Welcome to Cultivative’s weekly roundup for all things PPC from around the web—everything you need to know right now about PPC!
At Cultivative, we’re all about making your life easier. We’ve gathered the top PPC news and innovations from around the web and getting it into your hands. Check out what we found this past week.
8 Key PPC Marketing Metrics to track in 2021
By Luke Carlino | Sep 2, 2021

PPC campaigns have the advantage of providing a great deal of data. With so much information at your disposal and many different PPC trends to consider, which PPC metrics are the best to use, and how do they help improve your campaigns? Luke Carlino reviews eight of the key PPC metrics you should be taking note of, including:
- Clicks
- Cost Per Click (CPC)
- Impression Share
- Conversion rate
- Cost per Conversion
- Click-Through Rate (CTR)
- Quality Score
- Total Conversion Value
Google to Sunset Expanded Text Ads: Here’s How to Build Good Responsive Search Ads
By Ashwin Balakrishnan | Sep 2, 2021

“Moving a step closer to near-total PPC automation, Google Ads announced that starting from July 2022, Responsive Search Ads (RSAs) will be the only search ad type in standard search campaigns,” explains Ashwin Balakrishnan. To help PPC advertisers transition to building better RSAs, Balakrishnan recommends focusing on:
- Pinning headlines and descriptions
- Ad customizers
- Copywriting and testing
Advertisers React to Google’s Decision to Sunset Expanded Text Ad Creation
By Amy Bishop | Sep 3, 2021

Google Ads announced that it would no longer allow the creation of Expanded Text Ads (ETAs) after June 2022. We’ve asked some of the industry experts to weigh in with their thoughts on the changes and what advertisers should do to prepare. Of the folks we spoke to, nearly every single advertiser mentioned that they had assumed the change was eventually coming, and that they weren’t surprised by the change. Most saw this change coming when the interface was updated to make Responsive Search Ads (RSAs) the default for new ad creation. Though the change didn’t come as a surprise, it still hasn’t been well received. See reactions from Kirk Williams, Julie Bacchini, Michelle Morgan, Tim Jensen, Navah Hopkins, Joe Martinez, Brooke Osmundson, Robert Brady, and Mark Irvine.
PPC Reporting Guide: How to Learn, Inform, & Impress With Your Data
By Susie Marino | Sep 7, 2021

PPC reporting is a must, but it can be hard to know the best way to report your performance, and it is vital to consistent growth with any account. Susie Marino created this complete guide to fool-proof PPC reporting covering:
- PPC reporting goals
- What to include in a PPC report
- Tips and strategies for a great report
- PPC reporting pitfalls to avoid
- Helpful PPC reporting tools
Microsoft Advertising Announces September Product Releases & Updates
By Amy Bishop | Sep 7, 2021

Microsoft Advertising announced its September product releases and updates including video advertising on the Audience Network, disclaimers in ads, flexible IOs and more! I highlight what you need to know for the following:
- Microsoft Audience Network Video Ads Pilot
- Vertical-based product ads in the US and UK
- Inline appeals for product ads
- Disclaimers in Ads
- Microsoft Simplifies UET Tag Implementation With 3rd Party Integrations
- Flexible Insertion Orders
Leverage Optimization Score to help guide your account management
By Jessica Cui and Cristiano Ventura | Sep 8, 2021

Optimization Score is now available on the Recommendations tab to help you estimate and display how well your account is set to perform. Along with the overall Optimization Score, you’ll see a list of recommendations tailored specifically for your account to help you optimize each campaign. As a result, advertisers can spend their time more efficiently prioritizing the optimization actions with higher impact.
What Does Google FLoC Mean for Advertisers? 7 FAQs Answered
By Amy Bishop | Sep 8, 2021

With a focus on a more private browsing experience, Google has announced that it will deprecate third-party cookies. Not long after, it announced the concept of Federated Learning of Cohorts, or FLoC, to create solutions and alternatives for advertisers while maintaining privacy for users. The concept of FLoC isn’t easy to grasp, and it has raised a lot of questions and concerns. So in this post, I’m going to help you understand what FLoC means for advertisers by answering seven key questions and the goal of this post is to help answer some of those common questions. If you’ve ever wondered what FLoC is, how it will work, or why it was developed, this post is for you. You’re going to learn:
- What Google FLoC is and how it relates to third-party cookies.
- How FLoC works and why it’s gotten backlash.
- What you can do to stay on top of advertising in a cookieless world.
We hope you learned something new you can apply to your PPC business strategy. Let us know in the comments below what you want to start implementing. As always, we are happy to be a resource for your paid advertising needs. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us.
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