As someone who has spent countless hours switching back and forth between the previous SA360 and the Google Ads’ UI, the new experience is a long time coming. The updates will offer SA360 advertisers an efficient workflow and stronger cross-engine compatibility, all within a single search management platform. Below is an in-depth look at what to look forward to as SA360 rolls out in 2022.

Greater Workflow Efficiencies

Google has shaped the new SA360 experience around achieving greater workflow efficiencies by implementing updates designed to minimize unnecessary repetitive tasks. One of the updates that I’m most excited about is the new and improved cross-platform support of the Google Ads Labels feature. Advertisers will no longer be required to recreate and reapply the same labels, as any labels linked to Google Ads will automatically become available in the new SA360 interface. This was one of the most requested features amongst my colleagues and clients, so it’s great that it’s finally here. The previous requirement of recreating and reapplying labels in SA360 through manual operations, such as bulk edits and excel uploads, will now be a thing of the past! 

There are more avenues to scale with centralization through enhanced cross-advertiser management. With the previous SA360, customizing reporting views or campaign management done at the “Advertiser” platform level has always operated individually. The new SA360 experience will address this by granting the ability to report and manage campaign activities across multiple Advertisers at once. Noticeable workflow improvements include the option to create custom columns (previously called formula columns) at the Manager (previously “Agency”) level, to execute bulk changes to multiple accounts simultaneously and to duplicate entities across engines or the Advertiser level with a new copy and paste function.

These new SA360 updates drive greater productivity for advertisers with many search engine accounts and agencies who would like to organize client reporting tasks simultaneously. 

A Familiar UI with Upgraded Navigation

Google has intentionally made the new SA360 look and feel more like the current Google Ads interface. Users that are already experienced in Google Ads will see immediate benefits and feel right at home with the new SA360. This is also useful for training and adoption, as any familiarity of the Google Ads UI navigation and workflow processes will translate over to the new SA360 (or vice versa) for one consistent experience and quicker adoption. It’s also an added bonus that Microsoft Ads has a very similar interface!

Vastly Improved Search Engine Support

The new SA360 and Google Ads now share core common technology powering the functionality and capabilities of both platforms, resulting in the ability to manage and process more data than ever, all while maintaining a fast user experience. This also means that previously unsupported features within SA360 will soon become available in the new version. Google has also confirmed the support for campaign types including Performance Max, Discovery Ads and Local Inventory Ads. 

To add to this, upgraded engine feature support such as extensions, audiences and creative formats for alternatives to Google (i.e. Microsoft RSA, DSA & smart shopping) will also be included in the upcoming updates. This improved support will allow advertisers to complete much more of their day-to-day workflow from within a single search marketing platform. Advertisers that are currently using SA360 to manage standard paid search campaigns and Google Ads to manage Performance Max or Discovery campaigns should be celebrating right now, as the management and reporting of all three campaign types can be done under the new SA360! This will also make it easier for dashboard reporting (i.e. third-party data or Data Studio) as users can include a single data source.

 

Updated Google Analytics Integration and Support for GA4

In the new SA360 experience, Google continues to develop SA360’s native integration with other GMP products, in particular with Google Analytics (GA4) properties. The new SA360-GA4 integration enables the import of GA4’s web and in-app event metrics into the SA360 reporting UI, allowing for additional measurement and optimization into how search activities are performing against web or in-app based events. Additionally, if Google Analytics Goals are your reporting and measurement source of truth, web or in-app-based GA4 Goals are available to use as a conversion source for performance automation and optimization—a handy alternative to Google Ads conversion tracking or floodlight tracking tags.

Bridging the Gap Between Platforms

When onboarding and training new clients in the previous SA360, one of the most frequently asked questions is: “Should we migrate our day-to-day workflow from Google Ads to SA360?”

I’ve always recommended that teams combine Google Ads campaign management workflows with SA360 performance optimization workflows (as opposed to using only one or the other) to get the most value out of both platforms. There will still be some instances that require switching between both. However, with the launch of the new experience, we’re seeing a big step with the new SA360 in the right direction in bridging the gap and enabling teams to use one interface for most tasks.



With the enterprise advantages of using a search management platform for engine consolidation, management, reporting and automation, we’re very excited for the streamlined and efficient workflows when transitioning search engine accounts’ daily tasks over to the new SA360 experience—and search marketers will be, too.

What is changing?

As GA4 matures, Google recently announced it is committed to retire the legacy version, Universal Analytics. Users of the free version will have until the end of June 2023. Premium (paying) customers will however receive an additional grace period of three months.

By that time, Universal Analytics will stop collecting new data and users will need to completely migrate to GA4. As most organizations need more than one year of data to run year-on-year analysis and prime for change, we strongly recommend brands implement tracking in GA4 before the end of June 2022. This is crucial as Google is not planning on providing any data migrations from Universal Analytics to GA4. 

Why does it matter?

As data will no longer be collected by Universal Analytics, multiple metrics and measurement will come to a halt, which will hinder a holistic view of traffic and marketing activities on your website and/or app. Here are things that require immediate attention to achieve 100% business continuity.

Metrics and goals 

As GA4 has a different data model to Universal Analytics (event based vs. session based), metrics will be defined differently, even if they might have the same name. For example, a lot of reporting in Universal Analytics was based on Goals. Universal Analytics Goals can be mapped to GA4’s Conversions, however the configuration is slightly different therefore comparing YoY results may be challenging as it isn’t exactly an apples-to-apples comparison.

GA4 allows 30 Conversions per property (50 Conversions for paying customers), and while Universal Analytics only allows 20 Goals per view, a single property could have more than 30 different types of Goals. If this is the case for your organization, we recommend reviewing your measurement approach and working to consolidate your Goals so that you are only tracking the most important events as conversions. Additional conversion points can be still tracked and presented in custom reports.

Reporting and dashboarding configuration

Regardless of how your dashboards or reports were implemented, changes are required to swap to the new version of GA. In many instances, additional work is required as there is no 1:1 functionality from GA360 to GA4. Actions to take include:

• Create new reports and dashboards using GA4 metrics and properties.
• Make sure commonly used reporting views in GA360 have counterparts in GA4 with data collected correctly.
• Remove user access for obsolete dashboards to ensure everyone is using the right data.
• Secure additional data exports so that you can create multi-year comparisons and conduct trend analysis.
• If your organization has GA360, keep in mind that you can access more reports and data through the UI than what is stored in Google BigQuery. Data coming from integrations via Campaign Manager, Display & Video 360, and Search Ads 360 containing metrics and advertising dimensions (affinity, demographics) are not available in BigQuery. Review any dependencies on UI-based reporting and identify alternatives.

Audiences and integrations

Integration of Audiences shared with other Google Marketing Platforms—from Google Ads to Optimize 360 and DV360—will stop working, as Universal Analytics will not receive any additional data. Actions to address integrations include:

• Reconfigure available platform integrations in GA4.
• Identify custom-built integrations using the Core Reporting API. These will need to be recreated with the GA4 API.
• Identify important audiences for analysis and media buying and create them in GA4.

Channel and cross-device attribution

GA4 shares a module for Attribution with Universal Analytics. However, the “old” conversion reports had a premium (GA360) module called Data-Driven Attribution (DDA). Data-Driven Attribution has not carried over to GA4. If you are using an “old” conversion report, be sure to understand the differences in the attribution of Channels because GA4’s event-based model calculates attribution differently to Universal Analytics. 

Cross-device attribution in GA4 is more sophisticated and leverages Google Signals, Google’s privacy-safe identity software that links Google user activity across devices, across all reports, if enabled. Universal Analytics only leverages Google Signals for some reports. Create GA4 vs. Universal Analytics Comparison dashboards to compare conversions attributed to channels and standard user metrics to create comparable GA4 baselines for decision making.

Remember, you will not be able to use Universal Analytics baselines for GA4 data analysis, so it’s important to set up a baseline GA4 implementation as early as possible.

Data collection methods

For data collection that doesn't use a typical tag manager, other considerations need to be made:

• Measurement Protocol
• Hard coded (not tag manager), or libraries (e.g. React Google Analytics Module)
• Custom data imports 
• Server-side tagging
• Offline conversion importer

Simply leaving the code/scripts “as-is” may not break anything initially, but may cause issues down the line. Once you are ready, remove any old Universal Analytics code from the code base and move towards a tag manager.

Training and capability

As you can see from the points above, there are vast differences in collecting, managing, and using data between GA4 and Universal Analytics. Preparing your organization with the knowledge and skills to derive value from GA4 will require investment in time, technical resources and upskilling your workforce. Identify skill gaps across the organization and develop tailored training modules to upskill stakeholders in GA4.

Some examples of training could include:

• Implementation and Data Collection in GA4 for developers or technical analysts.
• GA4 Analysis Fundamentals for analysts or marketers who are concerned about website or campaign performance.
• Foundations of GA4 Change Management and Migration for administrators, project managers, or decision makers who need to understand how migrating to GA4 will affect them and what they can do to prepare for it.

Dawn of new changes 

With Universal Analytics ebbing away, there is a lot to be done to get your organization ready. While July 2023 sounds far away now, if your team wants a year-over-year comparison of data, you will need to implement data collection by June 2022. Setting up data collection, getting familiar with the differences and benefits of GA4, and developing baseline reports are gradual and necessary projects to take on in the coming months to set yourself up for a seamless transition in 2023. Media.Monks can tailor a GA4 Migration Program for your organization to ensure business continuity and digital maturity uplift as you enter the new era of GA4.

What will happen and when?

The free version of Universal Analytics will become read-only on July 1, 2023. The GA360 version of UA will become read-only on October 1, 2023.

For those on GA360, you will have at least six months after signing a Google Analytics 4 contract before your UA property is downgraded. 

What do you need to do?

They say the best time to plant a tree was 100 years ago…and the second-best time to plant a tree is now. Those who started the GA4 journey early will be in good shape, ready to have year-on-year comparison data. 

If you haven’t started your GA4 journey, start now. A realistic deadline to work towards is October 2022, which gives you 12 months of GA4 data for comparison purposes. Start with a Minimum Viable Product, which is a simple way to start swimming in GA4 waters. It takes 30 minutes to set up, involves just one tag, and yields a surprising amount of data. It also has no impact on GA360 billing and no impact on current data collection.    

When you’re ready, Media.monks is here to help support your migration. Media.Monks offers a wide array of analytics services and training so every one of our clients receives the consultation they need for a first class, end-to-end analytics roadmap and a seamless transition.

How is cost per click calculated?

The amount you spend for a digital click is broadly determined by four factors:

• Competition: more advertisers mean you are directly competing with more bidders in the auction.
• Quality Score: taking into account the quality of your ad and how relevant your ad message and landing page is to the search query.
• Bidding strategy: your maximum bid you are willing to spend per click or impression.
• Seasonality: when you advertise also has an impact on your cost per click. For example, if Black Friday is a popular time for competitors bidding, this will mean you are competing with more advertisers in the auction.

In Google Ads, you specify your maximum bid for keywords or phrases, then Google evaluates your ad to determine its quality score. Your quality score and maximum bid together make your Ad Rank. Google will use this Ad Rank to compare you to other advertisers. This is important so that only relevant and good quality ads are shown at the top of search results, a benefit to both the user and the advertiser.

Google then works backwards to answer the question: what is the bid the advertiser with the highest Ad Rank needs to win the auction? This is where the formula above comes from. The highest you will ever pay is your maximum bid, though advertisers can still win the auction with the lowest maximum bid by having the highest relevance.

How has cost per click changed over the years?

“Cost Inflation” is a term often sprouted by digital marketers as they worry about the increasing costs of running paid advertisements across platforms such as Google and Facebook. Whether that be pay-per-click search campaigns, image-based shopping ads or display campaigns on social media and popular blog sites, we are seeing a very similar trend: it is becoming more expensive to advertise. 

A study by Hochman Consultants looks at the average cost per clicks across 50 advertisers on the Google AdWords Network from 2005 to 2019, where the advertisers came from a range of industries. We can see that cost per click has been growing steadily over time, and in 14 years, the average cost per click is almost triple that of 2005. This study was conducted in the US, but we are seeing a similar trend across advertisers in the UK.

Like any competitive market, pricing is determined by supply and demand. When Google Ads first launched in 2000, there were 18 million searches per day worldwide. In 2019, there are around 5.6 billion searches a day worldwide—the equivalence of 63,000 searches every second. Not only is that 300x the search volume of when Google Ads first began; with growing capabilities of targeting, you are really able to whittle down which search queries you want to bid for based on location and for which demographic you want your ad to shown to. Also, the number of advertisers in digital marketing platforms are increasing, and spend for UK Paid Search media surpassed that of TV in 2015 becoming the most spent channel. 

How does cost per click differ across social media channels?

Facebook and Twitter are the cheapest to advertise in, with Instagram being double the cost. This is mainly due to a different ad format mix, where Instagram ads are more likely to be videos. LinkedIn is by far the most expensive to advertise in, as they offer a very niche audience of professionals, with filtering options to target job title, years of experience and company name for example.  

How can I lower my cost per click?

As mentioned earlier, cost per click factors in the quality of your ad in the Quality Score metric. In the example above, the advertiser willing to spend the least actually won the auction due to having a high-quality score. So how can you improve your quality score and therefore lower your cost per click?

• For Google Ads, ensure your ad is relevant to the keyword you are bidding for. If you are bidding for “hand sanitizer” but you really sell washing powder, you may need to rethink your keyword strategy.

• Make sure that your landing page is relevant for the ad. For example, a landing page with 100 different items to shop from including hand sanitizer wouldn’t work as well as a landing page that is only about hand sanitizer, because Google will deem the latter more relevant

• Optimize for click-through-rate. This is often the case with social media advertisement as well as Google Ads. Having a clear call-to-action and a good creative will help.

The final note is that historic performance of your account is taken into consideration when calculating cost per clicks, so take the time to make sure all ads are optimized as much as possible. With the info above, you should be well prepared to optimize toward success. Learn more about how we can help you now.

But the product is not the subject of the ruling; the transfer of data, its use and safeguarding measures must warrant scrutiny. If Google Analytics is held to be illegal, the verdict will also have an immediate impact on all products and services that transfer data outside of the EU.

While this article is not intended to be legal advice, I intend to share potential future areas of discussion for EU-US data transfer—and immediate steps to take in light of the recent decision from Austria.

The Evolution of Privacy Regulations

Understanding how and why calls for a history lesson. Long before GDPR came into effect, there was the “Safe Harbor” agreement made between the EU and the US. The 2000 agreement allowed companies to self-certify they would protect EU citizens’ data if storing it within US data centers. The agreement stood for 15 years until it was invalidated by the European Court of Justice.

Safe Harbor was followed by the “Privacy Shield” agreement in 2016, which imposed stronger restrictions on US businesses in accessing and transferring EU citizens’ data. But in 2020, the Privacy Shield met the same fate at the hands of the Court of Justice via resolution C-11/18— colloquially called “Schrems II,” a reference to Austrian lawyer and privacy rights advocate Max Schrems.

Schrems began his privacy battle based on the testimony of Edward Snowden in 2013, regarding the PRISM program that gave the United States National Security Agency (NSA) unfettered access to data. Schrems argued that Facebook aided the NSA, violating the rights of EU citizens to have their data processed fairly.

At this time, the basic principle is that when personal data leaves the EU, the law travels with it. It’s referred to as the transfer of personal data to third countries. For example, Third Countries might be the US, Australia, the UK or anywhere outside the European Union. Recent violations of GDPR, then, are not specific to Google or even data housed in the US; it’s equally applicable to Adobe, Facebook, Amazon and all third parties who function as data collectors across geographical boundaries.

What Does This Mean for the Internet and Data?

The issue that Schrems II (PDF) raises fundamentally applies to the internet as a whole: analytics data collection uses basic internet technologies that are no different than those used when a browser loads an image. The image request still sends cookies and exposes the user’s IP address to the request endpoint.

Still, how analytics are used and how data is managed requires attention and respect for regulation. Increasingly, data protection authorities (DPAs) are ordering the suspension of personal data transfers to third countries. In March ’21, the Bavarian DPA found an unlawful transfer from Germany to the US by MailChimp. A month later, the Portuguese DPA ordered a suspension of personal data transfer to the US and other countries outside the EU by Cloudflare.

Ensure Your Data is GDPR-Compliant

How Google Analytics is used has always been subject to scrutiny and regulation. As a result, it is prudent to make sure all your data collection and activation is compliant with the most current regulations. Consider these basic steps as possible actions and repeat them at least each quarter:

1. Anonymize IP addresses in Google Analytics. This will impact geographic reporting, but is a relatively small trade-off.
2. Ensure your cloud data storage is located in the EU. This is an opportunity to review all data storage locations.
3. Make sure your consent banner is compliant. Implement an automated scanning process that runs on a regular cadence to quickly identify the setting of cookies without consent.
4. Review your cookie and privacy policies regularly for compliance.

Get third-party legal advice to ensure compliance or address any questions you have. A data partner like Media.Monks can also provide support in implementing changes to Google Analytics and providing automated solutions to measure and analyze data collection with respect to consent banner functionality.

Where Do We Go from Here?

The subject of the Austria DPA’s complaint is the transfer of personal data to the US that lacks adequate protection from US authorities who gain access to it. Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs) have been used previously to allow data transfer, however, questions have been raised regarding the feasibility of SCCs with respect to FISA (PDF). New SCCs have been published that require supplementary measures that go beyond encryption, referring specifically to scrutiny of the destination country’s legal regime. Google maintains these measures have been met (PDF).

Currently, there appears to be difficulty where both encryption and transparency requirements seem to contradict each other. Revised SCCs or a successor to Safe Harbor and Privacy Shield appear to be the favored solution by Google, although the practicalities and timing of such solutions remain unclear. Until then, following the steps above to regularly review compliance goes a long way to ensure your brand remains in good graces.

The team is led by Nick Fogler, Founder and CEO; and Sam Baron, COO. Founded in 2017, 4 Mile’s relationship with Looker runs deep: Fogler previously led Looker’s engineering team and supported the company’s transition into a larger-scale enterprise before founding his own. Since then, 4 Mile has supported some of the biggest brands to accelerate their strategic initiatives.

The Rising Need to Translate Analytics into Action

As brands transition away from third-party data to first, much has been said about effective data collection—but that’s only half the battle. Many brands are already sitting on mountains of data that isn’t actionable, and the value of that siloed or hard-to-access data pales in comparison to its frictionless counterparts. Throw in the fact that data platforms and dashboards are often overly technical and opaque, and it becomes clear that focusing merely on data collection—not its usability—simply isn’t enough.

Realizing this need, Looker has long been a favorite solution by our data and digital media practice. Others agree; Looker is now regarded as a core part of the Google Cloud Platform (GCP). What makes it special is that teams using the platform can easily integrate data from various sources into intuitive data experiences that are custom-built to their specific requirements. This functionality solves the crucial need of pulling together insights that are accessible and actionable not only to teams in marketing, but also those across the organization.

A Reputation for Excellence 

4 Mile’s significant history and relationship equity with Looker builds upon our own expertise with the platform. Before they worked directly with clients, 4 Mile was hired by Looker as an extension of its product development team. Through this partnership, they developed custom visualizations and third-party integrations in the Looker product code base, deepening their already intimate understanding of the platform. And while 4 Mile’s direct-client relationships continue to grow, solid collaboration with Looker Data Services remains a cornerstone of the business. 

Still, 4 Mile’s proficiency isn’t limited to Looker. By leveraging strong relationships with leading technology platforms like Fivetrain, DBT, Snowflake, Exasol and Keboola, the team has developed a wide breadth of solutions for the modern data stack:

• Designing and building custom data experiences that blend analytical and operational capabilities.
• Transforming raw data into business-ready data that allows end-users to explore, curate and take action on data insights.
• Designing and employing modern data warehouse solutions to support business intelligence.
• Orchestrating movement of high-volume batch and real-time data across the enterprise.

A Shared Human-Centric Approach

Both Media.Monks and 4 Mile believe that a human-centric approach to technology opens the path to better customer experiences. At the same time, successful data-driven strategies must begin with a strong foundation to build deeper, more meaningful connections with audiences. For 4 Mile, this principle has inspired a people-first mentality—valuing diversity, empathy and respect—that informs the team’s approach to partnership. This includes providing training and documentation to enable internal teams to execute new data solutions, as well as building products that realize specific use cases.

With 4 Mile now a part of our team, their existing clients will gain access to a global community of talent that excels not only in data and digital media, but also content creation and tech services. Meanwhile, Media.Monks clients gain even greater access to a powerful bench of analytics and machine learning experts, providing greater scale, deeper data analysis and more data-driven decision-making. This allows for an even more seamless activation of first-party data, unlocking highly effective and engaging experiences across the customer journey.

Challenges from all ends—government regulation, tech platforms and public sentiment alike—suggest 2022 will be the year in which modern brands must adapt their data strategies once and for all. Together with 4 Mile’s exceptional Looker and GCP expertise, we’re excited to empower brands on their journey to achieve top-line business goals at an even greater velocity.