Paid Media News & Opinion #119

Demand Gen on Google Ads gets new channel control options

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> What’s happening

Google Ads has begun rolling out channel control for Demand Gen campaigns to more accounts, allowing advertisers to choose which of Google’s properties – YouTube, Discover, Gmail, and Display – to appear on.

This enables more control for advertisers, which can be set at the ad group level, although reporting and data on channel performance is not (yet) available. Unconfirmed reports say that channel performance is being rolled out.

> Why we care

This is a major step in demystifying campaign placements as well as offering advertisers more control, giving the option back to more advanced advertisers who understand their data well enough to make these decisions.

The introduction of AI-powered campaign types has been mostly met with reduced control, putting campaigns at the mercy of the algorithm and perhaps Google’s bias for putting money in their pocket, so this is a refreshing update.

If channel-level performance is to be released only for Demand Gen, this will make it well worth utilising just to see which channels are driving your performance, helping you make better media buying decisions.

Microsoft ads enforcing consent compliance from May 2025

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> What’s happening

Microsoft Advertising is introducing new consent requirements to align with global privacy regulations like the GDPR and DMA. Starting March 25, 2024, advertisers must ensure user consent is collected before any tracking or data processing occurs via UET tags or other Microsoft advertising services. This change is specifically for EEA, UK and Switzerland.

> Why we care

While consent collection has technically been required for some time, the key change is that Microsoft will now begin enforcing compliance — meaning if valid consent signals aren’t passed your ads may stop serving. To stay compliant, advertisers need to implement a Consent Management Platform (CMP) to capture and transmit consent signals properly.

This shouldn’t be news to most advertisers as Google Ads have had similar requirements for some time and this should already be in place, but it’s worth double-checking that your set-up is valid and up-to-date.

Google and Bing experiment with more Shopping and Search ad space

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> What’s happening

Google and Microsoft Bing are both experimenting with significant changes to their search advertising formats, potentially altering how users interact with search results by increasing ad depth.

Google is testing an expanded Shopping Ads format in desktop search results within the Shopping tab. Previously, users commonly saw two rows of Shopping Ads on mobile. However, desktop users are now seeing an additional row when they expand the results, effectively increasing the visibility of sponsored product listings.

Microsoft Bing appears to be testing a much more aggressive approach to paid ads, which dramatically reduces organic search visibility. Users have reported seeing search result pages with at least seven paid advertisements and as few as one or two organic results on the first page.

> Why we care

Google’s expansion of Shopping Ads and Bing’s aggressive paid placement suggest a shift toward even more monetized search results. For advertisers, this means adapting strategies to maximize visibility amid changing formats.

Bing’s dramatic reduction in organic search results could significantly affect businesses that rely on non-paid visibility. With so many paid ads dominating the first page, organic content may struggle to reach users. Additionally, Microsoft’s test might be pushing the limits of user tolerance for sponsored content, potentially impacting engagement and click-through rates.

Bing’s latest test goes beyond Google’s typical approach, which usually limits top-of-page ads to four. With paid placements taking centre stage, organic results may continue to shrink, and force some businesses into adopting a stronger focus on paid ads, potentially intensifying competition.

What else we've been talking about:

• Microsoft Tests Local Business tags on Bing Search Ads

• LinkedIn shares top skills on the rise based on job and profile listings

• Reddit adds Hide option for ads across platform

• How to optimize for ROAS in Google Ads using LTV insights

• Bluesky for PPC: What you need to know

• Google’s Demand Gen upgrade: Key changes and success strategies