• by Laurie Sullivan  @lauriesullivan, 9 hours ago

Google announced in beta on Wednesday that channel-level reporting is coming to its Performance Max advertising platform supported by artificial intelligence (AI).

The move will enable advertisers to gain visibility into how individual channels like search, display and YouTube perform within Performance Max, which is now used by more than 1 million advertisers, according to Google.

It brings additional data, insights and transparency so advertisers can see how channel performance, search terms, and assets impact performance.

It also will show what advertisers can do to further optimize campaigns.  

On the new “Channel performance” page, advertisers will find a campaign-level performance summary along with a new data-visualization capability that makes it easier to analyze each channel being used to engage with consumers and how each contributes to conversion goals.

Google also will add full search-term reporting and more detailed asset reporting that show advertisers all metrics for individual assets running in the campaign.

Advertisers will be able to see where spend is allocated across channels as well as clicks, impressions, conversion values and costs by ad format and channel. They will also know why the campaigns do not show up on certain apps and what to do to resolve the issue. 

Platform updates and upgrades allow advertisers to see granular performance statistics for each platform to alert them when they reach business goals across all Google platforms, including Search, YouTube, Discover, Gmail, Display Network, Search partners, and Maps.

In 2024, for example, the company said it launched more than 90 improvements in Performance Max. Those upgrades increased conversions and conversion value by more than 10% for advertisers.

Confidence is key to increasing performance, according to Janee Esala, senior director of performance marketing at electronic components distributor Digikey Electronics.

Esala believes improvements provide a detailed breakdown of channel placement that has given the team confidence to increase its marketing strategies. 

Advertisers can analyze specific channels to understand how each contributes. For example, a home and garden retailer might see that they are performing well on YouTube and decide to invest in additional video assets to drive even more conversions.

With this rollout, Google will launch a search terms report and improved asset-level reporting, adding to features that it already offers.

The company said the open beta for channel performance reporting will begin in May around the time of Google Marketing Live. At that time, more details will be shared.

Changes were made based on direct feedback from advertisers.