March came in hot with updates that touch nearly every corner of the paid search landscape. From Demand Gen measurement upgrades to immersive AR shopping features, there’s a lot for advertisers to chew on this month. As always, we’re breaking down what’s new, what it means for you, and how your team can stay ahead.
Demand Gen Gets Platform-Comparable Conversion Columns
Google rolled out Platform-Comparable conversion columns for Demand Gen campaigns, giving advertisers a better apples-to-apples comparison with paid social platforms. These columns isolate Demand Gen-specific interactions, apply 100% last-click attribution, and include view-through conversions. Available at the campaign and ad group level, this update is designed to reduce performance blending between Demand Gen, Search, and PMax.
What This Means for You: With cleaner data and clearer attribution, advertisers can more accurately benchmark campaign influence against other channels, especially when justifying cross-platform budget allocations.
Google Supercharges Shopping with AI + AR
Google has gone full speed ahead into visual discovery, rolling out features like Vision Search (camera-based shopping), AI Match (retailer-agnostic product matching), and virtual try-ons for lips, hair, and foundation. This latest expansion underscores Google’s focus on owning more of the upper funnel for ecommerce, especially in beauty and fashion.
What This Means for You: Brands in style-forward verticals should test these features early. They offer both performance potential and new ways to connect with audiences in more visual, immersive formats.
Performance Max Retail: Better Visibility, Smarter Testing
PMax campaigns are getting a long-requested upgrade: Channel-level reporting is now in testing, giving advertisers a peek into which surfaces (Search, YouTube, Display, etc.) are driving performance. For retail campaigns, new asset testing capabilities allow for cleaner A/B comparisons between creative-rich and feed-only asset groups.
What This Means for You: These updates will help your team better diagnose performance trends, inform creative investment, and increase confidence in optimization decisions.
Shopping Ads: Easier Feed Management + Pricing Transparency
Google has introduced Price at Checkout annotations, showing the final price before users complete a purchase. Meanwhile, Microsoft announced enhanced feed management tools for Shopping campaigns, including better diagnostics, supplemental feeds, and a feed mapping tool to simplify product setup. These updates reduce friction in product setup and improve conversion clarity, and brands should monitor the early impact on conversion rates and merchant center troubleshooting efficiency.
What This Means for You: These updates reduce friction in both the setup and purchase journey. Expect improvements in conversion rates and less time troubleshooting Merchant Center headaches.
Google’s Automatic Content Extraction for Merchants
Google has rolled out a new feature that automatically extracts marketing content from merchants to boost visibility across Search, Shopping, and Maps. All merchants are automatically enrolled, and content can be pulled from marketing emails or directly submitted by adding Google’s dedicated email to distribution lists. Google may showcase promotions, social links, brand imagery, and even brand values without requiring additional setup.
What This Means for You: Passive exposure sounds great, but control is king. Teams should monitor what’s being surfaced and assess whether visibility is driving results.
Google Tag Manager Update: Smarter, More Reliable Tracking Ahead
Starting April 10, Google Tag Manager will change how it interacts with Google Ads tags to improve data accuracy and streamline measurement. Going forward, GTM containers using Google Ads or Floodlight tags will automatically load a Google tag before firing any events. This ensures more reliable data collection and enables features like Enhanced Conversions, Cross-domain tracking, and Autoevents, all accessible directly from the Google tag settings.
What This Means for You: This update will improve attribution accuracy and unlock easier access to advanced features. To prepare, make sure a Google tag is added to your GTM container and preview changes ahead of the April rollout. The update will apply automatically if no action is taken.
Microsoft’s Bing Ads Face Criticism for Over-Saturation
Bing’s search results are making headlines for showing more ads than ever (up to 7+), often pushing organic results well below the fold. This could have implications for impression share, CTR, and the overall user experience.
What This Means for You: If you’re running Microsoft campaigns, watch for performance shifts and consider testing creative or placement strategies to stand out in an increasingly ad-heavy SERP.
March brought big changes, but also big opportunities. With better measurement tools, smarter testing capabilities, and more immersive ad formats, now’s the time to double down on experimentation and optimization. We’ll be back next month to break down what’s next.
