The year 2019 was filled with remarkable happenings. The controversial finale of HBO’s Game of Thrones sparked countless memes and dominated office conversations for weeks. Billie Eilish, at just 17, drew a record-breaking crowd to the legendary Reading Festival, surpassing all previous attendance in its 65-year run. And who could forget the Washington Nationals’ stunning Game 7 comeback on the eve of Halloween, securing their first-ever World Series championship? But let’s shift our focus from the realms of television, music, and sports to the world of online advertising. Specifically, let’s delve into the 11 most significant updates and innovations introduced to Google Ads this year. From the phasing out of a classic search metric to the arrival of entirely new audience targeting options, 2019 provided a wealth of developments to explore. So, without further ado, let’s dive right in.

1. Saying Farewell to Average Position

February delivered the first of two major Google Ads shakeups announced in 2019: the sunsetting of average position. As one of the original search advertising metrics, average position—which officially bowed out at the end of September—offered a fundamental gauge of auction performance. Your bid, in conjunction with your Quality Score, determines your Ad Rank, correct? And your Ad Rank, in turn, dictates where your ad appears within the paid search results—essentially, it determines your ad’s position.

However, here’s the catch: Ad position refers to order, not location. Securing the top position in the auction doesn’t necessarily mean your ad will be displayed at the very top of the search results page; it might appear below the organic listings. Clearly, average position doesn’t paint the full picture. Therefore, Google opted to retire the metric, favoring the more recent and comprehensive metrics introduced in late 2018: top impression rate, top impression share, etc. PPC experts had mixed reactions, but the general sentiment seemed to be: As automated bidding solutions gain traction, manual bid-to-position strategies become less relevant.

2. Phrase Match & Broad Match Modifier Get an Upgrade

The second major announcement came in late July: Google declared that phrase match and broad match modifier keywords would now be eligible to trigger ads for close variants with the same meaning, including synonyms and paraphrases. Previously, these match types only considered plurals and misspellings as close variants.

Via Google. In case you need a refresher on match types and close variants, here’s a concise explanation:

• A phrase match keyword will match searches containing the complete keyword in the exact order specified. For instance, “women’s hair salon” could match searches like “boston women’s hair salon” and “best women’s hair salon.”
• A broad match modifier keyword will match searches that include all the terms in the keyword in any order. For example, +women +hair +salon might match searches like “hair salon for women” and “best hair salon for women in boston.” Before the update, an ad targeting the phrase match keyword “women’s hair salon” might have shown for searches like “women’s hair salons” and “women’s hir salon.” After the update, the same keyword could also trigger ads for searches like “women’s hair dresser” and “women’s hair parlor.” The reason? These are considered close variants with the same meaning. This applies to broad match modifier as well. What’s Google’s reasoning? The intent driving a search is more significant than the specific words used. Plus, it’s practically impossible to anticipate every possible variation of every keyword you target. As long as you diligently monitor your search term report, add negative keywords as needed, and tailor your ad copy to resonate with your target audience’s requirements, you should be in good shape.

3. New Audience Options Arrive for Search Campaigns

With the two major changes addressed, let’s switch gears to some undeniably positive news announced by Google in mid-October: the arrival of affinity audiences and seasonal event segments for in-market audiences on the search network.

Affinity Audiences

As those familiar with display advertising know, an affinity audience consists of consumers who share a common interest in (or affinity for) a specific subject. Google identifies these audiences by analyzing factors like search history and frequently visited websites.

By layering affinity audiences onto your keyword targeting, you can refine your search campaigns to focus on the prospects who are genuinely interested in your offerings. For instance, imagine you’re marketing all-natural cosmetics. Traditionally, you might target keywords like “organic makeup” to reach potential customers. Going forward, you can potentially enhance your ROI by adding the Beauty & Wellness affinity audience on top of those keywords. A pretty nifty enhancement, wouldn’t you say?

Seasonal Event Segments for In-Market Audiences

Over the past few years, few tools have proven as effective as in-market audiences for search advertisers aiming to boost conversion rates. In-market audiences allow you to concentrate your ads exclusively on users actively looking for products or services similar to yours. If I’ve spent the last several months searching for things like “used honda sedan” and browsing websites like Cars.com, it’s reasonable to assume Google would categorize me as part of the Autos & Vehicles in-market audience. This makes it simple for car dealerships and insurance companies to connect with individuals like me—consumers clearly interested in purchasing a car or related products/services.

Arriving just in time for the holiday season, seasonal event segments will allow you to target shoppers actively researching products or services in anticipation of a particular event or occasion. Because you understand why consumers within a specific segment are seeking businesses like yours, you can tailor your messaging with unprecedented precision.

4. A Game-Changing Audience Expansion Tool

While on the topic of audiences, let’s highlight what I consider the most exciting announcement from Google Marketing Live 2019: the audience expansion tool. Functioning similarly to Facebook lookalike audiences, the audience expansion tool empowers you to scale your display campaigns by targeting new prospects who exhibit similar behaviors to your existing audience—effectively increasing impressions, clicks, and conversions without increasing your budget.

If, for some reason, you’re not already convinced, consider the alternative: pouring more money into your existing audience and hoping for the best. While this approach might yield occasional results, it’s not exactly a sustainable strategy. And although I wouldn’t recommend blindly trusting machine learning, Facebook has demonstrated the effectiveness of the lookalike concept. At the very least, this should encourage you to give the audience expansion tool a try.

5. Accelerated Delivery Reaches the End of the Road

While not quite as dramatic as the previous announcements, the second significant Google Ads retirement of 2019 definitely generated buzz. In August, Google revealed that as of October 7, accelerated delivery would no longer be available for search and Shopping campaigns. (It remains an option for display and video campaigns.) Since that sunset date, search and Shopping advertisers have had to rely on standard delivery.

• Standard delivery: Google distributes your ad delivery throughout the day (or according to your chosen schedule).
• Accelerated delivery: Google enters your ads into every possible auction until your daily budget is exhausted.

Google’s reasoning (which, for the record, I support) was as follows: For small to medium-sized businesses operating with limited daily budgets, accelerated delivery is not cost-effective. Auction prices fluctuate throughout the day, so it’s generally advantageous for smaller advertisers to leverage standard delivery and capitalize on the numerous low-cost opportunities available. However, there were valid use cases for accelerated delivery, regardless of budget. For example, if your Quality Score for a specific keyword was lagging, accelerated delivery could serve as a temporary boost, ensuring your ads still reached potential customers. If you find yourself missing accelerated delivery, consider utilizing positive bid adjustments for earlier times of day to (partially) compensate for its absence.

6. Introducing Lead Form Ad Extensions

The numbers don’t lie: Converting users on smartphones and tablets is no easy feat, thanks in part to smaller screens and shorter attention spans.

Here’s some welcome news for lead generation advertisers: To simplify mobile conversions from search ads, Google recently introduced the innovative lead form ad extension. Currently unavailable for desktop ads, the lead form ad extension allows you to capture valuable contact information without requiring users to leave the search results page. In essence: Say goodbye to unnecessary friction!

By enabling users on mobile devices to complete your form directly within the search results, bypassing potentially slow mobile websites, the lead form ad extension promises significant improvements in mobile conversion rates. Even better: If a user is signed into their Google account when they encounter your ad, clicking the extension will direct them to a pre-populated Google-hosted form, streamlining the process further. At present, the beta version is being rolled out to search advertisers globally.

7. Campaign-Level Conversions Enhance Control

Let’s revisit Google Marketing Live for a moment. While this year’s conference was brimming with innovations related to Smart Bidding—Google’s suite of automated solutions that leverage machine learning to optimize bids based on conversion goals—one particular update stood out: campaign-level conversions. As many of you know, conversion tracking is fundamental to any successful Google Ads account. By configuring conversion tracking, you tell Google which user actions hold the most value for your business. As your account generates more activity and Google gathers substantial conversion data, its algorithms become better equipped to optimize your campaigns toward your desired outcomes.

Let me reiterate: Their algorithms become more adept at optimizing toward your account-wide objectives. Before Google Marketing Live, there was no way to prioritize specific conversion goals within individual campaigns. For instance, imagine you launch a new search campaign with the goal of boosting free trial sign-ups. If someone clicked on an ad within that campaign and converted in a way other than signing up for a free trial (e.g., subscribing to your newsletter), their action would still register as a conversion—even though this doesn’t align with that particular campaign’s objective.

Now, with campaign-level conversions, you can instruct Google, “Hey! For this specific campaign, I’m solely focused on free trials. That’s the only conversion goal I want you to track and optimize for. Other goals I’ve defined within my account are irrelevant to this campaign." That’s what I call automation that empowers advertisers!

8. Bumper Ad Creation Made Easy

While discussing Google Marketing Live, it’s worth mentioning the bumper machine—a tool unveiled at the conference that enables anyone with a video under 90 seconds to generate a series of YouTube-ready bumper ads. Even if you’re unfamiliar with the term “bumper ad,” you’ve almost certainly encountered one before: They’re the concise, six-second ads that precede YouTube videos. Data presented by Google at the conference suggests that a sequence of three bumper ads leaves a stronger impression on viewers than a single 30-second ad.

The challenge? Producing polished, professional-looking videos is often beyond the capabilities of many small businesses. And even if a business does possess video assets, they’re typically one to two minutes in length. Transforming a 90-second video into a captivating and coherent bumper ad is no easy feat. Or rather, it was no easy feat. The bumper machine—available to all advertisers free of charge—empowers anyone with a relatively short video to effortlessly create a series of six-second YouTube ads. Given how much time everyone spends on YouTube today, this is an opportunity too good to miss!

9. User-Generated Images Enhance Shopping Reviews

I’m no retail guru, but I’m fairly certain I understand one key reason why brick-and-mortar stores remain appealing: the ability to physically interact with products. When trying on clothes in a store, I can immediately visualize myself wearing them in different scenarios—out with friends, strolling down the street, etc. This ability to help customers envision how products fit into their lives gives physical retailers a significant edge over ecommerce businesses. That’s why Google has introduced user-generated images—authentic photos taken by satisfied customers—to Google Shopping reviews. If you’re a US-based retailer using Google Shopping, you can now register for the Product Ratings program and set up a product reviews feed. Utilizing the new <reviewer_images> schema, you can directly upload customer-submitted photos to Google Merchant Center.

Wondering how to gather user-generated images from your happy customers? It’s simple: just ask. Implement a straightforward email automation sequence to reach out to everyone who makes a purchase from your online store, encouraging them to leave a review—ideally accompanied by a photo! Sweeten the deal with a small incentive—like a discount code—and you’ll quickly amass a collection of high-quality product photos.

10. Responsive Display Ads Embrace Video

Since their introduction earlier this decade, responsive display ads have become a force to be reckoned with—dynamic, visually appealing ad units that Google automatically optimizes based on website content and user screen size. For those unfamiliar, here’s how they function: You provide ad copy and visual assets, and Google’s algorithms determine the most effective copy/image combinations based on the aforementioned factors.

Before this spring, “visual assets” referred to static images and GIFs. However, as of March, YouTube advertisers gained the ability to incorporate video content into their responsive display ads. Here are three compelling reasons to leverage this update:

1. Increased visibility: Google tends to favor responsive display ads over traditional banner ads.
2. Higher engagement: Responsive display ads—especially those incorporating video—are more captivating than standard banners.
3. Simplified management: Unlike standard banner ads, which require ongoing optimization, responsive display ads are semi-automated, saving you time and effort.

11. Gallery Ads Steal the Show

Last but not least, we have gallery ads—a brand-new mobile ad format unveiled at Google Marketing Live and currently in beta testing with select advertisers. Here’s the example Google shared when announcing this new ad type:

As you can see, a gallery ad—which appears at the top of the search results page—features a swipeable carousel showcasing up to eight distinct images. Above the carousel sits a clickable headline and display URL, with a concise caption beneath each image. Once you have access to gallery ads, you can submit up to three unique headlines per ad, allowing you to experiment with different value propositions and calls to action. Early testing by Google revealed that gallery ads generate 25% more engagement (measured by clicks and swipes) compared to standard text ads. My take: While words effectively communicate value, combining words with visuals is even more impactful. To illustrate, consider this typical text ad from one of Devour’s competitors.

Is it a bad ad? Not necessarily. However, ask yourself this: If you were in the mood for a quick and easy frozen meal, which ad would be more persuasive—Devour’s visually appealing gallery ad or Marie Callender’s text-based ad? I can’t speak for everyone, but personally, the ad featuring a carousel of appetizing images wins hands down. And there’s scientific backing: Our brains process images 60,000 times faster than text, and we’re more likely to remember content that includes visuals. My recommendation? Jump on the gallery ad bandwagon as soon as you can!