Search Ads 360 Certification Exam Answers - Google Marketing Platform

Your customer, a textiles designer, is wondering what products are currently compatible with Google Ads auction-time bidding in Search Ads 360. What are they?

• They’re Shopping, Performance Max, and Search.
• They’re Shopping, Performance Max, and Display.
• They’re Performance Max, Shopping, and Display.
• They’re Performance Max, Search, and Display.

Explanation:

Search Ads 360 primarily focuses on text ads. This feature allows advertisers to adjust bids in real-time based on various factors such as device, location, time of day, and audience signals for text ads.

However, it’s essential to note that Google Ads features and compatibility may evolve over time, and new updates may have been introduced since my last update. Therefore, it’s recommended to check the latest Google Ads Help Center, Search Ads 360 documentation, or directly contact Google Support for the most up-to-date and accurate information regarding the compatibility of specific ad formats with auction-time bidding in Search Ads 360.

As of my last update, text ads are the primary ad format compatible with auction-time bidding, but Google may expand compatibility to other ad formats or introduce new features. Always refer to the latest documentation for the most accurate details on product compatibility and features.

Your pet food client wants you to recommend a Google product that can connect with Search Ads 360 to provide data visualization that will offer a more robust view of their campaign. What product should you suggest they use?

• You should suggest Performance Center.
• You should suggest Display & Video 360.
• You should suggest Looker Studio.
• You should suggest Google Analytics 4.

Explanation:

For data visualization and creating robust reports to offer a more comprehensive view of their campaigns in Search Ads 360, I would recommend suggesting the use of Google Data Studio.

Google Data Studio:

• Purpose: Google Data Studio is a free, cloud-based data visualization tool that allows users to create interactive and customizable reports and dashboards.
• Integration with Search Ads 360: Data Studio seamlessly integrates with Search Ads 360, enabling your pet food client to pull in data directly from their advertising campaigns.
• Customization: Users can customize reports and dashboards to visualize key performance metrics, trends, and insights specific to their pet food campaigns.
• Multiple Data Sources: In addition to Search Ads 360, Google Data Studio supports integration with various data sources, including Google Analytics, Google Ads, Google Sheets, and more. This allows for a holistic view by combining data from different platforms.
• Interactive Reports: Data Studio reports are interactive, allowing users to explore and interact with the data dynamically. This makes it easy to drill down into specific details and gain a deeper understanding of campaign performance.
• Sharing and Collaboration: Reports can be easily shared with stakeholders, and multiple team members can collaborate on creating and editing reports.

By utilizing Google Data Studio, your pet food client can create visually appealing and insightful reports that go beyond the standard reporting capabilities within Search Ads 360. This can enhance their ability to analyze campaign performance, communicate results effectively, and make data-driven decisions.

Your client wants to know the Google products that integrate with Search Ads 360. What are they?

• They’re Display & Video 360, Campaign Manager 360, Gmail, Looker Studio, and Tag Manager.
• They’re Display & Video 360, Campaign Manager 360, Google Analytics 4, Gmall, and Big Query.
• They’re Display & Video 360, Campaign Manager 360, Google Analytics 4, Looker Studio, and Big Query.
• They’re Display & Video 360, Campaign Manager 360, YouTube, Looker Studio, and Big Query.

Explanation:

Search Ads 360 is a powerful advertising management platform from Google, designed to help advertisers efficiently manage and optimize their search marketing campaigns across multiple search engines. Several Google products integrate with Search Ads 360 to provide a comprehensive advertising solution. As of my last knowledge update in January 2022, here are some Google products that integrate with Search Ads 360:

1. Google Ads:
   • Search Ads 360 is primarily designed to integrate with Google Ads, allowing advertisers to manage and optimize their search campaigns across the Google Search Network. This integration enables streamlined campaign management and reporting.
2. Google Analytics:
   • Search Ads 360 can be integrated with Google Analytics to provide a more holistic view of campaign performance. This integration allows advertisers to analyze user behavior, track conversions, and gain insights into the customer journey.
3. Google Tag Manager:
   • Google Tag Manager integration allows advertisers to manage and deploy tracking tags across their websites more efficiently. This can help in tracking various actions and events, providing valuable data for campaign optimization.
4. Google Merchant Center:
   • For advertisers running Shopping campaigns, integration with Google Merchant Center is essential. This integration allows advertisers to manage and optimize product listings, ensuring accurate and up-to-date information for Shopping ads.
5. Google Data Studio:
   • While not a direct integration, advertisers can use Google Data Studio to create custom reports and dashboards based on data from Search Ads 360. This provides a visually appealing and customizable way to present campaign performance data.
6. Google Sheets:
   • Advertisers can export data from Search Ads 360 to Google Sheets for further analysis and reporting. This flexibility allows for custom data manipulation and visualization.
7. Google Campaign Manager:
   • Google Campaign Manager integration allows advertisers to manage and track display campaigns across the Google Display Network. While Search Ads 360 is more focused on search campaigns, the integration provides a more comprehensive view of cross-channel advertising efforts.

Where do you access reporting, campaigns, and ad groups within Search Ads 360?

• In the data card
• In account picker
• In Tools & Settings
• In the navigation menu

Explanation:

In Search Ads 360, you access reporting, campaigns, and ad groups from the main navigation menu. Here’s how you can access these sections:

1. Reporting:
   • To access reporting in Search Ads 360, follow these steps:
     • Log in to your Search Ads 360 account.
     • In the left navigation panel, click on the “Reports” tab.
     • This will take you to the Reporting section where you can create and customize reports to analyze the performance of your campaigns, ad groups, keywords, and other elements.
2. Campaigns and Ad Groups:
   • To access campaigns and ad groups in Search Ads 360, follow these steps:
     • Log in to your Search Ads 360 account.
     • In the left navigation panel, click on the “Campaigns” tab to view a list of your campaigns.
     • Click on a specific campaign to view its details, ad groups, and performance metrics.
     • To view ad groups specifically, click on the “Ad groups” tab in the left navigation panel.

   Alternatively, you can click on the “Ad groups” tab directly to view a list of all ad groups across your campaigns.

   These sections allow you to manage and analyze your campaigns, ad groups, and performance data within Search Ads 360.

Remember that the user interface and navigation options in Search Ads 360 may evolve over time, so it’s advisable to refer to the latest documentation or interface guides for the most up-to-date information on accessing different sections within the platform.

Apart from giving full credit to paid search ads, your customer wants to know where their sales are coming from. How else might they segment conversions in Search Ads 360?

• By connecting their Google Ads account to Search Ads 360
• By connecting their social media accounts to Search Ads 360
• By connecting their Looker Studio account to Search Ads 360
• By connecting their Google Analytics 4 account to Search Ads 360

Explanation:

In Search Ads 360, besides giving full credit to paid search ads, your customer can use various attribution models and segmentation options to gain insights into where their sales are coming from. Here are different ways to segment conversions in Search Ads 360:

1. Attribution Models:
   • Data-Driven Attribution: This model uses machine learning to distribute credit for conversions based on the actual contribution of each touchpoint in the conversion path. It provides a more dynamic and personalized attribution approach.
   • Linear Attribution: This model evenly distributes credit across all touchpoints in the conversion path. It gives equal weight to each interaction, providing a more even distribution of credit.
   • Time Decay Attribution: This model gives more credit to touchpoints closer to the conversion and less credit to earlier interactions. It recognizes the diminishing influence of early touchpoints over time.
2. Cross-Device Attribution:
   • Analyze conversions across different devices to understand how users move between devices before completing a conversion. This is especially important in a multi-device user journey.
3. Top Paths and Path Length Reports:
   • Use the “Top Paths” report to identify the most common paths users take before converting. The “Path Length” report provides insights into the number of interactions users have before converting, helping understand the typical conversion journey.
4. Segmentation by Campaigns and Ad Groups:
   • Segment conversions based on specific campaigns or ad groups. This allows your customer to identify which campaigns or ad groups are driving the most conversions and tailor their strategies accordingly.
5. Segmentation by Keyword Match Types:
   • Analyze conversions based on different keyword match types (e.g., broad match, exact match, phrase match). This helps understand the performance of specific match types in driving conversions.
6. Segmentation by Geography:
   • Evaluate conversions based on different geographic locations. This segmentation can help identify regions or locations that contribute significantly to sales.
7. Dayparting and Time-of-Day Analysis:
   • Use dayparting to analyze conversions based on different times of the day or days of the week. This segmentation helps identify peak times for conversions and optimize bidding strategies accordingly.
8. Segmentation by Audience Lists:
   • If your customer is using audience lists, segment conversions based on different audience segments. This provides insights into which audience segments are more likely to convert.
9. Custom Floodlight Variables:
   • If custom variables are implemented in Floodlight tags, segment conversions based on these variables. This allows for custom and granular segmentation based on specific parameters relevant to your customer’s business.

By leveraging these segmentation options and attribution models, your customer can gain a more nuanced understanding of the customer journey and the various touchpoints that contribute to conversions. This information can inform more informed decision-making and optimization strategies in their Search Ads 360 campaigns.

Your premium beverage customer set a target return on ad spend (tROAS) bid strategy in Search Ads 360. They noticed that when they evaluate how the strategy is doing, there’s limited consistency and minimal automation. What might be happening?

• They didn’t make optimizations or adjustments post-bid strategy launch.
• They reviewed performance data after conversion delay cycles passed.
• They began the evaluation after week four.
• They began the evaluation between one to two weeks.

Explanation:

It’s important to allow at least two weeks from the launch date for a bid strategy to calibrate properly before starting any evaluation of its performance. Starting the assessment too early, such as within the first one to two weeks, doesn’t give the algorithm sufficient time to adjust and learn from the data. This initial calibration period is vital, especially since consistency and the level of automation depend on the amount of conversion data and the algorithm’s learning progress.

After the bid strategy has had time to calibrate, which usually happens around the second or third week, it’s then appropriate to review and see if any constraints set within the bid strategy are hindering its optimization. If so, and if it aligns with the customer’s business objectives, adjustments to these constraints should be made to enhance the strategy’s performance and automation capabilities.

Chapter 10: Measure Bid Performance in Search Ads 360

If your premium beverage customer set a target return on ad spend (tROAS) bid strategy in Search Ads 360 and is experiencing limited consistency and minimal automation when evaluating the strategy’s performance, several factors could be contributing to this issue. Here are some potential reasons:

1. Insufficient Data Volume:
   • Bid strategies, especially those based on tROAS, require a sufficient volume of data to make accurate predictions and optimizations. If the campaign or ad group has limited historical data, the bid strategy may struggle to automate effectively.
2. Seasonality or Market Changes:
   • Seasonal variations or sudden changes in the market can impact the performance of bid strategies. If there are fluctuations in consumer behavior, competitive landscape, or external factors, it may affect the bid strategy’s ability to maintain consistency.
3. Bid Strategy Settings:
   • Review the settings of the tROAS bid strategy. Ensure that the target ROAS value is realistic and aligns with the business goals. Additionally, check other settings such as bid limits, attribution model, and conversion settings to ensure they are configured appropriately.
4. Limited Targeting Options:
   • The bid strategy’s effectiveness can be influenced by the targeting options selected. If the targeting is too narrow or broad, it may impact the ability to consistently meet the tROAS goal. Consider refining targeting parameters based on the campaign objectives.
5. Bid Strategy Exclusions:
   • Examine if there are any exclusions or limitations set within the bid strategy that may be impacting its automation. For example, bid strategy exclusions based on specific audiences, devices, or locations could limit its ability to optimize effectively.
6. Recent Changes in Ad Groups or Campaigns:
   • If there have been recent changes in ad groups, campaigns, or targeting settings, the bid strategy may take time to adapt. Changes such as new keywords, ad creatives, or adjustments to targeting can impact the bid strategy’s performance.
7. Data Lag or Reporting Delay:
   • Sometimes, there may be a lag in data processing or reporting within Search Ads 360. Check for any delays in data updates and reporting to ensure that you are evaluating performance with the most recent information.
8. Competitive Bidding Landscape:
   • Changes in the competitive bidding landscape can impact the bid strategy. If competitors adjust their strategies or bid aggressively, it may affect the performance consistency of the tROAS bid strategy.

To address the issue, it’s recommended to closely monitor the bid strategy’s performance over time, analyze any recent changes, and consider adjusting settings based on the evolving campaign dynamics. Regularly review reports, leverage Search Ads 360 insights, and, if needed, consult with Google Support for specific guidance on optimizing tROAS bid strategies in your customer’s premium beverage campaign.