TikTok allows Custom Attribution Windows

If you want to know more about TikTok Attribution Manager’s update, keep on reading

TikTok launched a new update where advertisers can set their own attribution windows. Campaigns can now be optimized with flexible windows from 1 day to 28 days. This allows advertisers to optimize their campaigns to individual goals. 

What is an attribution window? The time it takes for a user to act after they click or view your ad. Although some conversions are logged right away, others require more checkpoints for a user to be convinced of the purchase. So, with this new update, advertisers can choose specific time periods to meassure click-through attribution and view-through attribution.

Are you currently using TikTok ads? What do you think of this new update? Let us know in the comments below.

TikTok Attribution Manager gives advertisers the following options:

  • For click-through attribution, choose from 1, 7, 14 and 28 day windows
  • For view-through attribution, choose from 1 or 7 day windows 

If the advertiser chooses a 7-day window, the user has 7 days to convert for the action to be logged into Ads Manager.

Our Take

Nowadays, TikTok is rising in popularity as we speak. This visual platform has given advertisers an opportunity to customize ads and target specific audiences. 

This update allows advertisers to manage TikTok’s capabilities of logging data, so if you have preferences, Ads Manager will try to satisfy your needs. We are always in favour of new tools that give advertisers more options and more control over ad management. This update is Quantikal-approved!

As expected, we will review TikTok’s new capabilities and we’ll let you know if it works to its full potential. Stay tuned!

About Quantikal

Quantikal is a data-driven performance marketing agency based in Buenos Aires, Argentina. We help clients scale their business through profitable digital ad spending by constantly obsessing over clients’ key metrics. Quantikal’s experience working in diverse online companies in marketing roles including media buying allows us to provide solutions in the ever-demanding increase of marketing performance, doing more with less thus becoming a strategic partner.

LinkedIn announced new Business Manager platform

If you want to know more about the creation of Business Manager, keep on reading.

Finally! LinkedIn announced a new centralized platform that will simplify advertisers’ accounts, people, and business management. 

LinkedIn’s Business Manager offers Campaign Manager and Pages options for easier account tracking, especially in a B2B environment. 

Business Manager offers the ability to view and manage ad accounts from a central dashboard, easier control of tasks such as billing, and the ability to update Matched Audiences. This last feature is an interesting addition since Google and Facebook also have their own Customer Match lists. So, if you have multiple LinkedIn accounts, Business Manager can let you share Matched Audiences across ad accounts.

In the official LinkedIn post, you can read further new features about the new Business Manager.

Did you read the official post? What do you think about LinkedIn’s Business Manager announcement? Let us know in the comments below.

Our Take

We are finally seeing how LinkedIn is catching up with the times. Even though Google and Facebook are ahead of the race, it is nice to see Microsoft up on its feet. 

However, this is not a head-turning announcement. At least not enough for advertisers to drop everything and sign in to LinkedIn platforms.

If you ask us, an ideal LinkedIn feature could include information about the user interacting with your account, such as job position, business, etc. Also, it would be compelling to see an option that allows you to list specific businesses you want the announcement to be shown in. 

These features would be helpful since B2B accounts are very well-identified, so being able to show customized ads to a niche audience of your choosing could be a potentially interesting addition.

As always, we will review this new centralized platform and see if it matches our expectations. Stay tuned!

About Quantikal

Quantikal is a data-driven performance marketing agency based in Buenos Aires, Argentina. We help clients scale their business through profitable digital ad spending by constantly obsessing over clients’ key metrics. Quantikal’s experience working in diverse online companies in marketing roles including media buying allows us to provide solutions in the ever-demanding increase of marketing performance, doing more with less thus becoming a strategic partner.

Google’s Universal Analytics is discontinued for 2023

Here’s all you need to know about Google Analytics 4 and why it’s relevant to your business

Universal Analytics, known as Google Analytics 3, is saying goodbye for 2023. We want to inform you in advance so you can adjust to Google Analytics 4 as quickly as possible.

The name “Universal Analytics”, aka GA3, will cease to exist. Now, advertisers will use Google Analytics 4 as their new data platform.

Advertisers will have to export data from UA to GA4 through Data Studio, installing GA4 on their website to access year-to-date information before UA is gone for good. 

Did you install GA4 already? Do you think this will be a hassle for most advertisers? Let us know in the comments below.

What is different about GA4?

UA is a session-based model, as opposed to GA4 which uses an event-based version that welcomes more data for your analytics platform.

The event parameters are now bigger, from four per event in UA to 25 per event in GA4. Also, GA4 can have 500 named events for those you set up, so the limit does not exist for default events.

In GA4, you will notice that the bounce rate is gone and replaced with “Engaged Sessions”, which logs data if the user stays on your website for more than 10 seconds, if your website has more than 2 page views, or if the user triggers a conversion. 

However, not all sections in GA4 have the ability to change the time period. For example, while running a custom report, you won’t be able to change the time frame in that specific report. To be able to do this, advertisers will have to go back to the main Report menu and change the time logged there to see the changes reflected in your specific report.

Also, GA4 does not allow advertisers to click on reports and see the Ad Group. The platform will only show you all Ad Groups, with no way of seeing just a specific campaign. 

Google now includes a tool to move your conversions from UA to GA4 if you have goals set up in UA. What happens if you don’t? You will have to tackle Google Tag Manager to push your conversion data.

Our Take

We notice that there are some limitations in GA4, specially if you have a hard time getting used to change. In order to modernize its platform, Google focused on updating the display to a less easy-to-use version. This doesn’t necessarily mean that GA4 is more complex, but we do see that settings are more hidden or harder to find. 

We suggest advertisers practice and learn about GA4’s settings before UA is terminated so that you are ready to dive in without tackling the learning process simultaneously.

As expected, we will evaluate GA4’s performance and let you know if any changes are adjusted. Stay tuned!

About Quantikal

Quantikal is a data-driven performance marketing agency based in Buenos Aires, Argentina. We help clients scale their business through profitable digital ad spending by constantly obsessing over clients’ key metrics. Quantikal’s experience working in diverse online companies in marketing roles including media buying allows us to provide solutions in the ever-demanding increase of marketing performance, doing more with less thus becoming a strategic partner.

Google removes Expanded Text ads

Users will no longer be able to create expanded text ads. Keep on reading to find out more.

By the end of June 2022, Google will end Expanded Text ads and no further creation or editing is permitted. After June, users will only have access to modifying Responsive Search Ads (RSAs) in Search campaigns.

Why? Google wants to simplify the creation process of Search ads and drive performance with automation tools. RSAs use machine learning to determine which ads are relevant to each user so that they can be placed up front, so this is “better” for reaching people in need of your product.

Expanded Text ads already created will continue running, with the ability to pause and relaunch, but no new ones will be created. 

Are you currently using Expanded Text ads? How will you adjust to this new change? Let us know in the comments below.

Google recommends advertisers repurpose well-performing text ads into RSAs and improve their ad strength. Using RSAs, you can pin headlines in positions where you ensure they always show, use variations to test different ads and review cross-campaign reporting based on performance.

Also, Google recommends the use of Smart Bidding for broad keywords in RSAs, which can allow marketers to optimize bids.

Our Take

We know that RSAs have been around for a while, -since May 2018 to be exact-. The fact that Expanded Text ads help advertisers have clarity and control over the order in which titles are shown is a valuable feature, and here is where RSAs have their setbacks. 

When pinning titles in RSAs, Google “punishes” advertisers by lowering the ad strength. Crazy, right? What Google doesn’t want you to do is transform RSAs into something similar to Expanded Text ads, so they strip advertisers’ liberty to order their own ads. Google‘s machine learning wants to have total control of your ad display, without any external intervention. 

It’s been clear for a while now that Expanded Text ads were being butchered and RSAs were winning over Google’s heart. Adding RSAs was not the problem since more options and more ways in which advertisers can place their ads are always welcome. Though it would have been great to see them coexist, Google’s flexibility was not ready to bend. 

So, now that Expanded Text ads are saying their goodbyes: why do advertisers have to lose the ability to build more specific ads by ordering titles as they please?

It would have been better to test ads with actual metrics, such as CTR or expected CTR beforehand. Instead, marketers are bound to trust Google’s machine learning abilities because the alternative is to be punished, and that doesn’t sound right to us. 

Here’s the thing: if Google added RSAs so that advertisers could have new options, shouldn’t there actually be an option (without any limitations)?

As always, Quantikal will test possible alternatives and keep you in the loop of any new changes. Stay tuned!

About Quantikal

Quantikal is a data-driven performance marketing agency based in Buenos Aires, Argentina. We help clients scale their business through profitable digital ad spending by constantly obsessing over clients’ key metrics. Quantikal’s experience working in diverse online companies in marketing roles including media buying allows us to provide solutions in the ever-demanding increase of marketing performance, doing more with less thus becoming a strategic partner.

Google’s automated discounts as a shopping feature

Want to know more about this new pricing tool? Keep on reading.

Google Ads automated discounts is a new pricing tool using real-time data and artificial intelligence to attract customers into sales.

What does this mean? The optimized price is displayed in your ads. When users click on it, they are redirected to your page showing the actual price available (this resembles to plane tickets, for example). 

How do automated discounts work?

Google’s AI is in charge of adjusting the price of ads after analyzing large amounts of data. Once you set the minimum and maximum price range allowed, Google’s system considers price elasticity, trends, and market prices to determine optimized discounts.

Would you implement it in your business? Let us know in the comments below. 

How to set it up

  1. Implement conversion tracking: this can show you what happens when a user interacts with your ad
  2. Set minimum and maximum sell price
  3. Determine the cost: you can either set it yourself for items you want the automatic discount to work with or you can let Google’s AI determine it for you
  4. Integrate pricing controls on your website

Our Take

Google’s automated discounts are a great conceptual feature that we could experiment with. However, it may be tricky to trust Google’s AI with something as sensitive as the price of your products because it directly affects your profit. 

Price sensitivity, elasticity, and revenue management are pricing concepts that have been optimized for decades in different industries, such as airline tickets. It is great to have a tool to test possibilities of increasing revenue or profitability, but it’s not clear yet if you can choose a limited amount of products to test this with on shopping campaigns. 

Do we have some type of control of limited exposure to avoid potential catastrophic scenarios? 

As expected, we will continue analyzing this new feature and we’ll let you know if Google announces any changes. Stay tuned!

About Quantikal

Quantikal is a data-driven performance marketing agency based in Buenos Aires, Argentina. We help clients scale their business through profitable digital ad spending by constantly obsessing over clients’ key metrics. Quantikal’s experience working in diverse online companies in marketing roles including media buying allows us to provide solutions in the ever-demanding increase of marketing performance, doing more with less thus becoming a strategic partner.

Google’s RDAs have new layouts for a better mobile experience

Want to know more about this upcoming update? Keep on reading

Google announced in the annual Marketing Live 2022 event that Responsive Display Ads (RDAs) are going to be enhanced towards a better mobile experience for advertisers and consumers, aka a mobile-first layout. According to Google, these changes give marketers more control over the ad’s visual appearance on mobile versions. 

What will be different about RDAs?

One of the main changes includes the option of a new portrait image:

  • Previously, the ad format required a square image, and Google filled in the gaps in the mobile version. 
  • Now, advertisers can control the ad’s appearance by allowing portrait images to display on mobile devices

Additionally, Google now gives advertisers the option to use existing resources to create a vertical video for ad campaigns. This format uses machine learning to design and create engaging display ads. However, checking the end result before testing might be preferable, since auto-created videos might not be at your standard level. 

Do you think this is useful for visual creators? Let us know in the comments below.

Another update to RDAs will make images fit in the available space, without needing to expand images. Let’s see an example:

Our Take

It is clear that RDAs are the dominant display ad format in Google’s platform. The possibility to adapt multiple size formats automatically for maximum coverage is a great benefit since traditional Display ads forced advertisers to design each and every image according to the size of the ad. However, RDAs are not quite cooked yet. As we see in Responsive Search ads (RSAs), Google allows advertisers to pin texts or images to guarantee it has a specific position, and this is a crucial feature we do not get to see in RDAs.

There should be more control over how ads are shown in different situations since not all advertisers are willing to have a full design team that builds hundreds of image variations according to each scenario. It would be a great addition to RDAs if Google launches more control tools that show how the ad is actually showing. It can’t be all black or white, some gray would be nice.   

Given that these additions show the importance of mobile usage nowadays, we are eager to see if any more ad formats are taken into account with more tools that give more power to advertisers.

As expected, we will keep you informed of any new updates launched in the near future. Stay tuned!

About Quantikal

Quantikal is a data-driven performance marketing agency based in Buenos Aires, Argentina. We help clients scale their business through profitable digital ad spending by constantly obsessing over clients’ key metrics. Quantikal’s experience working in diverse online companies in marketing roles including media buying allows us to provide solutions in the ever-demanding increase of marketing performance, doing more with less thus becoming a strategic partner.

#google #quantikal #rda #display #advertising #video #advertisers #performance

Main Announcements from Google Marketing Live 2022

Here’s everything you need to know about Google’s annual event and how it may impact your business

As you may imagine, we’ve been busy analyzing and investigating Google’s new announcements from Google Marketing Live 2022 event. However, YouTube Shorts is not the only feature that caught our eye. In this post, we’ll list the most important details about Google’s latest updates coming your way.

Updates in Video ads

Video ads coming to Discover

Google is considering the addition of short video ads to Discover. This is a huge announcement for video-focused advertisers since Discover features many videos in the feed with eye-catching images, so it could easily fit with the organic content.

Swipable shopping ads in Search 

Attention apparel brands: this new ad display will be available in Search and Performance Max campaigns, and will pair organic shopping results with your shopping ad, making it even more visual and more appealing for the shop-intent user. (imagen)

3D models of products with AR

Further enhancements also include the addition of augmented reality for shopping campaigns. Advertisers will be able to make 3D models of products appear directly on the results page, giving users a better experience and a better idea of what they’re purchasing. Even though there weren’t many details announced, we are very excited to see what Google has in stock for this new tech feature.  

Updates in automation tools

Performance Max updates

By the end of this year, Google announced updates coming to Performance Max campaigns, such as A/B testing, the ability to optimize in-store goals, experiment tools to help test potential lift, optimization score recommendations, and more performance data such as attribution, audience, and auction insights. This gives advertisers even more information to work with and more tools to enhance your campaign.

Enhancements in the Insights page

Focusing on first-party data, the new insights page includes new performance data, attribution, audience, and auction insights. This can help advertisers see how ads work together across Google’s interface, it can show how different user segments are controlling your campaign’s performance, and it can give more intel for budget optimization.

What do you make out of these new updates? Which one of them are you expecting the most? Let us know in the comments below.

We think Google’s latest announcements are promising, especially for advertisers that prefer a more visual approach. Quantikal will always be in favor of adding more tools for the advertiser to work with, and more control over crucial variables. 

Updates are expected to be fully out by the end of this year, so we are eager to see you try these out!  

As always, Quantikal will be digging deeper into these announcements and you’ll hear from us firsthand if any new features are coming your way. Stay tuned!

About Quantikal

Quantikal is a data-driven performance marketing agency based in Buenos Aires, Argentina. We help clients scale their business through profitable digital ad spending by constantly obsessing over clients’ key metrics. Quantikal’s experience working in diverse online companies in marketing roles including media buying allows us to provide solutions in the ever-demanding increase of marketing performance, doing more with less thus becoming a strategic partner.

YouTube is now testing short ads

Learn about this new ad format and how it can influence your business

Google announced new updates in the annual Google Marketing Live event 2022, including the addition and optimization of YouTube Shorts.

With TikTok’s rising popularity, short-form videos and advertisements have been all over the place. Given that the average user’s attention span is very brief, companies like YouTube are testing out new ways to catch the consumer’s eye by experimenting with shorts.

YouTube is beginning its testing with app-install ads and promotions after investing $100 million in a creator fund for Shorts, hoping it would bring more creators into the platform. Advertisers that have been subjets to this new ad format say that user feedback is positive. Google’s data says Shorts is generating 4X more views than in 2021. 

This feature is comparable to TikTok’s videos, which leads us to believe that Shorts is a competitor strategy. According to AppInventiv and Global Media Insight, TikTok has over 1 billion monthly active users worldwide and $4.6 billion in revenue while YouTube has 2.6 billion monthly active users and $28.84 billion in revenue.  

What do you make out of these numbers? Do you believe that YouTube Shorts will be a useful tool for advertisers? Let us know in the comments below.

The video-sharing platform also announced that a long-term monetization plan is in the works for creators to make money from Shorts. This would include:

  • The addition of branded content
  • Enhancing Super Chat, which includes the option to buy stickers or messages and place them in the chat, just like we see today in TikTok lives.
  • Shopping directly from Shorts, meaning that advertisers will be able to connect products to campaigns in order to create a shoppable video ad (this could be an interesting addition since users would be a few steps closer to reaching your product). 

It is true that consumers now prefer short-lengthed visual entertainment, and TikTok’s rise in popularity makes other video platforms reconsider their strategy. 

With that being said, YouTube Shorts is something we can get on board with since the video platform is still larger in numbers and TikTok has younger average users, so we recommend marketers to be aware of their target audience before they decide to invest in the platform. 

As always, Quantikal will keep you informed of any new Google features that arise. (Spoiler alert: Google Marketing Live 2022 was a conversation starter). Stay tuned!

About Quantikal

Quantikal is a data-driven performance marketing agency based in Buenos Aires, Argentina. We help clients scale their business through profitable digital ad spending by constantly obsessing over clients’ key metrics. Quantikal’s experience working in diverse online companies in marketing roles including media buying allows us to provide solutions in the ever-demanding increase of marketing performance, doing more with less thus becoming a strategic partner.

Digital Marketing Trends to Improve Your Game

If you want to know how to enhance your marketing strategy, keep on reading

Digital marketing is crucial nowadays in the advertising industry. Technology evolved and marketers are constantly needing to update their strategies in order to keep up with the trends. 

But don’t worry, we will give you the lowdown in this article.

Here are some of the most important trends of this year:

  • Influencer Marketing
  • Video Marketing
  • Conversational Marketing
  • Automation Tools

Which system or channel did you try out recently? When was the last time you engaged with any of these new trends? Let us know in the comments below.

Influencer Marketing

Influencers are the perfect gateway to introduce your brand to a specific audience (quick example: if you sell tennis rackets, you might want a sports influencer with a big audience to promote your product). These Internet celebrities already own an engaging audience and a relevant platform, so getting an influencer that knows how to address the public and can advertise your product on social media could mean a positive outcome for your business.

According to Hubspot, 57% of marketers that use this digital marketing trend believe it was a  successful move. 

Video Marketing

Given the growth of social media, audiences are becoming more and more visual. For advertisers, this means that visual aid or videos are the best way to catch the consumer’s eye.  Platforms such as Instagram and TikTok might be a good way to create short videos that can quickly reach more people. However, this comes with a big challenge: how can you make a short and attractive video that differentiates you from your competitors? 

Conversational Marketing

This strategy uses a dialogue approach to improve customer experience and increase interaction between brands and audiences. Some conversational marketing strategies include chatbots or live chat, where the user can engage with a company representative or a robot that can answer questions immediately, without the need to wait for an answer.

Automation Tools

Artificial intelligence includes user data that can help advertisers analyze behavior, browsing patterns, and customer preferences. These tools can help marketers personalize their ads according to the audience they want to reach, creating a unique way to attract more customers by matching their interests. 

Quantikal is always going to be in favor of trying out new things, especially to test out its results and see if it’s worth implementing.

As always, Quantikal will keep you informed about any new trends that may arise in the near future. Stay tuned!

About Quantikal

Quantikal is a data-driven performance marketing agency based in Buenos Aires, Argentina. We help clients scale their business through profitable digital ad spending by constantly obsessing over clients’ key metrics. Quantikal’s experience working in diverse online companies in marketing roles including media buying allows us to provide solutions in the ever-demanding increase of marketing performance, doing more with less thus becoming a strategic partner.

How We Quadrupled Revenue in Less Than 7 Months

Here’s how to successfully spend in the right places.

With the right digital strategy, we were able to 4X the monthly sales from May 2021 to November 2021 while sacrificing only a fraction of return on ad spend (ROAS).  
Yes, you read correctly. If you want to know how we increased Tire Agent’s monthly non-brand revenues from Google Ads from $0.7M to $3.3M in 7 months, that’s an additional $2.6M in monthly revenues, keep on reading! 👇

Tire Agent is an e-commerce business that specializes in selling car tires and rims. They have a large selection of tires, rims, and wheels, and ship them anywhere in the U.S. for free. They carry over 60 brands of tires, including some top-tier brands like Michelin, Goodyear, and Bridgestone. Tire Agent makes sure that they’re offering the best rebates, coupons, specials, and discount codes on the internet, arranging payment plans that set them apart from any other online tire store.

The facts: although there was some initial traction in 2020, from January to May 2021 the company’s sales plateaued. Here’s when we stepped into the picture.  

What did we do to help? Everything but magic.

Since we started working with Tire Agent in May 2021, we immediately restructured and relaunched campaigns. When we stepped in, the client had limited budgets in overlapping campaigns. Using our proprietary methodology and experience, we figured out a way to untap growth in Search.

Following a Structured Process

With new search methodologies for expanding keywords, reordered ad groups, new match type pairing combined with fitting negative keywords, and focused extensions, we were able to make a difference in the details. 

In each step of the process, Quantikal provided monthly forecasted scenarios of different spend levels and ROAS estimates, allowing the client to make easier executive decisions on spend each month.

The key to figuring it out was a regular day-to-day follow-up and a dedicated process. 

We paid special attention to the search campaign that represents 50% of the brand’s investment: tire financing. Although this campaign was already set up when we arrived, it needed to be remodeled. We expanded the way of saying “financing” by adding rims and wheels, competitors, tire sizes, make-model-trim campaigns (MMT), and trying to find new ways of pausing keywords that weren’t working to focus investment on those that were working. 

Also, we tried out new negative keywords to build a more specific search, feeding into the list to see which other searches weren’t taken into consideration. 

Home runs don’t exist but consistent base hits do. 

Google’s keyword recommendations gave us some ideas to work with: “tires near me”. Based on this suggestion, the Quantikal team decided to look into the specifics of Tire Agent’s buyers and saw that location insertion was working better than the keyword insertion, so we launched a near-me location campaign. We targeted the best states and the best cities and built a geo-focused campaign so that users would be directed to the client when they searched for tires in their area, adding new audiences and specifying the search. 

After digging in deeper with the client’s methodology, we decided to build a campaign focused on the tires’ terrain (rocks, rain, snow, mud, etc.) trying out keywords that weren’t considered before. These two examples were the perfect trigger for us to realize that more terms were missing, so people were searching for more topic-related keywords and we weren’t taking advantage of that traffic flow. 

Extending Beyond Search

Another campaign type we worked with is display. It looked like a great field for traffic expansion. Through an increased number of new assets and creatives, not only generic but also related to product offers and rebates. We systematically tested assets, doubling down on the best-performing ones. After polishing and working on these campaigns, we had an average ROAS of 4, which looked positive considering that the average for non-brand was around 6.5.

At Quantikal, we also worked with discovery campaigns. Our expansion mainly came from testing multiple audiences and expanding reach, we used the learnings obtained from observing audiences in search campaigns and adding them into separate ad groups within discovery campaigns. During this period, we got to scale traffic by 10X while getting an average of 5 ROAS which is slightly below the search non-brand average of 6.5.

Hard Work Pays Off

The key to our client’s success was executing a true and tested process combined with close collaboration with our client’s industry knowledge.

Every revision and modification done in the Google Ads campaigns, as little as they may be, placed us one step closer to victory. Success came from consistency, testing, process, and attention to detail, that’s what makes the difference. And what a difference it can make if it increased our clients’ sales from $0.7M to $3.3M in just under 7 months.

Without fail and as expected, we will continue our hard work towards achieving the client’s ideal and we’ll keep you in the loop of our ongoing efforts. Stay tuned!

About Quantikal

Quantikal is a data-driven performance marketing agency based in Buenos Aires, Argentina. We help clients scale their business through profitable digital ad spending by constantly obsessing over clients’ key metrics. Quantikal’s experience working in diverse online companies in marketing roles including media buying allows us to provide solutions in the ever-demanding increase of marketing performance, doing more with less thus becoming a strategic partner.