Google Ads is adding two new capabilities aimed at advertisers trying to connect digital campaigns with activity inside physical stores.
The updates focus on two parts of that process: reaching nearby consumers who appear ready to visit a location and making it easier to connect in-store purchases back to Google Ads.
Both updates are arriving as retailers head into the Q4 holiday shopping season, when the relationship between online research and in-store purchasing can become especially important.
Read on to understand how to use these features to your advantage in Performance Max campaigns.
Performance Max Gets Local Customer Optimization
Google is introducing Local Customer Optimization, a new campaign-level setting within Performance Max campaigns for store goals.
The setting prioritizes consumers who are close to or interested in a business location and appear ready to take an immediate action. That could include visiting a store, requesting directions or calling the location.
Google says the feature uses signals from people navigating, planning trips or searching for locations across Google Maps, Waze and local formats on Google Search.
Advertisers can enable the setting when creating a Performance Max campaign focused only on offline goals. It can also be turned on within the budget and bidding optimization settings of an existing eligible campaign.
However, there are some limitations that come with this new optimization goal.
In reading the support documentation, Local Customer Optimization isn’t compatible with online campaign goals. It also can’t be used with Performance Max campaigns advertising products from a linked Merchant Center account.
That means retailers using feed-based Performance Max campaigns can’t simply enable the setting within those existing campaigns. They would need a separate eligible Performance Max campaign focused on store goals.
Google says Local Customer Optimization is rolling out globally soon, per Ginny Marvin’s LinkedIn post announcement.
Store Sales Is Coming To Google Ads Data Manager
Google is also making it easier for eligible advertisers to bring in-store transaction data into Google Ads.
Store Sales in Google Ads Data Manager will allow advertisers to connect existing sales data from sources such as a CRM or Google Sheets directly within their Google Ads account.
Store Sales measurement connects purchases made at physical locations with prior ad interactions. Advertisers can use that data for reporting and Smart Bidding, including optimizing toward store sales or incorporating offline revenue alongside online conversions.
Google already supports several methods for uploading first-party store sales data, including manual and scheduled uploads, Data Manager, the Google Ads API and approved store sales partners. Google recommends regular uploads to keep reporting current.
The new Data Manager integration is designed to reduce some of the technical work involved in maintaining that connection.
Store Sales in Data Manager is expected to begin rolling out at the end of September.
Store Sales Isn’t Available To Every Advertiser
The measurement update doesn’t mean every advertiser with physical locations will automatically gain access to Store Sales.
Google limits some Store Sales capabilities to eligible or allowlisted advertisers. Depending on eligibility, advertisers may receive store sales counts, values based on defaults or dynamic values based on uploaded transaction data.
For advertisers uploading first-party transaction data, Google requires customer information such as email addresses, phone numbers or addresses to be hashed before it is used. Google Ads can also hash unhashed customer data using SHA-256 during the upload process.
Google recommends uploading transaction data daily or weekly. Transactions within the previous 30 days are required for dynamic conversion value reporting, with data from the previous 14 days recommended.
Google’s Store Sales availability and eligibility documentation provides additional information for advertisers determining whether their accounts qualify.
What This Means For Advertisers
The two updates give advertisers with physical locations more ways to use offline activity within Google Ads.
Local Customer Optimization gives Performance Max another signal for prioritizing people who appear closer to taking an offline action. For businesses that care more about immediate store traffic than broader online demand, that creates a more specific use case for Performance Max store goals campaigns.
The Store Sales update may be more significant for advertisers that have struggled with the technical requirements of sending offline transaction data back to Google Ads.
Better access to that data can affect more than reporting. Store Sales can also be included in Smart Bidding, allowing eligible campaigns to optimize toward the value of purchases that happen inside physical locations.
Advertisers should still pay close attention to which conversion goals they use for bidding. Adding store sales or other offline actions changes the data Smart Bidding uses to make auction decisions, particularly when campaigns already optimize toward online conversions.
More Offline Signals Are Feeding Google Ads Automation
Google has been giving advertisers more ways to bring first-party and offline conversion data into its automated campaigns.
These updates continue that work for advertisers with physical locations, particularly those that can connect in-store purchases back to their campaigns.
For retailers, the timing ahead of the holiday season gives them a chance to test how much those signals improve optimization when online and in-store activity overlap.
As Store Sales becomes easier to connect, advertisers may also have more complete conversion data available for reporting and bidding. That makes the setup and accuracy of those offline conversion inputs worth reviewing before they are incorporated into campaign optimization.
Featured image: Hakinmhan / Shutterstock
