What We Mean By “Google Ads Query Data Just Vanished”

Up to 51% of Google ads search terms are now hidden and businesses are feeling the impact. This disruption is magnified by the change taking place in Q4 of a year that has been unpredictable and unstable at best. With up to HALF of Google ad conversions no longer showing search query data, you need to adapt and fast.

What Changed with Google Ads and When? Which Google Ads Search Terms Are Now Hidden?

In September 2020, Google redacted visibility into approximately 30%-50% of search terms used by shoppers. These affected terms were primarily long-tail keywords, which tend to be highly specific and to result in a low volume of searches and results, but a high conversion rate due to the specificity of the inquiry. An example would be “red metal travel espresso maker with frother.” A shopper searching using those search terms knows exactly the product sought, and the matching Google ad served up is likely to be spot on or pretty close to exact.

Losing insight into the search terms that deliver the highest rate of conversions can debilitate advertisers. Google likely made the move to address concerns over privacy, but to what effect on retailers? One would expect that the move would push advertisers to Google Smart Shopping, which diminishes user control and relinquishes it to Google to manage. But that’s a compromise, not a solution. A true solution requires better understanding the data that is visible, using it to more powerful ends, getting data from non-hidden sources, and allotting your ad spend and efforts other places such as Facebook and Bing. It also means a fresh approach to keyword bidding for Google Shopping so that you not only get the search result match and the conversion, but the visibility as well.

In this timely webinar, Nik Rajpal (EXCLUSIVE’s VP of Marketing Sciences) and Mike Frekey (EXCLUSIVE’s Director of Applied Data) explained the changes in ways both technical and accessible. They showed how losing visibility into these search terms actually presents retailers with opportunities both inside and outside of Google that empower those retailers with new insights and controls.

Criteria affecting which search terms are now hidden and which remain visible

How to leverage source/medium data to make targeting decisions

Using SEO data to illuminate relevant keywords and their patterns

New keyword strategies and reimagined funnels and buckets

Adjusting feeds to give more relevant information

The huge opportunity to target by device

As the webinar title asked, “What now?” Nik recommends that retailers using Google Ads find out exactly how severely they have been affected by the changes. You can do so at no cost when you get your executive-level Google Ads Scorecard. Once you have that information, you can hone in on opportunities — within Google and beyond it — where you can get the most bang (and visibility) for your advertising buck.

What to Expect from this Webinar: Insights, Data, Profitable Opportunities, and Take-Action Ideas

Nik Rajpal (EXCLUSIVE VP of Marketing Science), Kevin Brosnan (Google Senior Account Strategist), and Olivia Prentiss (EXCLUSIVE Paid Search Program Manager) covered everything you could ever need to know about display ads and video marketing, including:

COVID’s effect on content consumption and spending habits (and why this is a boon for eCommerce and visual ads)

How display ads and videos work in all parts of the funnel (and how to incorporate them into the buyer’s journey)

Growth categories and industry-specific opportunities

Examples and case studies from companies that have embraced the YouTube moment and increased their ad revenue exponentially

How and when to use bumpers, mastheads, TrueView, non-skips, and more

Why aligning laser-like targeting and compelling creative doesn’t have to be scary or break your budget

How to handle the new normal where shoppers work from home, learn via YouTube lessons, and try to stay fit

How to turn paid display and video marketing wins into organic gains as well

Ways to tell your brand’s story in 6 seconds (Seriously!)

And the Single Most Important Thing About Display Ads and Video Marketing

There’s never been a better time than right now (huge reach, high conversion rate, low CPC, getting in before your competitors do, etc.) to take advantage of high-impact visual ads. The sooner you start, the sooner you’ll see Q4 gains that you can carry into 2021. Take your first steps by watching the webinar replay and grabbing the comprehensive EXCLUSIVE/Google webinar slide deck.