Paid Media – Digital Nomads HQ

Google Ads 2026 Bidding & Budgeting Updates Explained

Benjamin Paine — Sat, 27 Jun 2026 10:01:53 +0000

Google just changed how its bidding works.

And one part of it has a deadline.

Here is the short version: from 17 August, some of your best Google Ads campaigns could quietly start costing more. Not because you did anything wrong.

Because Google is closing a gap you have probably been benefiting from without realising.

If you run Google Ads, or pay someone to, this is the one to understand before August.

Let us break it down.

The change with a deadline: Bidding Target Optimisation

This is the one main aspect to act on… so let’s start here.

Right now, loads of budget-capped campaigns quietly beat their targets.

You set a Target CPA of $50.

But because the campaign is limited by budget, it has actually been pulling leads in at $30.

You have been getting a better result than you asked for.

You might not have even noticed.

From 17 August, Google is closing that gap.

For campaigns marked “Limited by budget” that use Target CPA or Target ROAS, performance will line up more closely with the target you set.

Google calls it more consistent and predictable.

Here is the catch.

If your capped campaigns have been over-delivering, your cost per lead could climb, or your ROAS could slip, back toward the number sitting in your settings.

It hits Search, Shopping, Performance Max, Demand Gen and Travel campaigns.

And one thing to be clear on: Google will not touch your targets or budgets for you.

The shift happens automatically.

What you do about it is on you.

What to do about it

Before 17 August, go through every campaign that is Limited by budget and running Target CPA or Target ROAS.

For each one, you have three honest options.

Lock in the better result. If a capped campaign has been over-delivering and you want to keep that, lower the target to match what it is actually doing.

Set the Target CPA to the $30 it is really hitting, not the $50 you typed in six months ago. For most over-delivering campaigns, this is the move.

Keep your targets as they are. Happy to trade a bit of efficiency for the consistency Google is offering? Do nothing. Just make it a decision, not an accident.

Turn the budget up. A capped campaign that is beating its target is usually telling you there is more profitable volume out there. Lift the budget and go get it at your stated target, instead of leaving it boxed in.

Google is rolling out a Bid Target Adjustment Tool from 6 July to help, you will get a notification in your account.

It shows each campaign’s history and lets you apply new targets in a few clicks. That is your window. This kind of account hygiene is exactly what we handle as part of Google Ads management.

The other two changes are upside, not homework

The rest of the announcement is good news, no deadline attached.

Smart Bidding Exploration, expanded

This one lets you set a ROAS tolerance so your campaigns can chase conversions from searches they are not currently catching.

A controlled way to find new, profitable demand.

As of 15 June it is live in all Performance Max campaigns without product feeds, globally, with a beta rolling out to Shopping and feed-based PMax. Google says campaigns using it see an 18% lift in unique converting query categories and 19% more conversions on average. If growth is the goal, test it.

Promotion Mode (beta)

Got a sale, a launch, a peak season?

Promotion Mode lets you temporarily loosen your ROAS tolerance and add budget for that window, then ease back, without rebuilding the campaign. It is in beta for Search and Performance Max.

For retailers and anyone with seasonal spikes, this is a genuinely handy way to lean in hard when it counts.

And a name change

Small one. “Maximise conversions with a Target CPA” is now just Target CPA. “Maximise conversion value with a Target ROAS” is now Target ROAS. Same behaviour, clearer names. Update your reports if they still use the old labels.

Our take

Google is selling the big change as consistency. For some accounts, fair enough, that is welcome.

But be clear-eyed. If your capped campaigns have been over-delivering, this can quietly hand back some of that efficiency unless you act.

The worst outcome is sleepwalking into higher costs because nobody checked the targets before 17 August.

And here is the deeper bit.

All of this, the target optimisation, the exploration tolerance, the promotion boosts, is only as good as the conversion data underneath it. Automated bidding optimises toward the signals you feed it.

So clean tracking and accurate targets are what turn these changes into a win instead of a cost.

The accounts that come out ahead in August will be the ones that were actually managed. Not set and forgotten.

Want us to review your campaigns before 17 August, or just take the bidding off your plate? Talk to our Google Ads team, or see how we run performance marketing end to end.

Frequently asked questions

What is changing in Google Ads on 17 August 2026?

For campaigns that are Limited by budget and use Target CPA or Target ROAS, Google will deliver performance that lines up more closely with the target you set. Many of those campaigns currently beat their targets, so this can push cost per lead up, or ROAS down, toward your stated number unless you adjust.

Will Google change my targets or budgets automatically?

No. The performance shift is automatic, but Google will not change your targets or budgets for you. You decide: lower targets to lock in current performance, keep your targets, or lift the budget to scale.

What is the Bid Target Adjustment Tool?

A tool rolling out in Google Ads from 6 July 2026, flagged by a notification in your account. It shows each campaign’s history and lets you review and apply updated targets fast, ahead of 17 August.

What should I actually do before 17 August?

Go through every Limited by budget campaign on Target CPA or Target ROAS. For each, decide whether to lower the target to keep the better performance it has been delivering, keep the target, or raise the budget to scale. Do not leave it to chance.

What are Smart Bidding Exploration and Promotion Mode?

Two opportunity features from the same announcement. Smart Bidding Exploration lets you set a ROAS tolerance to catch new converting queries (now in PMax without feeds, with a beta for feed-based campaigns). Promotion Mode lets you temporarily boost ROAS tolerance and budget for peaks like sales, in beta for Search and Performance Max.

AI Max for Search: What It Is and When to Use It (2026)

Benjamin Paine — Sun, 07 Jun 2026 07:15:39 +0000

Google is pushing AI Max for Search harder than anything since Performance Max.

If you run Google Ads, you have seen the prompts: switch on AI Max, get more conversions, one click. From September 2026, some of it stops being optional.

Here is the honest version, from actually running it.

AI Max is not a new strategy.

It is reach extension for broad match, dressed up as an upgrade, and the early results, ours included, are underwhelming.

But there is a twist…

Google is folding Dynamic Search Ads into AI Max, so for a lot of accounts the question is no longer whether you use it, only when and how it is configured.

This is what it actually is, why Google wants you on it, who it genuinely helps, and how to run it for our Google Ads clients without losing control.

What AI Max for Search actually is

AI Max for Search is a bundle of three automation features you switch on inside a normal Search campaign:

Search-term matching. Finds queries beyond your keywords, using broad match expansion and keywordless matching. This is the engine of the whole thing.
Text customisation. Google generates and rewrites your headlines and descriptions to suit each query.
Final URL expansion. Sends the click to whichever page on your site Google decides fits best, not just the landing page you chose

Turn the suite on and Google also folds in what used to be separate:

Dynamic Search Ads, automatically created assets, and campaign-level broad match.

From September 2026 DSA campaigns still running those legacy features are being auto-upgraded to AI Max, with your existing URL controls preserved.

14% 27%

Google’s claim is up to 14% more conversions at a similar cost per acquisition, rising to 27% for accounts still leaning on exact and phrase match.

Worth knowing, with two caveats: the 14% figure excludes retail, and these are Google’s numbers, not independent ones.

Strip away the branding and it is broad match, extended

Here is the part the launch material skates over.

The core of AI Max, search-term matching, is an expansion mechanism. It is broad match plus keywordless matching, reaching searches your keywords would never have caught.

That 27% figure is the giveaway… the upside is biggest for exact and phrase-match accounts precisely because AI Max opens up query volume they were not previously bidding on.

So the right mental model is not “AI Max, the smarter campaign.” It is “broad match, pushed further.”

That is genuinely additive for a disciplined account with untapped query volume, and a fast way to waste money on everything else.

Why we believe Google is pushing it so hard

Be honest about the incentive.

Automated systems like AI Max improve with usage.

The more advertisers switch it on, the more data Google has to refine the matching, the bidding and the copy.

Adoption is the roadmap.

You can see it in how the controls are being released.

Brand inclusions and exclusions, the settings that stop your ads showing on the wrong branded queries, are now locked behind AI Max. If you want that brand safety, you have to opt in.

That is not a coincidence, it is a nudge.

None of it is sinister, it is how platforms grow features, but it means the default “turn it on” prompt is built for Google’s benefit first and your account second.

Why it matters regardless

This is the part that overrides the “is it any good” debate.

Google has confirmed Dynamic Search Ads is being deprecated and folded into AI Max, and from September 2026 campaigns using DSA, automatically created assets and campaign-level broad match are being auto-upgraded automatically.

For a large share of accounts, AI Max is not a decision you get to avoid. It is arriving on a schedule, and the only real choices are timing and configuration.

The worst outcome is letting it switch on by default, unconfigured, and finding out later.

What we are seeing in real accounts

We manage Google Ads for more than 250 businesses, with 98% client retention, across $10m+ in managed ad spend.

We have started moving and testing accounts onto AI Max ourselves.

So far, the results are underwhelming…

Outside a specific account profile, the expansion pulls in looser, lower-intent traffic that needs heavy negative-keyword work, and the conversion lift does not reliably show up.

It will probably improve as the system gathers data, which is the whole reason for the push.

But “it will likely get better later” is not a reason to hand over your budget now.

Who it actually helps, and who it burns

The profile that benefits is consistent, and in our experience it is worth testing when:

Your campaigns are exact and phrase-match heavy with untapped query volume. This is the profile behind the 27% claim, because there is genuinely new high-intent search to find.
You have 100+ conversions a month, so the system has enough signal to learn from.
You have a real budget, around 15x your target CPA per day, roughly $750/day, not Google’s $50 floor, which produces a technically enabled but practically hobbled campaign.
You have a team that will actually audit the search-term report, because that is where this is won or lost.

It is likely to inflate cost when:

You run retail or ecommerce at scale (Google’s 14% benchmark explicitly excludes retail).
You do lead generation without offline or CRM conversion tracking. Without that data feeding back, AI Max optimises for form volume, not lead quality, so cost per lead can improve on paper while cost per qualified lead gets worse.
You are on a low budget, below that 15x-CPA threshold.
Your account is already saturated with broad match, DSA and Performance Max, so there is little new ground for AI Max to find.

How to run it without losing control

If you do test it, or you get auto-upgraded, these are the guardrails:

Run it as a 50/50 Experiment, not a wholesale switch. Google’s own Experiments feature lets you measure AI Max against your existing setup instead of trusting a blended number.
Start with search-term matching only. Turn the three features on one at a time so you can isolate what is actually driving any change.
Exclude Search Partners from day one. In our accounts, Search Partner traffic converts far worse than Google Search, so cut it before it drains the test.
Build your negative keywords before launch, not after. With expansion turned on, the negatives are the brakes, and you want them on first.
Set brand inclusions and exclusions, and lock your copy. Use the brand controls so you are not expanding onto off-brand queries, and protect your headlines from text customisation rewriting them badly.

Judge it on a business metric, not blended CPA. Cost per qualified lead, or revenue per customer. The conversions AI Max finds tend to carry lower order values, so a flat CPA can hide a real drop in quality. This sits alongside Performance Max as another automation layer that rewards tight control and punishes set-and-forget.

The Bottom Line

AI Max for Search is a reach lever, not a revolution, and with DSA being folded into it, it is coming to most accounts whether you like it or not.

So configure it deliberately rather than let it default on.

In the right profile, an exact and phrase-match account with untapped volume, real budget and a team watching the search terms, it is worth a controlled test.

In the wrong profile it quietly inflates cost.

For most of our service-business and lead-generation clients, the caveat that bites is offline conversion tracking.

If Google cannot see which leads actually became customers, AI Max will happily buy you more of the cheap, low-quality ones. Fix the tracking first, then test.

Want to know whether AI Max is right for your account, or whether your September auto-upgrade is about to cost you? Get a free Google Ads audit, or talk to our team.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is AI Max replacing Dynamic Search Ads?

Yes. Google is deprecating Dynamic Search Ads and folding the technology into AI Max. From September 2026, campaigns using DSA, automatically created assets and campaign-level broad match are being auto-upgraded to AI Max, with your legacy URL controls preserved.

Does AI Max actually work?

Google claims up to 14% more conversions at a similar CPA, rising to 27% for exact and phrase-match-heavy accounts, with retail excluded from the 14%. In practice it is more mixed: it performs for that specific profile and tends to inflate cost outside it, and in our own accounts so far the results have been underwhelming.

When is AI Max worth testing?

When your campaigns are exact and phrase-match heavy with untapped query volume, you have 100+ conversions a month, a budget around 15x your target CPA (roughly $750/day, not Google’s $50 minimum), and a team that will audit the search-term report.

Can I opt out of AI Max?

Yes. You can toggle off the whole suite, or opt out of individual features (search-term matching, text customisation, final URL expansion) one at a time. With the September auto-upgrade coming, decide deliberately rather than letting it default on.

What is the biggest risk for lead-gen businesses?

Conversion tracking. Without offline or CRM data feeding back to Google, AI Max optimises for form submissions regardless of quality, so your cost per lead can fall while your cost per qualified lead rises. Get offline conversion import in place before you test.

About the figures: the 14% and 27% claims and the September 2026 auto-upgrade are Google’s own announcements, worth confirming at publish time since this area is moving fast.

The thresholds, recommendations and performance observations here come from Digital Nomads HQ’s own account management.

Google Ads Audits in 2026: The Checklist Everyone Else Is Still Using Is Wrong

Benjamin Paine — Thu, 04 Jun 2026 02:01:24 +0000

TL;DR

Most Google Ads audit checklists were written for a platform that no longer exists.

They check keywords, Quality Score, and ad extensions while missing the things that actually cost you money in 2026: broken consent infrastructure, AI campaigns burning budget on irrelevant queries, attribution models that inflate your ROAS, and signal architecture that starves the algorithm of the data it needs. We audit over 250 Google Ads accounts across Australia. Here is what a real audit looks like now.

Most Google Ads Audits Are Sales Pitches Disguised as Strategy

Search “Google Ads audit checklist” and you will find 50 articles that all say the same thing. Check your keywords. Review your match types. Look at your Quality Score.

Make sure you have ad extensions. Optimise your bids.

That advice was fine in 2022. It is dangerously incomplete in 2026.

Google Ads is not the same platform it was two years ago.

The matching system runs on Gemini. Smart Bidding makes decisions using signals you cannot see. Performance Max blends five channels into one black box.

AI Max is rewriting your ads and expanding your queries in real time. And from June 15, your consent infrastructure determines how much data the algorithm even has to work with.

An audit that checks surface metrics while ignoring the data layer underneath is not an audit. It is a comfort blanket.

We’ve managed over 500+ Google Ads accounts across Australia.

We audit new client accounts every week, if not every day!

Here is what we actually look for and why the standard checklist misses the expensive problems.

Why "Free Google Ads Audits" Are Almost Always Useless

Let us be direct about this. The “free Google Ads audit” that most agencies offer is a lead generation tool. Not a diagnostic one.

Here is what a typical free audit checks:

Click-through rate against industry benchmarks
Whether you have sitelink extensions
Keyword count and match type distribution
Quality Score averages
Budget utilisation percentage
Basic conversion tracking presence

These are surface metrics.

They tell you something is happening but not why.

A doctor who only checks your temperature and blood pressure is not giving you a full health assessment. Same principle.

The problems that actually cost Australian businesses money are underneath the surface.

They live in your consent configuration, your attribution model, your conversion action hierarchy, your signal density, and the quality of the data your automated campaigns are learning from.

A real audit takes 4 to 8 hours of expert analysis.

It costs money. And it should.

If someone is offering to audit your account for free, they are looking for easy wins to sell you on, not doing the deep diagnostic work that matters.

Our take:

We still offer a complimentary account review for prospective clients. But we are honest that it is a review, not a full audit. A proper audit goes deeper and costs accordingly. The distinction matters because the things that cost you the most money are the things a quick review will never catch.

What Changed: Auditing in 2024 vs 2026

Two years ago, you controlled Google Ads directly.

You chose keywords, set bids, wrote ad copy, and picked landing pages. The audit framework matched that control: check each lever, see if it is set correctly.

In 2026, you do not control most of those levers anymore. You influence them.

Google’s Gemini models now decide what queries your ads show for.

Smart Bidding decides what you pay.

AI Max rewrites your headlines and descriptions.
Performance Max chooses which channels to run on.

Your job has shifted from operating the machine to feeding the machine the right data and setting the right guardrails.

This means the audit has to shift too. Here is the difference:

The old audit caught easy problems.

The new audit catches expensive ones. Both matter.

But if you are only doing the first, you are leaving the big money on the table.

1. Consent Infrastructure Is Now the Foundation of Everything

This is the single most overlooked audit item in Google Ads right now.

And it is about to become urgent.

From June 15, 2026, Google Ads stops referencing Google Analytics settings for advertising data. It now relies exclusively on Consent Mode signals.

Specifically the ad_storage parameter.

If a user does not grant ad_storage consent through your Consent Management Platform, Google Ads collects no advertising data from that session.

Think about what that means for Smart Bidding.

The algorithm learns from conversions. If your consent banner is misconfigured and only 40% of users grant consent, Smart Bidding is learning from 40% of your data. It is making bid decisions based on an incomplete picture.

Here is what we check:

Is your CMP actually implemented correctly? We see consent banners that look functional but are not passing the right signals to Google Tag Manager. The banner exists but it does nothing.
What are your consent rates? Anything below 70% means significant data loss. Below 50% means your Smart Bidding is essentially guessing.
Is Enhanced Conversions enabled? This sends hashed first-party data back to Google and helps fill the gap that consent refusals create.
Is Google Consent Mode v2 deployed? Version 1 does not support the granular signals Google now requires. If you have not upgraded, you are running on the old framework and it will stop working properly.

Deadline alert:

June 15, 2026 is 11 days away. If your consent infrastructure is not ready, your Google Ads campaigns will start losing signal data. This is not optional. Check this now.

2. Signal Architecture: The Layer Most Audits Do Not Know Exists

This concept was best articulated by Jay Stampfl at Search Engine Land earlier this year.

The idea is straightforward: in 2026, you do not control Google Ads directly.

You control the signals that the AI uses to make decisions. The quality of those signals determines the quality of your results.

Signal architecture has three components:

Signal quality

Are you feeding the algorithm the right conversion data?

This is where we find the most expensive mistakes.

A lead generation client optimising for raw form fills is giving Google a terrible signal. Not all leads are equal. A tyre-kicker who fills out a form and never answers the phone is counted the same as a $50,000 contract.

Smart Bidding treats them identically. The fix is importing offline conversion data. Feed back which leads became qualified, which booked meetings, which closed. Journey-aware bidding is built specifically for this.

For ecommerce, the signal quality question is different. Are you passing accurate revenue values? Are returns and refunds being fed back? Is the revenue inclusive or exclusive of GST? Getting this wrong means your Target ROAS is based on inflated numbers.

Signal density

Google recommends 30 or more conversions per month per campaign for Smart Bidding to work effectively. In Australia, many businesses do not hit that threshold.

A niche B2B company spending $3,000 a month might generate 8 conversions.

Smart Bidding does not have enough data to learn.

In these cases, you need strategies to increase density: consolidating campaigns, using broader conversion actions as micro-conversions, or using portfolio bid strategies that pool data across campaigns.

We see accounts all the time where the previous agency has split campaigns so granularly that no individual campaign has enough data to optimise. Beautiful structure. Terrible performance.

Signal selectivity

This is about what data you exclude.

Brand search is the biggest culprit.

If your Performance Max campaign is capturing branded searches, your ROAS looks amazing. But those customers were already going to buy from you. The campaign is taking credit for demand it did not create. We see this constantly.

A PMax campaign reporting a 12:1 ROAS but half the conversions are brand queries that would have happened anyway.

A proper audit separates branded from non-branded performance. If you cannot see that split, you do not know what your campaigns are actually delivering.

3. AI Max and Performance Max: Auditing the Black Box

Google is pushing every advertiser toward automated campaign types. AI Max for Search launches with mandatory DSA migration in September 2026. Performance Max has been the default shopping campaign for two years. These campaigns work differently and they need to be audited differently.

AI Max query quality

AI Max uses Gemini to expand your queries beyond traditional keyword matching. In theory, it finds high-intent searches you would have missed. In practice, it sometimes matches your ads to queries that have no connection to your business.

We audit the search terms report for AI Max campaigns specifically looking for:

Relevance drift. Queries that are topically adjacent but not commercially relevant. A plumber showing for “how to fix a leaky tap DIY” is getting traffic that will never convert.
Competitor queries. AI Max will match you to competitor brand searches unless you explicitly exclude them.
Informational intent. Queries where the user is researching, not buying. These burn budget fast on broad topics.

The fix is not to turn AI Max off. It is to set proper brand exclusions, add negative keywords aggressively, and review the search terms report weekly during the first 30 days.

Performance Max placement quality

PMax runs across Search, Shopping, Display, YouTube, Gmail, and Discover. The problem is that it does not tell you how much it spends on each channel by default.

Here is what we check:

Channel distribution. Go to Reports, then Other, then Performance Max Placements. If more than 10-15% of spend is going to Display, investigate. Display within PMax often serves ads inside mobile games and apps where accidental clicks drive up costs with zero conversion intent.
Asset group performance. Are any asset groups rated “Low” or “Poor”? These drag down the entire campaign.
Brand traffic cannibalisation. Is PMax eating your brand searches? Add brand exclusions at campaign level. This is the single most impactful PMax optimisation most accounts are missing.
Search theme alignment. Are your search themes actually aligned with what you sell, or are they leftover from initial setup and never updated?

What we find:

Across our client base, roughly 6 in 10 Performance Max campaigns we audit have no brand exclusions set. This means the campaign is silently capturing branded traffic and reporting inflated ROAS. When we add brand exclusions, reported ROAS drops but actual incremental revenue stays the same or improves because the budget shifts to prospecting.

4. Attribution: Your ROAS Is Probably Wrong

Google moved every account to data-driven attribution as the default model.

This was the right decision. But it created a comparison problem.

If you are comparing this month’s performance to the same month last year, and you were on last-click attribution then, the numbers are not comparable.

Data-driven attribution distributes credit across touchpoints. It makes campaigns that assist conversions look better and campaigns that close conversions look worse compared to last-click.

What we audit:

Attribution model consistency. Are all conversion actions using the same model? We regularly find accounts where the primary conversion is on data-driven but secondary conversions are still on last-click. The data is contradictory.
Cross-platform reconciliation. If you are running Google and Meta together, their attribution models disagree. Google uses data-driven. Meta uses click-through plus the new engage-through window. Both platforms will take credit for the same conversion. If you add up both platforms’ reported conversions, you will overcount.
Incrementality. The hardest question in advertising: would this conversion have happened without the ad? Brand search campaigns, retargeting, and PMax all tend to capture demand rather than create it. A real audit examines whether your campaigns are driving new business or just taking credit for existing demand.

For businesses running across multiple platforms, proper attribution setup is not optional anymore. It is the difference between knowing what is working and guessing.

5. Australia-Specific Considerations Nobody Else Covers

Most Google Ads audit content is written from a US perspective. The Australian market has specific dynamics that affect how you should audit.

GST and your actual ROAS

Google charges 10% GST on all ad spend in Australia. If your business is registered for GST, you claim this back on your BAS. If you are not, that 10% is a direct cost increase.

But here is what matters for auditing: your ROAS calculation needs to account for this. If your account reports $10 in revenue for every $1 in spend, your actual ROAS is closer to 9:1 after GST on spend. If you are also selling GST-inclusive products, you need to back out GST from revenue too. We see ROAS figures that look strong until you apply real accounting.

Smaller market, different thresholds

Australia has 26 million people. The US has 330 million. Search volumes are proportionally smaller. This has practical implications.

Smart Bidding needs 30 conversions per month to learn effectively. In a US metro, hitting that threshold on a $5,000 monthly budget is easy. In an Australian regional market, the same budget might generate 12 conversions. The algorithm does not have enough data.

We audit for this specifically. If a campaign is below the learning threshold, we either consolidate campaign structure, broaden targeting, or use portfolio bid strategies that pool data. Running granular campaigns with insufficient data is one of the most common mistakes we see in AU accounts.

Location targeting traps

Default location targeting in Google Ads is set to “presence or interest” which means your ads can show to anyone who shows interest in your target area, not just people physically there.

For a local trades business targeting the Sunshine Coast, this means you might be paying for clicks from people in Sydney who searched something mentioning the Sunshine Coast.

We check every account for this. The fix takes 30 seconds but most agencies leave it on default.

6. Lead Gen and Ecommerce Are Two Completely Different Audits

We work across both lead generation and ecommerce clients. The audit framework is fundamentally different for each.

Lead generation audit priorities

Conversion quality, not quantity. Raw form fills tell you nothing. You need to know which leads became customers. Are you importing offline data back into Google Ads? If not, the algorithm is optimising for volume, not value.
Search term pollution. Broad match in lead gen pulls in job seekers, support queries, and competitor research. The search terms report is your first stop.
Call tracking. If phone calls drive revenue and you are not tracking them as conversions, your campaign data is missing half the picture.
Landing page friction. Lead gen landing pages need to qualify and convert simultaneously. Too much friction and you lose volume. Too little and you get junk leads.

Ecommerce audit priorities

Product feed quality. This is your most important asset. Missing attributes, incorrect categories, thin descriptions. Google’s AI-powered Shopping Ads are built on your feed data. Bad feed, bad ads.
Revenue accuracy. Are purchase values correct? Are refunds being tracked? Is revenue GST-inclusive or exclusive? Getting this wrong makes every ROAS calculation meaningless.
Shopping vs PMax split. Standard Shopping gives you more control and visibility. PMax gives you reach. The right mix depends on your catalogue size, margins, and competitive landscape.
Cart abandonment retargeting. Is your remarketing actually reaching cart abandoners with specific products, or is it showing generic brand ads to everyone?

7. What to Ask Your Agency (Or What to Ask Yourself)

Whether you are auditing your own account or evaluating whether your agency is doing its job, these are the questions that matter:

“What conversion action are our campaigns actually optimising for?” If the answer is “all conversions” or they do not know, that is a red flag. Campaigns should optimise for the conversion that represents actual business value.
“Can you show me branded vs non-branded performance separately?” If they cannot split this out, they cannot tell you whether your campaigns are creating new demand or capturing existing demand.
“What is our marginal CPA at current spend?” Your first 50 leads might cost $40 each. The next 50 might cost $120. Are you spending past the point of diminishing returns?
“What percentage of our PMax spend goes to Display?” If they do not know, they have not checked the placement report. That is a problem.
“Is our Consent Mode configured for the June 15 changes?” If they do not know what you are talking about, you have a bigger problem.
“What happens to our bidding when we scale spend 30%?” A good agency can tell you where the diminishing returns curve starts. A bad one just says “we will monitor it.”

The standard:

A good agency should be able to answer all six of these questions for your account right now. If they cannot, they are managing your spend but they are not auditing your performance.

The Bottom Line

The Google Ads audit checklist is not dead. But the 2020 version of it is. The platform has changed faster in the last 18 months than in the previous five years. Consent Mode, AI Max, Performance Max, data-driven attribution, signal architecture. These are not edge cases. They are the foundation.

If your last audit did not check your consent infrastructure, did not separate branded from non-branded PMax performance, did not evaluate your conversion action hierarchy, and did not assess whether your signal density supports Smart Bidding, then your last audit missed the expensive stuff.

We run audits for businesses across Australia every week. If you want to see what a 2026 audit actually looks like for your account, get in touch. We will tell you what is working, what is wasting money, and what needs to change.

Google AI Max: Most Agencies Will Get the Migration Wrong

Benjamin Paine — Tue, 26 May 2026 23:08:42 +0000

TL;DR

Google is collapsing the matching, copy, and landing page selection layers into Gemini. AI Max does it on paid. AI Mode and AI Overviews do it on organic.

From September 2026, DSAs and broad match get force-migrated to AI Max. Whether the algorithm performs in your account comes down to three inputs you control: landing page quality, exclusion architecture, and measurement that holds up when last-click reporting doesn’t. Get these right before September and AI Max produces the lift Google describes. Get them wrong and it spends your budget on competitor terms, irrelevant queries, and the wrong pages. The window to fix this isn’t quarters. It’s months.

On 15 April, Google confirmed that from September 2026, Dynamic Search Ads, automatically created assets, and campaign-level broad match will all be force-migrated to AI Max for Search.

From the same date, advertisers will lose the ability to create new DSA campaigns altogether. Google Ads, Ads Editor, and the API will all stop offering it as a campaign option.

Plenty of trade press coverage of the migration and plenty of how-to guides on what carries over.

Almost no one asking the question that actually matters.

If Google can absorb the keyword-targeting, copy-generation, and landing-page-selection layers into a single AI system, what exactly is the agency selling?

The signal layer

The real shift sits underneath the AI Max announcement, and it’s bigger than one product change.

For the last two decades, paid and organic search worked because there was a translation layer between user intent and what Google chose to deliver.

Agencies made their money inside that translation layer. Keyword research. Match type strategy. Ad copy testing. On-page optimisation. Bid management.

All of it was the work of converting raw business goals into the specific instructions Google needed to decide what to show.

Google has now collapsed that translation layer into Gemini.

AI Max is the paid-side version.

AI Mode and AI Overviews are the organic-side version.

The mechanism is the same in both cases: Google’s models read your content, infer the intent of the query, and decide what to surface. The advertiser or publisher supplies inputs and guardrails. Gemini does the matching.

That is not an incremental change. It is an inversion.

Paid and organic are now the same problem

We’ve been writing for a while about the two-hop citation model, where AI Overviews and ChatGPT pull from a narrow set of cited sources, and those sources in turn pull from a deeper set.

The whole thing works because the inference layer sits between the user and the original content.

The user no longer sees the SERP. The model summarises it for them.

AI Max is the same architecture applied to paid.

Your keyword list becomes a starting signal, not a boundary.

The system expands beyond it using broad match and keywordless matching.

Headlines and descriptions are generated from your landing page content (remember this!)

Final URL expansion picks the destination page. The “campaign” is no longer a set of instructions you give Google.

It’s a set of inputs the system uses to make its own decisions.

So with this being said… If Gemini generates the headlines, why is the agency billing hours for headline testing.

If keywordless matching reads the landing page, why is the agency billing for keyword research the system is going to override anyway.

What we're actually seeing

Google’s launch around the AI Max numbers got some press.

A 14% conversion lift on average.

27% for accounts heavy on exact and phrase match.

L’Oréal doubling conversion rate.

MyConnect cutting cost per lead by 13%.

Aritzia reporting an 80% sales gain.

All real, all from Google’s own reporting, and all from accounts where the conditions were already right for AI Max to work.

The lived reality across client accounts is that the foundations are often a lot messier…

The pattern we’ve seen since AI Max moved out of beta is a wide variance in outcomes that correlates almost entirely with the inputs going in.

Accounts with high conversion volume, strong landing page content, mature negative keyword lists, and clean conversion tracking produce something close to the lift Google describes.

Accounts missing any one of those produce the noise.

Search terms that don’t make sense for the business.

Ad copy that mismatches user intent.

Traffic sent to landing pages that aren’t equipped to convert it.

ROAS that goes backwards before it goes anywhere… and so on!

The specific failure modes are predictable enough to list.

AI Max bids aggressively on competitor brand terms by default, which inflates spend on traffic that was never going to convert at scale.

It leans on Search Partner inventory in a way the previous keyword-match logic didn’t, which dilutes traffic quality. Auto-generated ad copy drifts away from brand voice in ways that take a human eye to catch. Made in USA headlines paired with queries about overseas products.

Generic shop-now phrasing where the brand has a deliberate tone.

Claim language that doesn’t match what the page actually offers.

Final URL expansion sends traffic to whatever page Google decides is most relevant, including outdated pages an account team would never have run paid spend to.

And the reporting itself is unreliable.

AI Max attributes impressions misleadingly, so a chunk of what looks like AI Max lift in the dashboard is actually attribution shifting from existing match types. The lift Google describes and the lift you can actually book to the campaign are often different numbers.

AI Max isn’t broken.

It’s a delivery layer whose output quality is bounded by input quality. Strong landing pages, mature conversion tracking, clean exclusion architecture, and enough conversion volume to give the algorithm something to learn from produce the lift Google describes.

Weak inputs produce the competitor-bidding, irrelevant-query, wrong-landing-page failure modes.

In a keyword-driven world, an agency could compensate for weak inputs through better targeting.

In an AI Max world, the targeting layer is now AI. The only place to compensate is by improving the inputs themselves. The work didn’t get easier. It moved.

Where the work moved

The work didn’t disappear. It moved. Three places, specifically.

Landing pages.

Both paid and organic now read the page as the primary signal. The copy, the structure, the entity coverage, the topical depth, the schema.

All of it has more weight than it did six months ago, and this I believe will continue!

A poorly written landing page used to cost you conversion rate. Now it costs you matching quality too, because Gemini reads it to decide who you appear for. The landing page is simultaneously a paid input and an organic input. Treating them as separate disciplines is now a structural mistake.

Exclusion architecture.

AI Max is, by design, a reduced-control product.

The AI decides which queries trigger your ads. Your control sits in negative keyword lists, brand exclusions, URL exclusions, and ad group structure. Building and maintaining these well is a higher-skill task than building keyword lists ever was, because the system is more aggressive than broad match ever was.

Agencies without a real method for this will burn client budget on queries that look related and aren’t.

Measurement.

With AI Max and Performance Max blending channels and queries, last-click attribution is less honest than ever. Incrementality testing, marketing mix modelling, and qualified conversion modelling become the only credible way to know what’s working. Google announced Meridian integration into Analytics 360 at GML 2026 precisely because the measurement problem has worsened, not improved.
None of these three are jobs an account manager moving sliders inside Google Ads can do.

What expert looks like now

Setting up an AI Max campaign is trivial.

Any junior media buyer can launch one in an afternoon. The barrier to entry has collapsed.

Running an AI Max campaign that performs to an expert standard requires three skill sets that used to live in different teams.

A conversion specialist who understands the landing page as a paid input. Not “is the form working” CRO.

Page structure that maps user intent cleanly enough for the algorithm to read it.

Copy that gives Gemini something useful to extract.

Information architecture that holds up when the system picks the destination URL itself. Closer to content strategy than to traditional CRO.

A data specialist who understands the feedback loop.

Conversion tracking that captures actual outcomes, not just clicks.

Offline conversion imports for lead-gen accounts. Audience signals that strengthen Gemini’s matching. The discipline to read the search term report with enough nuance to know what to exclude and what to leave alone. Most agencies don’t have this person. They have a media buyer who occasionally checks search terms.

A marketing strategist who lays the foundation before the algorithm starts spending.

What the brand is for.

Who it’s for.

What the value proposition actually is in five words.

AI Max is brutally honest about positioning. If the strategy is woolly, the algorithm reflects it back as mismatched queries, generic copy, and budget spent on traffic that was never going to convert.

The paid ads specialist becomes a commodity. The three people behind them become the value.
For agencies, the implication is direct. If your team is structured around channel specialists, you’re staffed for the world that ended in 2025. The teams that perform under AI Max are integrated, with CRO, data, strategy, and paid sitting in the same room on the same brief, because the inputs cross domains and the feedback loops do too.

For clients running their own AI Max campaigns, the implication is harsher.

They’ll get campaigns live easily.

They’ll see the spend going out and some conversions coming in and assume the system is working. The question they won’t think to ask is what it would have looked like if the inputs had been right from the start. That gap is invisible from inside the account.

The positioning question

It runs paid and organic together, not as separate departments.

The landing page is now a paid input and an organic input at the same time. If the SEO team and the SEM team don’t talk to each other, the landing page work happens twice, badly, with different assumptions baked in.

It has proprietary intelligence, not just access to the same Google tools every other agency has. If Gemini is doing the matching, the only edge left is knowing things about the search environment that Google doesn’t surface in its own reporting.

Citation patterns in AI Overviews. Query-level performance inside AI Mode.

Real-time search demand at the suburb level. Brand sentiment inside Gemini conversations. The agencies that built this kind of intelligence in-house are about to have an unfair advantage. The agencies that didn’t are about to look interchangeable, because the underlying Gemini layer they’re all operating on is the same.

It charges on outcomes, not on hours.

Once Gemini absorbs the execution layer, the hours line item is hard to justify. What’s left is strategy, guardrail design, measurement, and landing page quality. High-impact, low-hours work. Agencies still selling time will get squeezed. Agencies selling results will be fine.

It is selective about which clients it takes on.

The new model rewards landing page quality and brand strength. Agencies dragging weak brands with thin websites through paid spend are about to get caught out, because the system now reads those weaknesses and prices them in. You can’t fix a poor brand with bid adjustments anymore. The system has read the page and made up its mind.

What this looks like in practice

We’ve been planning a launch campaign for a new venue opening later this year.

The brief, if it had landed twelve months ago, would have looked familiar. Build keyword lists. Structure ad groups by service line. Write three or four ad variants per ad group. Set up conversion tracking. Optimise bids. Standard agency work.

The brief now looks different.

Build a landing page architecture that signals intent clearly enough for AI Max to match correctly.

Write base copy that Gemini can pull from to generate variants without losing the brand voice. Construct an exclusion list that catches the obvious mismatches before they burn budget.

Set up incrementality testing so we can measure what Meta and Google are actually contributing, versus what would have converted anyway. Once those inputs are right, the campaign largely builds itself.

The hours are lower. The thinking is heavier. The cost of getting the thinking wrong is higher.

The migration playbook

Three things to do between now and September.

Audit DSA exposure across every account

Migrate before September and you choose the experiment. Migrate in September and you spend the next month firefighting search terms you didn’t choose. Same work either way. The difference is whether you do it before or after the algorithm has started spending money on the new logic. Enable AI Max account-wide rather than in a single test campaign. Partial adoption muddies the reporting.

Treat the landing page audit as the highest-impact work of the next ninety days

AI Max reads pages to decide who you appear for and what copy it generates. AI Mode and AI Overviews are doing the same on organic. A page that’s vague about what it sells, who it’s for, and what action it wants will pull mismatched queries on paid and lose citation eligibility on organic. Most agencies won’t touch landing pages during a DSA migration because they aren’t a “PPC deliverable” in the old org chart. That’s the gap to close.

Stop running last-click as the primary measure

With AI Max and Performance Max overlapping queries and channels, last-click overstates paid one month and understates it the next. The Meridian integration into Analytics 360 is Google admitting last-click is broken inside their own product. Move clients to incrementality testing and marketing mix modelling now, even a rough first version. The alternative is answering uncomfortable questions about why reported ROAS doesn’t match the revenue line.

The September deadline isn’t a deadline for a Google migration. It’s a deadline for restructuring how you work.

The closing point

There’s a line from a senior Google executive at GML 2026 worth taking seriously. The pitch to agency partners was that they’d be able to service 50 clients with the team that used to be stretched thin across 10.

It’s a true statement, in the sense that the execution layer no longer needs human hours. It’s also a trap, because 50-client agencies running on the same Gemini outputs will all produce the same results.

The interesting agencies, two years from now, will be the ones that built proprietary intelligence underneath the Gemini layer, so their inputs are better than everyone else’s. That’s the only place an edge can come from when the matching, the copy, and the destination are all being decided upstream by the same model.

The September DSA deadline is the small story. The signal layer collapse is the big one. Most agencies haven’t noticed yet, which means there’s still time for the ones that have.

Google I/O 2026: What Just Changed and What We Are Telling Our Clients

Benjamin Paine — Wed, 20 May 2026 02:12:01 +0000

TL;DR

Google I/O 2026 just confirmed what we have been warning clients about for two years. Google is no longer just a search engine – It is an AI assistant that answers questions, builds tools, and processes transactions without users ever leaving Google. AI Mode has 1 billion monthly users. AI Overviews appear on 48% of queries. Google just launched AI agents that search for you in the background, a Universal Cart coming to Australia allowing purchases to happen without clients even visiting your website, and AI-generated interactive tools that replace the kind of content most businesses rely on for traffic (how-to’s, what Qs etc.). This is not a future problem… this is happening. Here is what we are doing about it for our clients and what you should be doing too.

Biggest update to search in 25 years

I do my best to watch every Google I/O keynote, despite the horrible alignment with the AEST timezone. Every time the announcements are incremental, whether everyone agrees or not, the innovation, better models, faster loading, shinier features… they are great.

Often, we take note, adjust a few things, and move on.

This year hits a little different.

The 2026 Search announcements are not incremental.

They represent a fundamental shift in what Google is and how people will interact with it. And if you run a business that depends on search traffic, paid ads, or e-commerce in Australia, you need to understand what just changed.

I am not going to recap every announcement.

I am going to focus on the ones that directly affect our clients and what we are doing about each one.

1 Billion People Now Use AI Mode. We Saw This Coming.

AI Mode has passed 1 billion monthly users with queries more than doubling every quarter. Gemini 3.5 Flash is now the default model powering it globally.

One in eight people on the planet used AI Mode last month. That is not a beta. That is not an experiment. That is a primary interface – Crazy numbers.

This month we analysed 116,918 Australian Google search results and found that AI Overviews were triggering on 37.8% of domestic queries, well above the global average at the time.

We said then that this was going to accelerate and the global data shows AI Overviews are now on 48% of all queries. AI Mode usage is growing faster than any Google product since Gmail.

We have been rebuilding our SEO campaigns around this reality for the last 12 months and if your agency is still optimising purely for traditional organic rankings and measuring success by “keywords on page one,” they are solving last year’s problem.

Search Agents Are the Biggest Shift Since Mobile

This is the announcement I am most focused on.

Google is launching Search agents – AI agents you create inside Google Search that run in the background 24/7.

So, simply… give them a task – They scan blogs, news, social media, shopping data, and more in real time. When something matches, they notify you.

The examples Google gave were consumer-focused.

An rental hunting agent.

A sneaker drop agent.

But think about what this means for B2B.

A procurement manager sets up an agent to monitor pricing changes across suppliers.

A marketing director creates an agent to track competitor announcements.

A business owner has an agent watching for regulatory changes in their industry.

This is crazy!

Search stops being something you do… it becomes something that runs for you.

Why This Should Change How You Think About Your Website

Every business I talk to thinks about their website from a human perspective. How does it look? Is the copy compelling?

Does the navigation make sense? Those things still matter. But AI agents do not care about your hero image or your brand story.

An AI agent scanning on behalf of a user is going to check structured data. Product specs. Pricing. Availability. Location. Opening hours.

Service descriptions in machine-readable formats. If that information is not in your schema markup, your product feeds, and your structured data, the agent will skip you and surface a competitor who made it easy.

We have been pushing structured data implementation across all of our SEO clients for years. Most businesses treat it as a “nice to have” technical SEO task. After this announcement, it is the foundation of being discoverable in the next generation of search.

Honest take: Most Australian business websites we audit have incomplete or missing structured data. Basic stuff – LocalBusiness schema, product schema, FAQ schema, service schema. It takes a few hours to implement properly. But without it, an AI agent cannot read your website. You are invisible to the fastest-growing way people will discover businesses. We are running structured data audits for all managed clients this month. If you are not a client, you should be doing this yourself or getting someone to do it for you.

Universal Cart Is Coming to Australia. This Changes E-Commerce.

Google launched Universal Cart, a shopping cart powered by Gemini that works across merchants, across Search, YouTube, Gmail, and Gemini.

A customer adds a product while watching a YouTube video. Adds another while browsing Search. The cart tracks price history, finds deals, alerts to restocks, and handles checkout across multiple merchants in one place.

The infrastructure behind it is called the Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP). And Google confirmed it is expanding to Australia in coming months.

I want to be direct about what this means. Google is building itself into the middle of every online transaction.

The customer discovers, compares, and buys without ever visiting your website.

Your Shopify store, your WooCommerce site, your custom e-commerce build – they become fulfilment backends while Google owns the customer relationship.

That sounds alarming.

And for businesses that are going to do nothing… it should be!

But for businesses that integrate early, it is an opportunity.

You get a buy-now button inside AI Mode, YouTube, and Search. Your products become purchasable in the moment of discovery, not after a customer clicks through, loads your site, creates an account, and goes through checkout. The friction drops dramatically.

What we are doing: For our e-commerce clients, we are already auditing Google Merchant Centre feeds, product data accuracy, and structured data readiness for UCP integration. When it launches in Australia, we want our clients ready on day one. The pattern here is identical to Google Shopping feeds. The businesses that connected their feeds early dominated the Shopping tab. The ones that waited 12 months were playing catch-up while competitors took their market share. Do not make the same mistake twice.

The Agent Payments Protocol Is Worth Watching

Google also announced AP2 (Agent Payments Protocol), which lets AI agents make purchases on behalf of users within guardrails – spending limits, category restrictions, approval requirements. The user sets the rules, the agent shops and buys.

This is early days. But picture this in 18 months: a customer tells their Google agent “reorder my usual supplements when they drop below $40” or “book the cheapest direct flight to Melbourne for the second Friday of June.”

The agent monitors, finds the match, and completes the transaction.

The businesses that show up in that agent’s scan are the ones with clean product data, competitive pricing, and UCP integration.

Everyone else does not exist in that transaction.

Google Now Builds Tools Inside Search Results. This Kills a Content Category.

Google is putting code generation directly into Search through a system called Antigravity.

You search for something that would benefit from an interactive tool, and Google builds it for you on the spot.

A wedding planning checklist with venue recommendations from Google Maps, weather data for your date, and local vendor reviews.

A moving budget calculator with real rental data and cost estimates for your area. A fitness tracker that pulls in your data. Custom, interactive, built in seconds. Free for everyone this summer.

I will be honest… this worries me for a category of content we have helped clients produce for years.

Think about the tools and resources businesses publish to attract organic traffic. Budget calculators. ROI estimators. Comparison checklists. “How much does X cost” guides with interactive elements.

If Google can generate a better, more personalised, data-rich version of that tool directly in the search result, the user has no reason to visit your website.

We have already started shifting our content strategy recommendations away from tool-based and template-based content toward content that cannot be generated on the fly:

Original research with proprietary data (like our 116,918 SERP analysis)
Real client case studies with specific numbers and context
Expert opinion that takes a clear position based on experience
Industry-specific observations from practitioners who manage real campaigns
Contrarian takes that challenge the conventional wisdom with evidence
Generic how-to content is going to get eaten alive by Antigravity.

But content that comes from doing the work? That is harder to replicate.

An AI can build you a budget calculator. It cannot tell you what we saw happen to a client’s CPA when they restructured their Google Ads account last quarter.

Personal Intelligence Changes the Retargeting Playbook

Google is rolling out Personal Intelligence globally – 200 countries, 98 languages, no subscription required.

You connect your Gmail, Google Photos, and soon Calendar to AI Mode.

Then you can ask things like

“what was that hotel I stayed at in Melbourne?”

“what did I order from that skincare brand last month?”

and Google searches your personal data to find it.

From a marketing perspective, this is subtle but important.

Traditional retargeting is built on the assumption that people forget. They visit your site, leave, and you need to remind them through display ads, remarketing lists, and email sequences.

But if a customer can just ask Google “what was that thing I was looking at?” and Google pulls it from their email receipts and browsing history, the retargeting function partially moves to Google. The user does not need to see your remarketing ad. They do not need to remember your brand name. They ask their AI assistant and it finds you.

This does not mean remarketing is dead.

We still see strong performance from first-party remarketing lists, Customer Match, and server-side tracking. But it does mean the landscape is shifting. Your transactional emails, your order confirmations, your receipts – these become discoverable content that Google can surface to bring a customer back. Making sure your email communications are clear, well-structured, and contain proper product information matters more than it used to.

The Search Box Redesign Changes How Queries Form

The search box itself has been rebuilt. It dynamically expands, accepts images, files, videos, and browser tabs as inputs, and uses AI-powered suggestions that go beyond autocomplete.

You can flow from an AI Overview directly into a conversational AI Mode exchange with your context carrying through.

This matters for keyword strategies in both paid and organic optimisation.

The queries people type are getting longer (long-tail), more specific, and more conversational. Multi-modal queries where someone takes a photo of a product and asks “where can I buy this in Brisbane” are going to become common.

For paid search, this means traditional keyword-based campaign structures need to evolve. We have written about AI Max for Search and how Google is pushing toward intent-based matching rather than keyword matching.

The search box redesign accelerates this. If a user is having a conversation with Google about a purchase decision, the traditional model of bidding on exact match keywords does not capture that interaction.

Campaign structures need to account for conversational, multi-step, multi-modal queries.

For SEO, it reinforces the importance of entity-based optimisation and topical authority over individual keyword targeting. Google is not matching queries to pages anymore. It is understanding intent, context, and conversation. Your content needs to answer the full scope of a topic, not just target one keyword variation.

The Pattern Across Everything Google Is Doing

Step back and look at every major Google announcement this year.

AI Max for Search. Performance Max expansion. Journey-aware bidding. AI Overviews at 48%. Search agents. Universal Cart. Antigravity. Personal Intelligence.

They all point in the same direction.

Google is moving from being a platform that sends people to websites to a platform that keeps people inside Google. It wants to answer the question, complete the task, and close the transaction. Your website becomes the backend. Google becomes the interface.

This is not inherently good or bad. It is a reality you need to build around.

The businesses that will thrive in this environment are the ones that:

Own their audience directly through email lists, CRM databases, and customer communities that do not depend on Google sending traffic
Have clean, structured data that AI agents and Google’s systems can read, understand, and surface
Invest in genuine expertise that produces content, research, and insights an AI cannot generate on its own
Integrate with Google’s commerce infrastructure so they are present in Universal Cart, AI Mode, and YouTube commerce surfaces
Feed their ad platforms quality data because automation is getting smarter but it is only as smart as the data you give it
Build brand strength because branded search is the most insulated channel from AI disruption – people searching for you by name still land on your website

None of this is new advice. We have been saying every one of these things for the last two years. Google I/O 2026 just made it undeniable.

What We Are Doing for Our Clients Right Now

Here is the specific action we are taking across our managed client accounts in response to I/O 2026:

Structured data audits across all SEO clients.
We are checking schema markup (though there isn’t strong correlations to organic SEO performance as of yet with this… it’s future proofing), product feeds, LocalBusiness data, FAQ schema, and service schema. If an AI agent cannot read it, it needs to be fixed.
UCP readiness for e-commerce clients.
Auditing Merchant Centre feeds, product data accuracy, pricing feeds, and checkout integration readiness for when UCP launches in Australia.
Content strategy pivots.
Shifting production away from generic informational content toward original research, case studies, expert commentary, and opinion pieces. If an AI can generate it, we are not writing it.
SEO reporting evolution.
Adding AI Overview citation tracking, brand search volume monitoring, and entity visibility to our standard SEO reporting alongside traditional rankings and traffic.
Paid search campaign reviews.
Making sure campaigns are configured for AI Mode ad placements (Sponsored Stores, Direct Offers) and conversational search surfaces. Reviewing AI Max migration readiness and journey-aware bidding prerequisites.
First-party data infrastructure.
Pushing CRM integration, offline conversion imports, and Customer Match setup for every client that does not already have it. The competitive advantage across every platform in 2026 is data quality, not campaign cleverness.
Client education.
Sending this article to every client. Having conversations about what these changes mean for their specific business and what needs to shift.

The Uncomfortable Truth and the Opportunity

Here is the uncomfortable truth. If your business relies entirely on Google to send you customers, you are building on rented land and the rent is going up.

Organic traffic from Google will keep declining. The cost of paid traffic will keep rising as ad inventory shifts from traditional search to AI surfaces. The middleman is getting more powerful, not less.

But here is the opportunity. Most businesses are not going to do anything about this. They are going to read articles like this one, nod, and go back to whatever they were doing before. That creates an enormous advantage for the businesses that actually move.

Everything Google announced at I/O 2026 reinforces those fundamentals. The businesses that are built on them have nothing to worry about. The ones that are not should start now.

Journey-Aware Bidding: What Google’s New Lead Gen Update Means (2026)

Benjamin Paine — Tue, 19 May 2026 06:31:24 +0000

TL;DR

Google just launched journey-aware bidding in beta. It lets Search campaigns on Target CPA learn from your full sales pipeline – not just the front-end form fill. If you have been importing offline conversions and connecting your CRM, this is the payoff. If you have not, you are now locked out of the best bidding innovation Google has shipped for lead gen in years.

The Problem Every Lead Gen Advertiser Knows

If you run lead generation on Google Ads, you already know this pain.

You set a Target CPA. You tell Google to get you leads at $50 each. Google does exactly that. It finds people who fill in forms. It optimises beautifully for the conversion event you gave it.

But Google has no idea what happens after the form. It does not know that 80% of those leads never answer the phone. It does not know that leads from certain keyword themes close at half the rate of others. It cannot see that the cheap leads from mobile at 11pm are almost always junk, while the expensive ones from desktop at 2pm on a Tuesday turn into $30,000 contracts.

Google thinks it is doing a great job.

Your CPA looks healthy.

Your sales team disagrees…

This is the fundamental problem with lead gen bidding – The algorithm optimises for whatever you tell it to optimise for. If you tell it to optimise for form fills, it gets very good at finding people who fill in forms. That is a completely different thing from finding people who become customers.

What Journey-Aware Bidding Actually Does

Journey-aware bidding, which entered beta on May 7, 2026, changes the way Smart Bidding learns for lead generation campaigns.

Here is the core idea.

Instead of the algorithm only seeing your primary conversion action (the form fill, the phone call, whatever you are bidding on), it now learns from your entire lead-to-sale journey.

Every stage you track – form submission, marketing qualified lead, sales qualified lead, proposal sent, deal closed – feeds into the model as a learning signal.

The important distinction: Google still only optimises toward your primary biddable conversion. It is not going to start counting MQLs as conversions or inflating your numbers.

But it uses those non-biddable stages to build a more accurate prediction of which clicks are most likely to reach the end goal.

Think of it this way.

Before, Google could see the first step and the nothing.

Now it can see the first step, the second step, the third step, and the outcome. It still only charges you for step one. But it uses the full picture to decide which step-ones to chase.

How This Differs from Value-Based Bidding

Value-based bidding (Target ROAS) has been available for years.

It lets you assign dollar values to different conversions so Google can prioritise higher-value outcomes.

So in theory, it solves the same problem…

However, in practice, most lead gen accounts cannot use it!

Target ROAS requires roughly 90 conversions in a 30-day window to function properly.

You need to assign monetary values to every conversion event.

And you need those values to be accurate and consistent, which means your CRM data has to be clean, your pipeline stages have to be standardised, and your sales team has to be disciplined about updating records.

So… problem, most lead gen businesses do not meet these requirements.

Not because they are bad at marketing… But, because they are normal-sized businesses with normal-sized pipelines and 15 to 40 leads a month, not 90.

Journey-aware bidding has a lower bar… perfect!

It works on Target CPA campaigns, which most lead gen accounts already run.

It needs 30 conversions in 30 days, not 90… Plus, it does not require you to assign dollar values.

It infers the relationship between journey stages and outcomes.

This is the key and meaningful difference.

It opens up smarter bidding to a much wider range of lead gen advertisers.

What You Need to Use It

Journey-aware bidding is not something you switch on in a menu. It requires a data foundation that most accounts do not have. Here is what is needed.

1. Offline Conversion Imports

This is the non-negotiable. You must be importing offline conversion data from your CRM back into Google Ads.
This means connecting HubSpot, Salesforce, Zoho, Pipedrive, or whatever system your sales team uses, and sending conversion events with the original Google Click ID (GCLID) or hashed user data so Google can match the outcome back to the click.

Google supports native integrations through Data Manager, Zapier connectors, Salesforce direct integration, and the Google Ads API. The method matters less than the consistency. Google recommends uploading at least daily. If you cannot manage daily, a weekly upload on a consistent schedule is the minimum.

2. Pipeline Stages Mapped as Conversion Actions

You need to create conversion actions in Google Ads for each meaningful stage of your pipeline.

A typical setup looks like this:

Form submission – your primary biddable conversion (this is what you set your Target CPA on)
Marketing Qualified Lead (MQL) – marked as a secondary, non-biddable conversion action
Sales Qualified Lead (SQL) – non-biddableProposal or quotesent – non-biddable
Closed-won deal – non-biddable

The algorithm learns from all of these stages without optimising directly toward any of them except your primary goal. It is watching the patterns to predict which early-stage clicks are most likely to progress through the full journey.

3. Sufficient Data Volume

Google states a minimum of 30 conversions in a 30-day period for the algorithm to have enough signal. That is your primary conversion action, not your pipeline stages. If you are generating fewer than 30 leads a month from Google Ads, the system will not have enough data to learn effectively.

4. Extended Attribution Windows

If you sell something with a long consideration period (B2B services, financial products, education, healthcare), set your click-through attribution window to 90 or 120 days and your view-through window to 30 to 60 days. The default 30-day click window will miss conversions that take longer to close, and the algorithm will learn from incomplete data.

Note: The biggest blocker we see is not technology. It is CRM discipline. If your sales team is not consistently updating lead stages, if your pipeline definitions are vague, if “qualified” means something different to every rep, then the data you send back to Google will be noisy. Journey-aware bidding will learn from that noise. Garbage in, garbage out still applies.

Who This Is Actually For

Journey-aware bidding is not relevant for every advertiser.

Here is where it matters and where it does not.

Strong Fit

B2B services and SaaS with multi-stage sales processes, longer sales cycles, and clear pipeline stages in a CRM
Professional services (law firms, accounting, consulting) where a lead and a client are separated by weeks of qualification
Financial services where compliance and qualification stages create natural pipeline milestones
Healthcare and allied health where enquiry-to-appointment-to-patient has distinct stages
Higher education where enquiry, application, enrolment, and commencement are trackable steps

Not a Fit (Yet)

E-commerce – you already have direct conversion value data. Standard Target ROAS bidding works. You do not need journey-aware bidding because the purchase IS the journey endpoint
Single-step lead gen – if your business model is “form fill equals customer” with no qualification process, there is no journey to model
Low-volume accounts – fewer than 30 conversions a month means insufficient signal for the algorithm to learn from

The Bigger Picture: Data Quality Is the New Competitive Advantage

Journey-aware bidding is part of a pattern that has been building across every major ad platform in 2026.

Google’s AI Max for Search is auto-migrating every DSA and broad match campaign in September. The algorithm controls keyword matching.

Meta’s Advantage+ has absorbed lookalike audiences and turned detailed targeting into a suggestion. The algorithm controls audience selection. And now journey-aware bidding lets the algorithm learn from your entire sales pipeline.

In all three cases, the automation is getting more powerful. But it is also getting more dependent on the data you feed it.

AI Max works better when your conversion tracking is accurate and your negative keywords are in place. Advantage+ works better when your Conversions API is connected and your customer lists are uploaded. Journey-aware bidding works better when your CRM data is clean, your pipeline stages are standardised, and your offline imports are flowing consistently.

The competitive advantage is no longer campaign structure, keyword strategy, or audience building. Those levers are being automated away.

The competitive advantage is data quality.

The businesses that invested in proper tracking infrastructure, CRM integration, and first-party data are the ones whose automation actually works. Everyone else is handing the keys to an AI that is driving blind.

We have been saying this to clients for two years. Journey-aware bidding is just the latest proof point.

Timeline and Rollout

Here is what we know about the rollout so far.

Late 2025: Closed testing begins with selected advertisers
May 7, 2026: Beta confirmed for Search campaigns using Target CPA
May 15, 2026 (Google Marketing Live): Google announces expansion to Performance Max campaigns with product feeds and Shopping campaigns in coming weeks
H2 2026: Broader rollout expected across campaign types

Google has also announced new demand-led budget pacing updates alongside journey-aware bidding, which automatically shift spend toward periods of predicted higher consumer demand. This is rolling out for Search and Shopping campaigns.

Bottom line: Journey-aware bidding is the most significant lead gen bidding update Google has shipped in years. It rewards advertisers who have done the foundational work of connecting their CRM, importing pipeline data, and maintaining clean records. If that describes your account, you are about to see better results from the same budget. If it does not, the gap between you and your competitors just got wider. The good news is that everything you need to do to prepare for journey-aware bidding is the same work that improves your Google Ads performance right now. There is no reason to wait for the beta to start.

What Is Brand Bidding in PPC (And Should You Do It?)

Benjamin Paine — Sun, 05 Oct 2025 22:00:00 +0000

Brand bidding is one of the simplest levers in paid search, yet it is often misunderstood. In practice, it is about controlling what shows when people search your brand, protecting your name from competitors and affiliates, and converting high-intent users with clear next steps. Done well, it reduces wasted spend, increases total clicks across paid and organic, and shortens the path to a sale.

What Is Brand Bidding?

Brand bidding means running ads on brand-inclusive keywords. There are two common approaches:

Your own brand terms, for example, “Digital Nomads HQ”, “DNHQ SEO”, “Digital Nomads PPC pricing”
Competitor brand terms, for example, “CompetitorName alternatives”, “Compare CompetitorName”

Brand terms usually have higher intent, stronger click-through rates, and more efficient cost per click than generic keywords. Competitor terms are a different play. They often cost more, convert lower, and need sharper positioning and compliant copy to work.

Brand Bidding vs Trademark Bidding

Brand bidding and trademark bidding overlap but are not identical. Trademark bidding targets legally protected terms. You can generally bid on competitor brand keywords, but using a competitor’s registered trademark in your ad copy or display URL can breach platform policy or create legal risk. The safest approach is to avoid competitor names in the ad text and keep your offer clearly differentiated.

Why Bid On Your Own Brand?

Defend your name and your clickshare

SEO-driven lead generation success depends on a simple truth: you need to know what your potential customers want. Search intent shapes your content strategy and helps you connect with prospects right when they need you most.

Types of search intent

If you do not advertise on your own brand, a competitor, affiliate, or coupon site can. On mobile, a single ad can push organic results below the fold. Owning the paid placement on your name protects clickshare and makes rivals pay more to outrank you.

Control the story and the journey

Organic snippets are generated automatically. Paid ads let you set the headline, message, extensions and landing page. Use this control to surface seasonal campaigns, pricing, locations, or direct routes to sales and support. You reduce friction and send people to the most relevant page the first time.

Improve combined results

Paid plus organic usually delivers more total clicks than organic alone. Brand campaigns also help you shape the path to conversion, which can lift conversion rate and reduce acquisition cost.

Move faster than SEO

If you need to announce new services, pricing changes or a limited-time offer, you can update your brand ad and sitelinks immediately. No waiting on crawling or indexation.

When Brand Bidding Might Not Be A Priority

There are edge cases where brand spend can be de-prioritised. For example, very small brands with minimal search volume and a tightly constrained budget, or dominant brands in niches with little competitive pressure and very high organic click-through. Even then, test before you cut. A structured holdout is more reliable than assumptions.

Should You Bid On Competitor Brand Terms?

There is opportunity and risk.

Upside
You can meet in-market buyers at the moment they compare options, grow awareness, and present a credible alternative.

Downside
Competitor auctions are usually more expensive. Engagement is lower because many searchers want the brand they typed. You also face tighter policy constraints. If you pursue this route, be disciplined.

Competitor best practice

Do not use competitor trademarks in ad copy or URLs
Lead with your value, for example, features, proof, service levels, pricing clarity, guarantees
Send traffic to a fair, useful comparison page with an honest tone

Cap bids to avoid bidding wars that destroy efficiency

Risks And Challenges To Manage

CPC spikes when multiple competitors, affiliates or coupon sites enter your brand auction
Customer confusion when coupon or imitation sites crowd your brand results
Attribution noise, where brand ads collect conversions you might have earned organically

You can manage these by monitoring Auction Insights, running periodic brand-term sweeps, and testing incrementality to justify your budget.

How To Structure Brand Campaigns

Keep the account clean and easy to understand.

Separate campaigns: Split Brand, Non-Brand and Competitor into separate campaigns. This keeps budgets and data clean, and makes optimisation faster.
Match types: Use Exact for core brand queries, for example, brand, brand plus service, brand plus location. Add Phrase for common variations and product lines. Review search terms weekly and add negatives for careers, support only, and unrelated brand combinations.
Bidding strategies: For brand defence, Target Impression Share can secure top of page with a sensible maximum CPC cap. For quieter auctions, Manual CPC gives finer control. Do not chase absolute top at any cost. Aim for consistent coverage within an efficiency guardrail.

Budgets: Start with a modest budget that comfortably covers brand demand. Increase only if you are losing impression share on valuable brand queries.

Ad Copy That Lifts Performance

Responsive Search Ads work best when they contain a wide spread of unique messages. Aim for Excellent ad strength without repeating yourself.

Headline ideas

Digital Nomads HQ | SEO That Drives Growth
Google Ads Management With Clear ROI
Talk To A Senior Strategist
View Pricing and Case Studies

Description ideas

Clear plan, measurable outcomes, in-house team. Book a quick call and map your first steps.
Only the work that moves the needle, tracked openly and reported clearly.
Local team, transparent reporting, flexible engagement.

Assets to include
Sitelinks to Services, Case Studies, Pricing and Contact. Callouts that reinforce your value, for example In-House Team, ROI Focus, Clear Reporting. Structured snippets for services like SEO, PPC, Content and CRO. Add your business logo and name for instant trust.

Message by intent

Brand plus pricing: link to pricing and include a plain-English value line
Brand plus reviews: highlight ratings, testimonials and relevant case studies
Brand plus support: route to help content or show a direct contact option

Landing Pages That Match Intent

Align the landing page with what the searcher wants.

Pricing intent: show plans, inclusions, FAQs and a simple way to talk to sales
Contact intent: use a short form and a phone number that rings now
Service intent: show process, proof and a path to a scoping call
Support intent: help first, then offer to connect with the right team

Keep pages fast, consistent with the ad, and focused on one clear action. Add proof where it matters most, for example partner badges, certifications, logos and short testimonials.

Measurement And Incrementality

Track the fundamentals at campaign level: impression share, absolute top, CTR, CPC, conversion rate, CPA or ROAS. Then test for lift.

Two simple tests

Geo split: pause brand ads in selected lower-value regions for a short period, hold other variables steady, and compare total clicks and conversions against control regions
Time-based holdout: pause brand ads during lower-impact hours, keep everything else steady, and compare to adjacent time blocks

Measure total conversions and revenue, not just Google Ads numbers. You want to understand whether sales drop, not just whether attribution shifts.

Brand Protection Essentials

Maintain a short trademark and affiliate policy that spells out acceptable use
Sweep your brand SERP weekly to identify new advertisers, coupon pages and lookalikes
File takedown requests where appropriate and tighten affiliate contracts if they breach terms
Use shared negative lists for careers, support and irrelevant brand combos
Set automated rules to cap bids if CPC exceeds your threshold in a spike

Common Mistakes To Avoid

One campaign for everything, which blurs budgets and makes diagnosis difficult
Chasing position without a ceiling, which drives up cost for no real gain
Sending all clicks to the homepage instead of matching intent
Copy that says little and offers no next step
No tests, which makes it hard to defend the spend

Practical Set-Up Checklist

Separate Brand, Non-Brand and Competitor campaigns
Exact and Phrase match for core brand and product terms
Negative lists for careers, support and unrelated brand combinations
Responsive Search Ads with 12 to 15 distinct headlines, 4 descriptions, sitelinks and callouts
Target Impression Share with a capped max CPC for defence, Manual CPC where quieter
Landing pages aligned to intent, with proof and one primary action
Weekly reviews of search terms, Auction Insights, impression share and efficiency
Documented plan for incrementality testing, including geo or time-based holdouts

Frequently Asked Questions

Should we bid on our Brand Name if we already rank first?

Google June 2025 Core Update: What to Consider

Digital Nomads HQ — Wed, 02 Jul 2025 23:57:08 +0000

Google often updates the way its algorithm works and prioritises content. This recent update was the second of 2025. Google has stated that this update will take three weeks to roll out entirely before it is fully operational.

While some of these updates may not seem major, they are important for businesses and digital marketers to take note of. The content they produce, which may have performed well in the past, could drop significantly as a result of these changes.

Here are some of the key takeaways that are worth looking out for as the new update comes into action:

The quality of your content matters. Google judges this by the originality and cohesiveness between the title of the piece and the topic the content addresses.
Demonstrating expertise and value will play a significant role in determining a page’s performance. Google needs to be able to identify that it has been created or reviewed by an expert in the field of the selected topic.
Prioritise people and avoid heavy search engine-first content to ensure optimal user experience and satisfaction.

What is a core update?

A core update occurs when Google alters its algorithm to favour and boost the highest-quality and most credible pages. As content creation evolves, Google must take into account factors that may hinder the quality of a piece of content, such as the use of AI or false information and statistics.

Here’s how Google Search Central announced the update via LinkedIn.

Google’s previous core update

The previous update put into action by Google in March for 2025 was very similar to this new one in terms of being “people-focused”. However, the guidelines were slightly more vague and less focused on credibility and expertise.

1. Quality of your content

Google has emphasised that the quality of the content on each page will impact the way it ranks significantly.

There are several different ways that you can ensure the content you are creating and publishing to your website will be viewed as good or exceptional quality by Google.

Originality

One of the main things Google will look for when analysing the quality of your content is its originality.

One way to do this could be to conduct your research and provide results or analysis; however, we all know conducting a full-on investigation can be extremely time-consuming and not always worth it.

To avoid this, you can continue to use external sources; however, you must ensure to include your original spin on information sourced from elsewhere. This could be further analysis or commentary that adds value to the existing information.

“Does the content provide insightful analysis or interesting information that is beyond the obvious?”

- Google Search Central

This is another interesting question posed by Google Search Central, included in their list of “self-assessment” questions. This means Google will be diving even deeper than before and evaluating how interesting and unique the content found on each page is.

Content must match the heading

Would you click on a title that has nothing to do with what you’re searching for?

Alternatively…

How fast would you click off a web page whose content has nothing to do with its title?

These may seem like silly questions; however, Google is once again emphasising the importance of headings and content aligning to ensure your page is being optimised and viewed as quality.

Google has also emphasised not using exaggerated titles, which essentially means “clickbait”. Using these titles will be viewed as misleading.

Here are some examples of the Dos and Don’ts when it comes to titles and content:

2. Expertise and value

Google states that by clearly displaying the fact that expertise was used to add value to a piece of content, it will automatically be considered more credible and therefore rank higher.

Referencing & Credibility

It is crucial that clear referencing is used when information has been sourced from elsewhere. Google is able to detect when the information presented on a page is not original.

Google Search Central also provides self-assessment questions to audit the credibility of a page, such as:

“Is this the sort of page you’d want to bookmark, share with a friend, or recommend?”

and

“Would you expect to see this content in or referenced by a printed magazine, encyclopedia, or book?”

The structure and quality of the page in comparison to other ranking competitors will also affect its success.

Expert tip: Before creating a new piece of content, examine the pages that currently rank on Google and determine how you can challenge the content and user experience they present.

Evidence of expertise

Having the author of a piece of content and their visible expert credentials clearly displayed on a page will increase its credibility.

Another popular and effective way to display expertise is to include a link to an author page or an about us page. This internal linking method is a good way to present the reader and Google with more information and insight without overcrowding the one page.

Having an expert review content and including a “reviewed by” tag next to the author can also increase credibility and is commonly used by a number of well-known companies.

Google is also on the lookout for easily verified factual errors that could hinder the reliability of a source.

Additionally, make sure you are across Google’s experience, expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness (E-E-A-T) system. This framework is used to determine which pages are the most helpful to users.

Google is also on the lookout for easily verified factual errors that could hinder the reliability of a source.

Here is a great example of a list of expert references provided by the Digital Marketing Institute.

3. Prioritise people and avoid heavy search engine-first content

On page UX

The user experience (UX) of a page is one of the most important factors to consider. If someone is unable to navigate or use a website in the first place, the quality of the content becomes almost irrelevant.

Factors such as bounce rate and time spent on a page will definitely affect ranking and success.

Will the content satisfy the reader?

It is important that when someone has a question, googles it, finds your page and reads your content, that they can walk away having answered their question or found the content useful and informative.

It is also crucial that the content being added to a website speaks to the business’s primary audience and is relevant to their needs.

Google poses this “self-assessment” question:

“Do you have an existing or intended audience for your business or site that would find the content useful if they came directly to you?”

- Google Search Central

For example, if you own an accounting business, you would avoid posting a blog on the “Top Ten Best Running Shoes” even if it might generally be a trending topic at the time.

Manipulative SEO tactics will be flagged

Don’t chase traffic! Common SEO tactics such as mass-producing content, keyword stuffing and writing about topics entirely irrelevant to your business and audience may have been effective in the past, but are now being flagged by Google and negatively affecting the performance of pages.

Using automotive tools or taking other people’s pages and using AI to rewrite the content will also be picked up on. If the content hasn’t had any original material or insight added to it, it will be viewed as invaluable.

Writing to meet a certain number of words is also no longer an effective SEO practice, as it all comes down to the quality of the content.

Another “self-assessment” question provided by Google Search Central makes this very clear:

“Are you writing to a particular word count because you’ve heard or read that Google has a preferred word count? (No, we don’t.)”

Common tricks such as changing the page dates and shifting around the structure of a piece of content to achieve a “fresh” feel are also now considered very much ineffective.

Conclusion

Staying informed is key when it comes to SEO and Google’s rapidly evolving algorithm. If, after reading this article, you still have queries or questions surrounding Search Engine Optimisation or what Google’s June 2025 core update might mean for you. Please don’t hesitate to contact our friendly team here at Digital Nomads HQ.

Digital Marketing Trends 2025

Digital Nomads HQ — Mon, 30 Jun 2025 00:02:27 +0000

We have seen some massive trends come across in the digital marketing space in 2025.

These trends range from platforms to content style to skillsets and everything in between.

Here are the top 5 most influential trends we have identified:

1. When it comes to Social Media, platforms such as X, Threads and Blue Sky are on the rise, as well as employee-generated content (EGC) and customer-based marketing.

2. The use of AI is growing, meaning businesses must watch out for AI fatigue. A considerable amount of growth has been seen in AI agents, AI in e-commerce and the use of AI in paid ad campaigns.

3. Required Digital Marketing Skills are changing, with soft skills becoming key. The importance of digital marketers being fluent in AI is growing, as well as their general understanding of the operations and finances of a business.

4. Different forms of Search Marketing are becoming more popular, including social search and voice search. Generative Engine Optimisation is also becoming more crucial as the way that different search engines are changing.

5. Different Content Marketing strategies are also being discovered and introduced. Updating old content to improve its performance, as well as producing and publishing Human + AI Content.

These current trend insights could help shape your marketing strategy and improve the success of your business.

Social Media Marketing Trends

Social media marketing remains a powerful tool for businesses, with different platforms allowing for different types of content to be showcased.

In 2025, we have seen businesses using different marketing strategies across social media that we haven’t observed before.

X, Threads and BlueSky: Platform shifts in 2025

X (formerly known as Twitter) still stands as a leading platform with almost 600 million active monthly users at the start of 2025, according to Statista.

However, Meta’s Threads is growing rapidly, with 320 million monthly users, as stated by TechCrunch.

Whilst not as big, BlueSky is another up-and-coming platform attracting 142.4 million website visitors in April 2025.

Each of these platforms gives marketers unique advantages and offers users a unique experience.

Check out some of their key benefits:

"Bluesky has the edge over Threads to be the new Twitter as people leave X,"

said Gordon MacMillan, former head of content strategy at Twitter.

Whilst the content shared on X, Threads and BlueSky doesn’t typically perform as well as it might on other platforms, generating a significantly lower engagement rate, each social media network offers a different experience to users compared to the other larger social media platforms.

Wendy’s is a great example of a brand that leverages the benefits of X extremely effectively, generating high engagement on each piece of content.

Expert tip: If you’re considering using these platforms to your advantage and posting similar content across all three of them, make sure to format/adapt the content to suit the platform. This will ensure it performs to its maximum potential.

Employee-Generated Content (EGC)

Employee-generated content has become one of the most effective social media marketing trends of 2025.

Brands can gain trust and credibility by having their employees establish relationships with their audience through social media content.

Sprout Social suggests that 57% of consumers are willing to increase their spending with a brand they feel connected to. 76% say they would choose to buy from a brand they trust over a competitor.

"Craftsmanship, culture, and community matter more. People don't just want to see the final product; they want to know who made it, how it's made, and why it matters. That's a story best told by the people behind the scenes,"

said Thomas Walters, co-founder of influencer marketing agency Billion Dollar Boy

TikTok stands out as EGC’s main platform. Employees can share authentic company messages through trending content naturally.

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A post shared by Digital Nomads HQ (@digitalnomadshq)

Expert tip: If you’d love to create UGC for your business but feel like your staff just don’t have the time for it, try implementing incentives to encourage staff members to get behind the camera. Even if it’s just one short TikTok or reel a week!

Customers over Influencers

Collaborating with customers is where it’s at!

Whilst influencer marketing is still quite popular amongst brands and an effective way of generating interest, many businesses are now switching to User Generated Content (UGC).

Hootsuite states that 86% of consumers are more inclined to purchase from a brand that shares UGC content.

An example of an effective UGC campaign is the Coca-Cola “Share a Coke” campaign, in which customers were encouraged to share images on social media or via the Coca-Cola app with their personalised bottles.

“User-generated content is the most authentic form of marketing. Consumers are more likely to trust a brand that shares UGC, as it reflects real experiences and builds genuine connections.” – Hootsuite

Expert tip: Make sure to showcase your UGC content in the right places. This might be on product pages, Instagram stories, email marketing campaigns or paid Meta Advertisements.

"Marketing trends are not just passing fads; they are the result of changing consumer behaviours and technological advancements."

Benjamin Paine, Managing Director at Digital Nomads HQ

The Rise of AI in Digital Marketing

It’s no secret that AI is becoming more and more prominent within the digital marketing world.

Research conducted by SurveyMonkey states that 32% of marketing organisations have fully implemented, whilst 43% of marketing organisations report experimenting with AI platforms.

AI Fatigue

The implementation of AI can put businesses at risk of experiencing “AI fatigue”.

AI fatigue occurs when bringing in AI tools ends up creating more work for an organisation instead of making things easier.

Some companies avoid this problem by targeting specific uses rather than broad applications.

AI Agents

AI agents are now able to handle complex campaign workflows on their own.

These systems analyse performance data, adjust targeting, and move budgets around without the help of humans.

CoSchedule reveals that marketing teams save more than 5+ hours each week by using Artificial Intelligence.

AI in ecommerce

AI can provide consumers with an extremely personalised service via e-commerce platforms.

Modern AI studies browsing patterns and purchase history to create individual-specific experiences.

AI chatbots have grown more and more realistic. Many consumers can’t tell the difference between AI and human customer service agents.

Expert tip: Use AI to personalise consumers’ entire shopping journeys. Tools can be used to personalise emails and marketing material sent out to customers. This personalised experience can then continue onto the homepage of a website, pushing recommended products to certain individuals based on their shopping habits.

AI in Paid Ad Campaigns

Deloitte discovered that marketing teams using AI-powered ad platforms see a 22% improvement in ROI across campaigns.

Machine learning has changed ad optimisation beyond basic A/B testing.

Smart algorithms predict how audiences will respond, estimate conversion chances, and adjust bidding strategies automatically.

Many leading brands now use generative AI to create multiple ad versions at once.

Digital Marketing Skills

Digital marketing success in 2025 depends more on a mix of people skills and tech knowledge than pure technical expertise.

Soft Skills

The human touch has become marketing’s biggest advantage as automation grows.

Emotional intelligence stands at the top of the must-have skills that help marketers handle client relationships better. Digital marketers need curiosity to stay relevant in this fast-changing reality.

Marketing still comes down to getting people to buy products, which makes persuasion vital. Clear and personable written and verbal communication helps build strong relationships and share ideas effectively.

Adaptability has become a key skill, as successful marketers embrace change to stay relevant.

“In marketing’s dynamic landscape, emotional intelligence (EI) is a critical driver of success. EI goes beyond mere transactional relationships to create genuine, lasting connections with audiences,” said Media Psychologist and Marketing Executive, Leslie Poston

AI Fluency

While many marketers use AI tools daily, only a handful would call it their strength. This gap between simple adoption and strategic use shows where teams need to grow.

AI fluency means more than just using tools occasionally; it’s about making use of information for better decisions.

Teams that write good prompts and improve AI outputs will lead the pack. Companies that are regularly trying to upskill their teams in AI fluency will naturally see better performance metrics.

Several well-known marketing agencies, such as Big Red Communications Group in Melbourne and Growth Gurus in Surry Hills, are now specifically hiring for “Prompt Engineers” to develop AI prompts for businesses, as well as customised AI bots.

Expert tip: Always encourage your team to keep learning! Training and upskilling your team in AI practices, such as prompt engineering and evaluating outputs, is a real investment.

The Importance of Business Knowledge

Marketers must have a solid understanding of business and finance.

This matters because these departments will usually be the ones to approve marketing expenses in most companies.

Marketers who understand finance’s language become extremely valuable assets to the team, especially when marketing needs support at the executive level.

Marketing decisions must be data-backed, and financial literacy ends up helping marketers allocate resources better and prove their strategies’ worth through ROI calculations.

Search Marketing

Search marketing continues to change as people’s searching methods evolve.

Check out some of these newest search trends.

Social Search

Social platforms have become the main discovery engines.
To optimise for this search trend, conversational queries and question formats must be focused on, eg, who, what, where, why, when.

Visual content and platform-specific strategies also help brands stand out in social search.

Luke O’Leary says, “People are behaving differently when they search any type of query on a search engine, but they’re also utilising more platforms in their searches. Social search has become a big thing, and people are utilising TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube for more of their searches.”

Voice Search

Voice search keeps growing with over 1 billion monthly searches according to Yaguara.co. Many voice shoppers use the feature to research products.

Voice assistant devices like Google and Alexa have played a large role in the growth of voice search, with many people finding it to be a more convenient way of gathering information.

Expert tip: Optimise your content for voice search! To do this, you must focus on organic-sounding questions, giving people the answers they are searching for. An example of this could be “What is the best toaster to buy?”. A great way to do this is through publishing blog posts!

Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO)

GEO brings a fundamental change to search strategy.

Unlike traditional SEO, it optimises content for AI-driven search engines like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google AI Overviews.

Gartner predicts a 25% drop in traditional search by 2026.

Brands and businesses must adapt now. GEO requires contextual accuracy, detailed responses, and authoritative content that AI algorithms are able to recognise and analyse.

Content Marketing

It’s no secret that content creation makes up a large part of the digital marketing space, being most businesses’ primary form of connection with their audience.

Here are some of the key content marketing trends that have emerged in 2025.

Improving the performance of old content

Old content updates deliver impressive ROI without much effort.

Neil Patel’s research reveals traffic can jump up to 106% after updating old posts.

Reworking content means fresh information, rich media elements, and filling content gaps. Orbit Media’s survey backs this up – marketers who update old content are 2.8 times more likely to see strong results.

“Updating old content is one of the most effective ways to boost your website’s performance. It’s less time-consuming than creating new content and can yield significant results,” said Neil Patel

Human + AI Content

AI efficiency combined with human creativity creates optimal content.

AI tools can produce content a lot faster than humans, yet consumers are usually able to detect AI-generated content and will typically interact less when they do.

Check out this episode of our Digital Nomads HQ podcast, where Ben & Annabelle discuss the risks of using AI to write content without adding some form of human touch.

Many marketers are now using this hybrid approach to get better results. The key is strategic collaboration between humans and AI.

Expert tip: Use AI to handle the heavy lifting – handling data analysis and drafts (the time-consuming part) while your team works to input emotional intelligence and creative viewpoints.

Check out our Podcast!

Have a listen to our podcast where Benjamin Paine (Managing Director) and Annabelle Cochrane (SEO Manager) of Digital Nomads HQ continue the discussion on digital marketing trends covering AI, content creation, and more!

Top Marketing Trends In 2024 To Stay Ahead Of The Curve

Benjamin Paine — Wed, 24 Jan 2024 00:30:00 +0000

New Year, New Strategies. As we bring in the new year, embracing change is no longer a choice, but an absolute necessity. As technology continues to evolve, new digital marketing trends emerge, shaping the way businesses connect with their target audience.

The digital landscape is in constant flux, and staying ahead means not only keeping up with the trends but also working towards innovation and adaptability. In this blog, we unravel some of the top marketing trends and predictions we have for 2024, equipping you with insights and strategies that can elevate your brand and captivate your audience in the year ahead.

"Marketing trends are not just passing fads; they are the result of changing consumer behaviours and technological advancements."

By staying ahead of these trends, businesses can adapt their strategies and stay relevant in an ever-changing landscape.

Benjamin Paine, Managing Director at Digital Nomads HQ

Key Factors Shaping Marketing Trends in 2024

In 2024,marketing trends are going to be more dynamic than ever before! With advancements in artificial intelligence, search engines, and the focus on multichannel strategies, businesses (like yours) must be prepared to embrace these trends to thrive in the digital age.

Exponential Growth of Technology

1. Rise of AI and Generative AI:

Breakthroughs in artificial intelligence, machine learning, and data analytics have given businesses a world of possibilities and opportunities! This allows brands to automate intricate processes, decipher customer data with ease, and craft personalised experiences that resonate with a user’s individual preferences.

"The global AI market will likely have surpassed the $500 billion mark by 2024, with some estimates projecting it to even reach closer to a trillion dollars."

Source: https://www.gartner.com/en

For example, AI-powered chatbots can provide instant customer support, answering queries and resolving issues 24/7. AI algorithms can also analyse customer data to deliver personalised recommendations and targeted advertisements, increasing conversion rates and customer satisfaction.

However, AI in marketing is not just limited to automation and personalisation;

it also extends to predictive analytics. By leveraging AI, businesses can more easily forecast customer behaviour, identify trends, and make data-driven decisions to optimise their marketing strategies

2. Evolving Data Privacy Landscape

In the past few years, we have seen a big shift in how governments and regulatory bodies are responding to growing concerns about data privacy. As a result, we have seen stricter regulations reshaping how marketers collect and use consumer data. These measures aim to empower consumers with greater control over their personal information.

Amidst these changes, the spotlight has focused on first-party data – information collected directly from customers and audiences through their interactions with a brand.

This shift reflects a move away from reliance on third-party data, often obtained from external sources, towards a more transparent and consent-driven approach. By fostering direct relationships with consumers, businesses can navigate the regulatory landscape more effectively and build trust through responsible data-handling practices.

In addition to this, we have also seen a rise in zero-party data strategies, which refers to data that users intentionally share with a business (think cookies and opt-ins).

This intentional exchange of information opens the door for personalised experiences, as businesses gain insights directly from their audience about preferences, expectations, and preferred engagement levels. Implementing robust strategies to ethically and transparently collect and leverage zero-party data will become a cornerstone of successful marketing campaigns.

3. Augmented Reality & Interactive & Immersive Experiences

Augmented reality (AR) and interactive experiences are set to revolutionise marketing in the new year. From interactive quizzes and polls to gamified experiences and virtual reality (VR) simulations, businesses can create memorable and engaging experiences that leave a lasting impression on their audience. These technologies allow for creativity and innovation, allowing them to create immersive brand experiences that capture attention and drive engagement.

“Interactive experiences go beyond traditional marketing by actively involving the audience in the content. ”

Ashley Paine, SEO Account Manager at Digital Nomads HQ

Evolving Consumer Expectations & Behaviour

1. Values Driven Experiences

Today’s consumers are more conscious, discerning participants in the marketplace. A growing awareness of social, environmental, and ethical issues are steering users towards brands that share their values. As a result, businesses need to move beyond traditional marketing paradigms and embrace a more purpose-driven approach to better resonate with this conscious consumer base.

Authenticity and purpose are more crucial than ever as consumers are increasingly seeking brands that align with their values and stand for something beyond products and services.

2. Personalisation & Hyper-Targeting

Today’s consumers are empowered with more choices and information than ever before and demand more than just products or services – they expect personalised interactions, relevant content, and seamless experiences across a myriad of channels.

In 2024, personalisation will continue to be a dominant marketing trend, with businesses leveraging data and technology to hyper-target their audience.

By collecting and analysing customer data, businesses can create personalised marketing campaigns that resonate with individual preferences and behaviours.

Whether it’s;

Addressing them by their name in communications.
Tailoring product recommendations based on past behaviours.

These personalised touches create a sense of connection and drive conversion rates. Businesses that invest in understanding their customers on a granular level can forge stronger, more meaningful relationships.

Hyper-targeting takes personalisation a step further by segmenting the audience into highly specific groups based on demographics, interests, and behaviours. By delivering targeted messages to each segment, businesses can maximise the effectiveness of their marketing efforts and increase ROI.

3. Rise of Creator Economy and Micro-Influencers

Influencer marketing has gained significant traction in recent years, and shows no sign of slowing down in 2024!

With the increasing scepticism towards traditional advertising, consumers are turning to influencers for recommendations and advice.

Influencer marketing allows businesses to leverage the trust and credibility of influencers to promote their products or services. By partnering with influencers who align with their brand values and target audience, businesses can reach a wider audience and build brand awareness.

However, as influencer marketing becomes more mainstream, businesses need to be strategic in their approach. It’s crucial to choose influencers who have genuine connections with their audience and whose values align with the brand. Authenticity and transparency are key to successful influencer marketing campaigns in 2024.

Read More: How Social Media Humanises Your Brand & Engages Your Audience

Emerging Trends and Platforms

1. Interactive Content and Short-Form Video

With the popularity of platforms like YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram Reels, video content has quickly become a preferred medium for consuming information and entertainment.

By leveraging the power of video marketing, businesses can create engaging, high-quality videos that resonate with their target audience. From product demonstrations and tutorials to behind-the-scenes footage and customer testimonials, video content allows businesses to tell compelling stories and connect with their audience on an emotional level.

Additionally, live streaming and interactive videos will play a significant role in video marketing in 2024. Live streaming allows businesses to engage with their audience in real time, while interactive videos enable viewers to participate and interact with the content, creating a more immersive experience.

2. Voice Search and Conversational Marketing

With the rise of smart speakers and virtual assistants, voice search has become an integral part of the way people search for information. In 2024, voice search optimisation will be a crucial marketing trend for businesses looking to reach their target audience effectively.

To optimise for voice search, businesses need to understand how people use voice commands and adapt their content accordingly. Voice searches are often longer and more conversational than text-based searches, so businesses should focus on creating content that answers specific questions and provides concise, informative answers.

Additionally, businesses should ensure their website and content are mobile-friendly, as most voice searches are conducted on mobile devices. Optimising for local search is also essential, as many voice searches are location-based.

Making the Most of a Multichannel Strategy

In 2024, a multichannel strategy will be more important than ever before. With the proliferation of digital channels and the changing consumer behaviour, businesses need to be present where their target audience is.

A multichannel strategy involves leveraging multiple channels such as;

social media
email marketing
search engine optimisation
content marketing
paid advertising

Reach and engage with customers at different touchpoints in their buyer’s journey.

To make the most of a multichannel strategy, businesses should focus on delivering consistent messaging and seamless experiences across all channels. Each channel should complement and reinforce the overall marketing strategy, ensuring a cohesive brand identity and customer experience.

Embracing the Future of Marketing

As technology continues to evolve, so do marketing trends. The top marketing trends of 2024, present exciting opportunities for businesses to connect with their target audience and drive growth.

To stay ahead of the curve, businesses must embrace these trends, adapt their strategies, and prioritise customer-centric experiences. By leveraging the power of technology and understanding consumer behaviours, businesses can position themselves for success in the ever-evolving digital landscape.

At Digital Nomads, we understand that staying ahead requires more than just adapting to trends – it demands a commitment to shaping the future. Our team of experts thrives on pushing boundaries, redefining industry norms, and creating organic and paid campaigns that stand out in a crowded digital landscape.

Get in touch today to learn more about our digital marketing expertise. Your journey to digital success starts here.