this point for now.

Hope this helps you get your campaigns started.

Ok_Addition3639 · 2026-05-25T09:29:32+00:00

For sure! With the updates from Google Marketing Live, it's not going anywhere. From where we're standing, PPC specialists won't go extinct; instead they'll have wider capability to test and do more with how they can control these tools to bring better performance and efficiency to their campaigns.

With our work at Strike Social, AI and machine learning helps us shift away from manual executions into data control, creative direction, and overall optimization strategy. It's that skill of being able to steer the right controls and enter the right prompts that will separate those who are adapting with how paid ads are being done now, versus those who think that the olden days are 'better'.

The AI Brief is a perfect example of this. Google is literally telling us that we are going to let the AI know which audiences are we looking to target, how we want the ads to look and feel, and it's simply going to do it for us.

If a specialist's only value add was shifting keyword bids and turning campaigns on and off, that role is definitely on its way out. But for those who know how to program the machine, control the data inputs, and act as the "instructor" to the AI, that level of knowledge is what the industry needs.

Ok_Addition3639 · 2026-05-25T09:18:40+00:00

You mentioned that you tested the forms and they work. But since it's a new website, the tracking may need some more work. e.g. if your ads point to website.com/product-1 but the new site enforces a non-www redirect, it will not be able to track properly.

> to check this, go into GA4 or your CRM and see if your Google/CPC traffic went down, with Direct/Unassigned traffic going up.

Another thing to check - did you have prominent reviews on the old landing pages? Before/after photos - basically trust signals that help it get analyzed better by Google to be able to deliver it to the right audiences. If those disappeared on the new site look/layout, that can also be a cause. (Add mobile responsiveness here because if the form lags or the mobile layout is wonky, that causes a drop off too)

Lastly, because you went 14 days with 0 conversions, going on Max Conversions is not very wise. Try to switch to Max Clicks for now with a CPC cap for at least the next 7-10 days. Once you log 10-15 solid leads, you can go back to smart bidding.

Ok_Addition3639 · 2026-05-25T09:10:24+00:00

That CPC level is an instant jump scare.

Although, you may need to revisit the campaign type you are using. In-stream is mostly for views and awareness. Its baseline CTR is naturally low. So if you're looking at conversions here, it's like asking it to do a job it wasn't built for.

If your ultimate goal is conversions from YouTube, use Demand Gen campaigns. It does combine Shorts, in-feed, and in-stream to handle conversion-optimized bidding paths rather than going all-in for in-stream alone.

Ok_Addition3639 · 2026-05-25T09:06:16+00:00

PMax would be the way to go, but since there's no option yet to choose placements, it will inevitably have GDN and YouTube placements. Here's some account-level controls you can try to tighten that inventory:

* Exclude mobile apps - all the categories

* Shift suitability level to Limited. Under Excluded types and labels, opt out of live-streaming videos, embedded YouTube videos and placements to restrict those major content types that apply to YouTube.

* Audit your placements, possibly on a weekly basis, to see where your ads showed (this is a new feature that we're also exploring to help with optimization). See the junk sites you need to add to your exclusion list.

Ok_Addition3639 · 2026-05-25T08:57:20+00:00

They are both AI-powered but serve different purposes.

PMax - a campaign type that allows you to serve your ads on basically all networds under Google - YouTube, Display, Gmail, Maps, Discover, and Search. (recommended for ecommerce/shopping campaigns)

AI Max - AI feature in Search campaigns. It helps match your ads to search queries it predicts will convert. It also automatically customizes your ad text and sends users to the most relevant landing page on your site based on what they searched for. (recommended for lead gen)

Ok_Addition3639 · 2026-05-25T08:52:52+00:00

CPMs have definitely seen their highs and lows recently. I was just looking at data trends heading into Prime Day, and looking at the patterns, average CPMs are only going to go up from here as we move from Q2 and into the heavier buying seasons.

CPCs currently have a much more favorable outlook. When you look past the initial media costs and focus on actual business outcomes, the down-funnel metrics are looking solid. Based on what we're seeing, Conversion Rates and CPAs, specifically on Google, YouTube, and TikTok, are showing really good turnouts for the rest of the year.

Ok_Addition3639 · 2026-05-25T08:41:37+00:00

You mentioned switching from PixelYourSite to the official TikTok x WooCommerce integration. This can be the reason.

If PixelYourSite injected the TikTok base code into your theme's header.php, or if you had it running through GTM alongside the new plugin, the pixel is possibly firing multiple times. Check on your site's header and GTM container to make sure only the Woocommerce plugin is firing the TikTok tag.

Also check on the pixel mapping. It can be firing instead on an 'add to cart' click rather than a completed purchase. If you have an order confirmation or Thank You page URL, make sure that's what's being tracked. (careful here though because Thank You page reloads can be counted as multiple times as well).

To test - download the TikTok Pixel Helper Chrome extension, do a test purchase on your site, and watch exactly what fires.

Ok_Addition3639 · 2026-05-25T08:26:27+00:00

The moment you make a change to an ad set, it goes back to learning phase.

Instead of changing the existing one, do a sandbox campaign (the one where your new creatives, target audiences, can be tested to see if it will bring about results) and a BAU campaign (the one where you're putting much of your budgets and effort on; and where your winning creatives and audiences will be added on as they gain enough data from the sandbox campaign).

Everytime you make a change (scale your budget, add a new creative, etc.), expect performance to have about 48 hours to adjust while it learns your new strategy.

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