The Guide To Google Ads’ Reach Planner
Google Ads Reach Planner is a powerful tool within the Google Ads UI that can predict total user reach, costs, and frequency based on a number of audiences and budgetary inputs. I have personally used the tool for projection presentations a number of times now and the media plans the reach planner outputs are well-received by clients. Generally, the projections are decently accurate – especially if you give the tool more data points. Quite recently, Google made updates to the planner which added a few more bells and whistles, changed the user flow, and made it a little easier to navigate. Let’s dive into the latest version of this tool as if we had never used it before and were creating a new media plan.
Choose Your Goal, Channel, Location, and Demographic Settings
At the beginning, we have to choose a goal for our selected campaign. Right now, the current selections are limited as they are still preparing the new version of the tool – so our only option for this example is “Awareness”. Then, we move down and choose our channel. For this example, we’ll choose YouTube only because of the ad types I will choose later. Following your goal and channel selections are location settings and demographic filters. Since I’m a Chicago guy, that will be our selected location and we will keep our age minimum at the youngest age Google allows, 18, and make the maximum 24, and include all genders.
Choose Your Audience(s)
Above, I chose the youngest demographic because as we make more audience selections, we want to narrow the audience even further for the most accurate media plan. For this example, we’re ultimately aiming for early adopters in the tech marketplace. We decide to target technophiles, which is an affinity audience. After narrowing our audience, we must choose dates for the media flight. In this example, we’ll run the campaign for one month.
Choose Ad Types And Budget Allocation
Finally, we get to the meaty options of budget and ad types. The ad types should be based on goals. Referring back to our choice of an “awareness” goal, we will put more budget towards the cheaper Bumper Ads so we can maximize the reach within our total budget. Then, the smaller portion of the budget will go to Non-skippable in-stream ads so our audience will HAVE TO see some form of our advertising on YouTube. Once your criteria are set, you can view your media plan.
Review Your Forecast
Boom, here it is. We inputted a few basic data points about our target audience, ad types, and budget info to receive a detailed projection of reach, frequency, and cost per thousand impressions.
So, we’re done, right?
Not quite.
Within the projection window, we can input more information to gain further clarity as we get more granular. Starting with frequency, we can change the number of times an audience member sees our ads at the daily or weekly level. For this example, we will choose 3 ad views per day – really slamming them with our message. Additionally, if we are not meeting our reach goals based on the budget – we can then move along the chart to see how many more impressions we might gain based on budget increases. The same can be done from the 2 fields on the far right where you can either change your reach number and see a new budget or change your budget and see the new reach number.
Adjust Frequency, Budget, And Reach
Above we can see 2 new changes. The first being that our overall reach number dropped slightly due to our frequency choice of 3 views per day. The second being the scrolling ability along the chart that shows us potential based on budget increases or decreases.
Review The Demographic and Device Estimates
Finally, I have two last notes for this guide regarding the demographic and device charts that the reach planner spits out. The demographic graph shows us the number of users classified under each gender within our selected age group, allowing for further tweaks at the campaign level if these numbers were not expected. The device graph predicts which devices our ads will show up on based on the inputs – once again – allowing for further device changes at the campaign level.
There you have it, folks, the PPC Hero guide to using the Google Ads Reach Planner in a dynamic way to fit the needs of your goals vs. your budget. This tool is still going through updates and has changed a few times over the past few months.
If Google is listening, my main wish list item is to include more creative types in the reach planner like display ads, RDAs, or any other creative types outside of the text ad scope.
Google Warns About Misuse of Its Indexing API
Google has updated its Indexing API documentation with a clear warning about spam detection and the possible consequences of misuse.
Warning Against API Misuse The new message in the guide says:
“All submissions through the Indexing API are checked for spam. Any misuse, like using multiple accounts or going over the usage limits, could lead to access being taken away.”
This warning is aimed at people trying to abuse the system by exceeding the API’s limits or breaking Google’s rules.
What Is the Indexing API? The Indexing API allows websites to tell Google when job posting or livestream video pages are added or removed. It helps websites with fast-changing content get their pages crawled and indexed quickly.
But it seems some users have been trying to abuse this by using multiple accounts to get more access.
Impact of the Update Google is now closely watching how people use the Indexing API. If someone breaks the rules, they might lose access to the tool, which could make it harder for them to keep their search results updated for time-sensitive content.
How To Stay Compliant To use the Indexing API properly, follow these rules:
- Don’t go over the usage limits, and if you need more, ask Google instead of using multiple accounts.
- Use the API only for job postings or livestream videos, and make sure your data is correct.
- Follow all of Google’s API guidelines and spam policies.
- Use sitemaps along with the API, not as a replacement.
Remember, the Indexing API isn’t a shortcut to faster indexing. Follow the rules to keep your access.
This Week in Search News: Simple and Easy-to-Read Update
Here’s what happened in the world of Google and search engines this week:
1. Google’s June 2024 Spam Update
Google finished rolling out its June 2024 spam update over a period of seven days. This update aims to reduce spammy content in search results.
2. Changes to Google Search Interface
Google has removed the continuous scroll feature for search results. Instead, it’s back to the old system of pages.
3. New Features and Tests
- Link Cards: Google is testing link cards at the top of AI-generated overviews.
- Health Overviews: There are more AI-generated health overviews showing up in search results.
- Local Panels: Google is testing AI overviews in local information panels.
4. Search Rankings and Quality
- Improving Rankings: Google said it can improve its search ranking system but will only do so on a large scale.
- Measuring Quality: Google’s Elizabeth Tucker shared how they measure search quality.
5. Advice for Content Creators
- Brand Names in Reviews: Google advises not to avoid mentioning brand names in review content.
- Fixing 404 Pages: Google explained when it’s important to fix 404 error pages.
6. New Search Features in Google Chrome
Google Chrome for mobile devices has added several new search features to enhance user experience.
7. New Tests and Features in Google Search
- Credit Card Widget: Google is testing a new widget for credit card information in search results.
- Sliding Search Results: When making a new search query, the results might slide to the right.
8. Bing’s New Feature
Bing is now using AI to write “People Also Ask” questions in search results.
9. Local Search Ranking Factors
Menu items and popular times might be factors that influence local search rankings on Google.
10. Google Ads Updates
- Query Matching and Brand Controls: Google Ads updated its query matching and brand controls, and advertisers are happy with these changes.
- Lead Credits: Google will automate lead credits for Local Service Ads. Google says this is a good change, but some advertisers are worried.
- tROAS Insights Box: Google Ads is testing a new insights box for tROAS (Target Return on Ad Spend) in Performance Max and Standard Shopping campaigns.
- WordPress Tag Code: There is a new conversion code for Google Ads on WordPress sites.
These updates highlight how Google and other search engines are continuously evolving to improve user experience and provide better advertising tools.
AI
Exploring the Evolution of Language Translation: A Comparative Analysis of AI Chatbots and Google Translate
According to an article on PCMag, while Google Translate makes translating sentences into over 100 languages easy, regular users acknowledge that there’s still room for improvement.
In theory, large language models (LLMs) such as ChatGPT are expected to bring about a new era in language translation. These models consume vast amounts of text-based training data and real-time feedback from users worldwide, enabling them to quickly learn to generate coherent, human-like sentences in a wide range of languages.
However, despite the anticipation that ChatGPT would revolutionize translation, previous experiences have shown that such expectations are often inaccurate, posing challenges for translation accuracy. To put these claims to the test, PCMag conducted a blind test, asking fluent speakers of eight non-English languages to evaluate the translation results from various AI services.
The test compared ChatGPT (both the free and paid versions) to Google Translate, as well as to other competing chatbots such as Microsoft Copilot and Google Gemini. The evaluation involved comparing the translation quality for two test paragraphs across different languages, including Polish, French, Korean, Spanish, Arabic, Tagalog, and Amharic.
In the first test conducted in June 2023, participants consistently favored AI chatbots over Google Translate. ChatGPT, Google Bard (now Gemini), and Microsoft Bing outperformed Google Translate, with ChatGPT receiving the highest praise. ChatGPT demonstrated superior performance in converting colloquialisms, while Google Translate often provided literal translations that lacked cultural nuance.
For instance, ChatGPT accurately translated colloquial expressions like “blow off steam,” whereas Google Translate produced more literal translations that failed to resonate across cultures. Participants appreciated ChatGPT’s ability to maintain consistent levels of formality and its consideration of gender options in translations.
The success of AI chatbots like ChatGPT can be attributed to reinforcement learning with human feedback (RLHF), which allows these models to learn from human preferences and produce culturally appropriate translations, particularly for non-native speakers. However, it’s essential to note that while AI chatbots outperformed Google Translate, they still had limitations and occasional inaccuracies.
In a subsequent test, PCMag evaluated different versions of ChatGPT, including the free and paid versions, as well as language-specific AI agents from OpenAI’s GPTStore. The paid version of ChatGPT, known as ChatGPT Plus, consistently delivered the best translations across various languages. However, Google Translate also showed improvement, performing surprisingly well compared to previous tests.
Overall, while ChatGPT Plus emerged as the preferred choice for translation, Google Translate demonstrated notable improvement, challenging the notion that AI chatbots are always superior to traditional translation tools.
Source: https://www.pcmag.com/articles/google-translate-vs-chatgpt-which-is-the-best-language-translator
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