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<\/div>\nHowever, in response to the growing concerns that users have regarding their privacy and personal data, recent changes to the search engine have focused on increasing transparency of how data is used and restricting how much access advertisers and site owners have to said data.<\/p>\n
Google\u2019s newest change affects the search terms report that is available to advertisers using the Google Ads platform. Google has removed visibility on roughly 20% of search terms. The update is already stirring a lot of questions and concerns from the advertising community.<\/p>\n
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<\/div>\nThis discussion will focus on shedding some light on this latest Google search term update and answering some of these key questions.<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s begin.<\/p>\n
Search Terms Vs Keywords<\/h2>\n
Before getting into the meat of the topic, it\u2019s important to first discuss what\u2019s being talked about. More specifically, you need to understand the difference between search terms and keywords in order to appreciate the impact and purpose behind this update.<\/p>\n
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- Search terms<\/em><\/strong> are the exact words and phrases that search users enter into the Google search box.<\/li>\n
- Keywords<\/em><\/strong>, on the other hand, are the words and phrases that an advertiser chooses to target with their ads.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
When an advertiser’s selected keywords align with some or all (depending on the advertiser\u2019s selected keyword match type) of a Google user\u2019s search terms, then the ad will appear on the SERPs. Thus, it is crucial for advertisers to understand what <\/em>Google users are searching so that they can properly strategize their keyword targets.<\/p>\n
This is where the search terms report comes in handy because it displays the actual user searches that have triggered the advertiser\u2019s paid messages. This leads to valuable insight into what exactly people are searching, as well as greater clarity into the relationship between search terms, keywords, and match types.<\/p>\n
What Is The Google Ads Update For Google Search Terms?<\/h2>\n
With the basics out of the way, it\u2019s time to get to the topic at hand: what is this update to Google Search Terms and what does it mean for PPC advertisers and their campaigns?<\/p>\n
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<\/div>\nGoogle recently sent a notification to advertisers that the search terms report would only reflect terms that had a \u201csignificant number of users.\u201d How exactly Google defines \u201ca significant number of users\u201d is uncertain.<\/p>\n
Additionally, Google made it clear that the purpose for this change is to further protect search user data and \u201cmaintain standards of privacy.\u201d<\/p>\n
How Does This Update Affect Advertisers?<\/h2>\n
Whether or not Google will ever add any clarity to how it determines which terms have a significant number of users or not remains to be seen. What is clear that advertisers are about to lose data on a significant number of search terms.<\/em> Again, this is, at a minimum, 20% of triggered search terms.<\/p>\n
In one case, a company looked at the before and after effect of the change in terms of ad spend and clicks. They discovered that they lost data on search terms using 28% of their budget and causing roughly 20% of their clicks.<\/p>\n
To put this in perspective:<\/p>\n
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- If this company spends $100,000 on their campaigns, they only receive search term data for $72,000 of their spending.<\/li>\n
- If this company receives 100,000 clicks<\/em>, they only receive search term data for roughly 80% of those clicks.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
These are some serious numbers and reason enough for any advertiser to be concerned.<\/p>\n
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<\/a><\/div>\nWhy Is Google Making This Change Now?<\/h2>\n
This is not exactly a \u201cnew\u201d change because Google has been limiting the visibility of search terms for nearly a decade. In 2011, Google caused a stir when they limited data on search terms creating organic traffic. The change upset site owners because this data remained available to advertisers.<\/p>\n
The interesting part of this change is that it does <\/em>impact advertisers. Traditionally, advertisers felt that, because they pay for clicks, they should have access to more data that helps them optimize their results.<\/p>\n
So far, Google has been silent on any questions regarding why they\u2019ve decided to push this update now. The most obvious reason would be that this is simply in response to the growing concerns regarding data privacy.<\/p>\n
There are more regulations and antitrust concerns for companies dealing with sensitive, personally identifiable information and Google is arguably the company with the most <\/em>user information in its coffers.<\/p>\n
The reason that this is the most likely answer to the \u201cwhy now\u201d question is that Google\u2019s advertising platform has already been suffering because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite their best efforts to bring more e-commerce businesses to the Google Ads platform, Google experienced a 10% drop in the ad service.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s unlikely that they would want to \u201crock the boat\u201d any further for advertisers unless they had the best interest of its search users at heart or felt pressures from new regulations.<\/p>\n
Moving Away From Keywords<\/h2>\n
Another potential reason for Google\u2019s shift in search terms reports visibility is that Google Ads is moving away from keywords altogether. Historically, keywords have been an advertiser\u2019s bread and butter. That\u2019s why Google Ads was originally known as \u201cAdwords.\u201d<\/p>\n
This name-change signaled a larger shift away from keyword targeting and towards audience targeting. Since then, Google has steadily rolled out a number of new features and campaign types that have focused on targeting people, <\/em>instead of keywords. Thus, this may be a move to nudge advertisers away from keywords and to rely more on algorithms and machine learning.<\/p>\n
The biggest issue is that Google needs more advertisers to trust non-keyword focused features. Yet, the proof of how effective these features are lies in the search terms reports!<\/p>\n
- Keywords<\/em><\/strong>, on the other hand, are the words and phrases that an advertiser chooses to target with their ads.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
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