Google to Start Limiting Search Terms Report for Users Due to Privacy
Google once again is causing turmoil in the digital marketing industry with their recent notification to advertisers running Google Ads accounts:
When you click on the learn more link, though, you are not taken to a page explaining this update, but a help page to educate users on search terms reports.
What This Means for Marketers and Business Owners
While we do not yet know what a “significant” number is in Google’s eyes, we know that the overall consequence of this update is that it means we will have less control of our account, and may not know all the terms that we spend money on for clicks.
Google’s Statement on Privacy
Luckily, a Search Engine Land writer was able to secure a statement from a Google representative to get a little more detail on why they are rolling out this update, as it is only going to hurt advertisers:
“In order to maintain our standards of privacy and strengthen our protections around user data, we have made changes to our Search Terms Report to only include terms that a significant number of users searched for. We’re continuing to invest in new and efficient ways to share insights that enable advertisers to make critical business decisions.”
Initial Industry Reaction
Twitter user @PPCRachel seems to be the first one to react online, opening the eyes of various experts in the industry and starting the conversation on the response to the update.
Here is a look at some thoughts by some Twitter users on the matter:
Hey @GoogleAds, what’s this about? So we will be potentially paying for search terms tht are irrelevant but won’t be privy to the keywords we need to add as negatives? What’s the logic behind this please? Thanks. #ppcchat @gregfinn pic.twitter.com/B8oK149YiU
— Rachel (@PPCRachel) September 2, 2020
My thoughts exactly. We regularly check search terms for keywords and phrases not likely to convert. Losing that data is surely going to have a negative impact on conversion rates and wasted spend. For small business clients, some of that “insignificant“ spend means a lot.
— Matt Brooks (@m4ttbr00ks) September 2, 2020
With the lack of search term visibility – you’re going to be paying for your competititors terms. Even the unknown ones. The small ones. The ones you didn’t even think of.
Add the mess that is close variants, and this is nothing but a money grab for Google. #ppcchat
— Amalia Fowler (@amaliaefowler) September 2, 2020
I’m going to add bid caps onto my original list. Because this happened and I can’t tell my client where $30 went. pic.twitter.com/uYLYMoDhnc
— Amalia Fowler (@amaliaefowler) September 2, 2020
More Details to Come
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In the meantime, be sure to check out some other recent developments in the digital marketing industry you may have missed out on:
