Paid Media News & Opinion #133

Google introduces 1st Order Promotions for Shopping ads

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> What’s happening

Google has introduced a new feature called “1st Order Promotions” or also termed “New Customer Promotions” for Shopping ads. This allows merchants (currently only available in the US to those on an allow list) to display exclusive discounts for first-time customers directly in paid product listings.

These automatically applied promotions are designed to attract new buyers by showing special offers in a seamless, user-friendly way within Shopping ads.

Here’s how it works:

• Promotion types: Merchants can offer either a percentage or amount off a customer’s first purchase.

• No minimum purchase required: These promotions cannot require a minimum spend.

• Paid listings only: Available only on paid Shopping ads, not free listings.

• New Customer Acquisition goal required: Campaigns must use this specific goal to be eligible.

• Approval process: Promotions must be submitted and approved through the Merchant Centre, either via promotion feed, builder, or API.

• UI placement: When Google identifies a user as a new customer, the promo is shown in a highlighted format within the Shopping ad.

> Why we care

Acquiring new customers has become more difficult and costly in today’s crowded ecommerce landscape. Google’s 1st Order Promotions offer a frictionless, high-visibility way to differentiate your brand and drive first-time purchases.

The feature could improve user engagement and experience. Displaying exclusive offers directly in Shopping ads increases the likelihood of engagement. Shoppers are more likely to click when they see an upfront, first-time discount. Since the promotion is automatically applied and doesn’t require a minimum spend, there’s less friction in the buyer journey.

Shopping results are crowded with similar products and prices. A bold new-customer offer, especially one highlighted in the ad, can give you a competitive edge.

Google adds new conversion metric that includes “predicted conv. value”

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> What’s happening

Google Ads has introduced a new reporting column called “Conv. value (incl. predicted)”, which combines actual conversion value with predicted future value based on early signals.

The new metric is in the process of being rolled out, and will allow advertisers to see what their conversion value might be when factoring in the average number of days to conversion.

> Why we care

There will always be a lot of conversions that happen days and weeks after the initial click or interaction. Every week you can look at the previous week’s performance on a Monday, and if you check back a few days later you’ll see that the number of conversions has often increased. Cost won’t increase, as that’s fixed and has already occurred, so any additional conversions coming through will only ever improve your CPA and your ROAS, which can completely change the perspective on performance.

For many years, Google has displayed information around this - notably in the charts towards the top of Google Ads, it often has a bar you can hover over that will say along the lines of “x amount of additional conversions anticipated in the next x days, based on your typical user journey”.

This was good information, but it was delivered in a way that was difficult to use and act upon. This new column will allow advertisers to see more clearly and granularly what the true picture might be that they’re working with, and therefore allow them to make smarter and faster decision when it comes to optimisations. Of course, they are just predictions so we would advise caution in terms of the decisions you make, but it’s definitely valuable information that is worth reviewing.

Google Ads tests URL inclusions and exclusions for more precise ad generation

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> What’s happening

Google Ads is testing a new feature for Search campaigns that gives advertisers greater control over how their website content is used to generate dynamic ad content. The new URL Inclusions and Exclusions tools are now accessible under the Keywords section of Search campaign settings.

Here’s a breakdown of the update:

• URL exclusions: Advertisers can block specific pages or sections of their website from being used in ad generation. This helps ensure irrelevant or low-performing pages don’t influence automated ads.

• URL inclusions: This setting appears designed to let advertisers prioritize specific high-value pages for dynamic ad generation.

• Campaign-level only: These controls are limited to the campaign level for now and don’t work at the ad group level.

> Why we care

As Google Ads continues to lean into automation, control and precision become even more important. The ability to include or exclude certain site pages helps advertisers guide Google's AI to focus on high-converting, brand-relevant content, rather than letting the system pull from every web page.

This can potentially help reduce irrelevant ads. URL Exclusions can prevent low-quality or off-topic pages (like terms of service, blog articles, or low-intent landing pages) from showing up in dynamic ads. Excluding certain pages helps maintain consistency, ensuring ads reflect only the most on-brand and user-friendly experiences.

URL inclusions could enable advertisers to steer ad generation toward their best-performing or highest-margin product and category pages. By allowing brands to dictate which pages fuel dynamic ads, this tool can help reduce wasted spend, improve ad relevance, and ultimately drive stronger campaign performance.

What else we've been talking about:

• Microsoft adds app placement controls to audience campaigns

• Google Analytics adds Consent Signal Ratings

• Google Ads stops auto-opting search campaigns into the Display Network

• Interactive product feed integration is coming for YouTube CTV ads

• YouTube bringing more insights with Advanced Analytics for videos