Category Archives: DoubleClick Search Blog

News, tips and information about coming changes to DoubleClick Search

DS features in July


In July, we added the following features to DoubleClick Search (DS):

  • Attribution models: You can now choose from one of several multi-channel, pre-defined attribution models or models authored in DoubleClick Campaign Manager (DCM).  An attribution model determines the method of distributing credit for a conversion among all of the activity in a conversion funnel. The information is reported in DoubleClick Search Floodlight columns. Learn more about selecting an attribution model.
  • Executive Reports: Combined mixed bar and line charts: You can now compare metrics and trends in a single chart in Executive Reports. One metric will display as bars and another metric as a line. Learn more.
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  • Optimize Shopping campaigns using bid strategies: You can now apply ROI bid strategies to Shopping campaigns as well as individual product groups. You can even use the same bid strategy to manage bidding for both keywords and product groups and let DS determine the best bid for reaching your ROI goals. Learn more.
  • Sign in to multiple Google accounts: If you use different Google accounts to access different agencies or advertisers within DoubleClick Search (DS), you can sign in to multiple accounts in the same browser window. This allows you to quickly switch between accounts or use different accounts at the same time. Learn more.


    We also updated the following features:
    • Enhanced Bing Ads support
      • Exclude locations:  To give you more control over where your Bing Ads display, you can now exclude locations from a Bing Ads campaign or ad group in the DoubleClick Search user interface or by bulksheet. 
      • Radius targets: You can use DoubleClick Search to remove radius targets that were added in Bing Ads. DS will remove the radius targets when it traffics the change to Bing Ads. Learn more.
    • Richer data analysis using the DoubleClick Search API
      • Report on product groups: You can view performance metrics and settings for your Shopping campaign product groups by using the DS Reporting API.
      • Attribute offline conversions to Shopping campaigns: You can use the DS API to attribute offline conversions to the right Shopping campaign ad and corresponding keyword, product target, or product group. Learn more about uploading offline conversions.
    • Yahoo! Japan device targeting removed:  DoubleClick Search has removed device-targeting settings from Yahoo! JAPAN campaigns, both in the user interface and in bulksheets, because Yahoo! Japan no longer supports the ability to specifically target tablets and other mobile devices. You can still use mobile bid adjustments to adjust bids for ads on mobile devices such as laptop computers, tablets, and smartphones.

    Watch the recorded webinar for July features to see these updates in action.

    Posted by the DoubleClick Search team

    Valuing Website Metrics: Introducing Bid Optimization Support for Google Analytics Goals in DoubleClick Search

    As part of our mission to offer the most actionable data and reporting, from all sources, DoubleClick Search lets you report on Google Analytics goals. You may not know that we also have the capability to use Google Analytics Goals as targets for DoubleClick Search bid-strategies. When you create a bid strategy in the Doubleclick Search Performance Bidding Suite, you can optimize to conversions and revenue based on Google Analytics goals and transactions. This feature extends the flexibility of DS bid strategies, which already support optimization to Floodlight activities and formula columns. This release also extends bid optimization support to goals based on site analytics metrics such as pages per visit, visit duration, and new visitors.

    Make better decisions based on user behavior insights 
    Google Analytics goals make it possible to have user behavior prior to purchase drive your bidding decisions. Conversion windows vary by vertical. Some customers finalize their purchases/actions within minutes or hours, while other customers may take days, weeks or even months to research before converting. If you understand the propensity of a user to convert based on their session behavior, you can bid more for keywords that drive higher quality customers. This is where site analytics data comes in as it provides useful post click data such as "are we getting many new visitors?" or "users from ad group X spend an average of 5 minutes on the site after clicking".

    Our Google Analytics integration gives you access to powerful new metrics to enhance bid optimization and create custom models that not only include the final conversion but also values keywords that lead to pre-conversion user behaviors including time on site, pages viewed, etc. 

    Getting started with Google Analytics goals 
    Getting started with Google Analytics goals & DoubleClick Search bid-strategies is simple. They work in the same way as the DoubleClick Floodlight-targeted bid strategies you are already familiar with. Just create a new bid strategy using the wizard and select Conversions, Revenue, or Advanced targeting as the goal. Then Google Analytics can be selected as a conversion source (shown below).



    If you want to mix Floodlight Tags and Google Analytics Goals in the same bid-strategy, first define the relative value of the Tags and Goal inside the formula column. For example, suppose you wanted a ROAS strategy for your travel agency. Your main objective is to drive revenue from ticket and package sales, but you value a user spending 10 minutes reading about vacation packages at $1.50 since you expect they will return later to buy. The following formula column would capture this valuation:

    FL_ticket_revenue + FL_package_revenue + to_money(1.50 * GA_10_minute_session) 

    In the above formula: FL=Floodlight, GA=Google Analytics

    Once you've created this formula columns, create a new bid strategy, in step 2 select the conversion source to be "formula column". If you haven’t linked your Google analytics account with DS, you can find a step by step guide here. If you are interested in using the site analytics level goals, please follow the guide here (note: you only need to complete Step 1: Transferring Property). To learn more about DS bid-strategies and Google Analytics integration, please check out our help center article.

    Valuing Website Metrics: Introducing Bid Optimization Support for Google Analytics Goals in DoubleClick Search

    As part of our mission to offer the most actionable data and reporting, from all sources, DoubleClick Search lets you report on Google Analytics goals. You may not know that we also have the capability to use Google Analytics Goals as targets for DoubleClick Search bid-strategies. When you create a bid strategy in the Doubleclick Search Performance Bidding Suite, you can optimize to conversions and revenue based on Google Analytics goals and transactions. This feature extends the flexibility of DS bid strategies, which already support optimization to Floodlight activities and formula columns. This release also extends bid optimization support to goals based on site analytics metrics such as pages per visit, visit duration, and new visitors.

    Make better decisions based on user behavior insights 
    Google Analytics goals make it possible to have user behavior prior to purchase drive your bidding decisions. Conversion windows vary by vertical. Some customers finalize their purchases/actions within minutes or hours, while other customers may take days, weeks or even months to research before converting. If you understand the propensity of a user to convert based on their session behavior, you can bid more for keywords that drive higher quality customers. This is where site analytics data comes in as it provides useful post click data such as "are we getting many new visitors?" or "users from ad group X spend an average of 5 minutes on the site after clicking".

    Our Google Analytics integration gives you access to powerful new metrics to enhance bid optimization and create custom models that not only include the final conversion but also values keywords that lead to pre-conversion user behaviors including time on site, pages viewed, etc. 

    Getting started with Google Analytics goals 
    Getting started with Google Analytics goals & DoubleClick Search bid-strategies is simple. They work in the same way as the DoubleClick Floodlight-targeted bid strategies you are already familiar with. Just create a new bid strategy using the wizard and select Conversions, Revenue, or Advanced targeting as the goal. Then Google Analytics can be selected as a conversion source (shown below).



    If you want to mix Floodlight Tags and Google Analytics Goals in the same bid-strategy, first define the relative value of the Tags and Goal inside the formula column. For example, suppose you wanted a ROAS strategy for your travel agency. Your main objective is to drive revenue from ticket and package sales, but you value a user spending 10 minutes reading about vacation packages at $1.50 since you expect they will return later to buy. The following formula column would capture this valuation:

    FL_ticket_revenue + FL_package_revenue + to_money(1.50 * GA_10_minute_session) 

    In the above formula: FL=Floodlight, GA=Google Analytics

    Once you've created this formula columns, create a new bid strategy, in step 2 select the conversion source to be "formula column". If you haven’t linked your Google analytics account with DS, you can find a step by step guide here. If you are interested in using the site analytics level goals, please follow the guide here (note: you only need to complete Step 1: Transferring Property). To learn more about DS bid-strategies and Google Analytics integration, please check out our help center article.

    Success with DS: Custom Floodlight Variables and Reporting

    Back in May we launched custom Floodlight variables (CFVs) in DoubleClick Search. CFVs allow you to track and report on non-PII user activity associated with conversions. If you use Floodlight tags to track conversions, you can now leverage CFV data in your DoubleClick Search reports.

    CFVs can be either metrics or dimensions. Metrics reflect numeric data and dimensions reflect alphanumeric or numeric strings. Let’s say that I represent a bank and created a metric to capture the number of credit card sign ups and a dimension to track different credit card types, such as cc gold, cc silver...etc. With both metric and dimension data in DoubleClick Search I’m able to analyze the number of sign ups for each credit card type and make decisions about how to allocate the bank’s advertising budget.
    Once CFVs are available in DoubleClick Search you can include CFV metrics in Floodlight columns and/or filter results by CFV dimensions. For example, I may want to see the number of credit card sign ups for a specific Floodlight tag and credit card type, such as “CC Gold”. For more info, please refer to this article.



    For views containing Floodlight data, such as Actions, Transactions, or Floodlight columns, you can report on CFV dimensions using segmentation or dimension grouping. For example, I may want to understand how the different credit card types are performing across ad groups within a campaign. Segmenting a report by a CFV dimension will return a row with each ad group and CFV dimension value combination (e.g. one row for ad group #1 and cc gold & one row for ad group #1 and cc silver). If instead I want an aggregated view of CFV dimension data, I can select the CFV dimension from the Dimensions tab. This will return a row with data for each CFV dimension value (e.g. one row for cc gold & one row for cc silver).    


    To take advantage of this feature you’ll need to take the following steps:
    1. Create CFVs in DoubleClick Campaign Manager (DCM). More info.
    2. Add the CFVS to the Floodlight tags on your website. More info.
    3. Set up CFVs within the Advertiser Settings section in DS. More info.

    We encourage you to give CFVs a whirl and share your feedback and findings with your DS account management team.

    Real-time in retail: Why acting quickly matters in search

    When consumers act, they act fast. Retailers can get a leg up in the marketplace by responding to consumers’ needs as they surface. While some events, such as holidays and championship games, can be anticipated, others, such as weather-related issues, cannot. Using real-time technologies in search, brands can dynamically adjust their reach, competitiveness and relevancy with their target audiences at the most critical times.

    In a new Think Insights article, Casandra Jones, Account Director at iProspect, tells us the benefits of adopting SEM tools that act in real time to achieve search success as these important events and conversations occur.

    Screen Shot 2014-07-20 at 8.40.04 PM.png

    Check out Casandra’s article on the Think Insights page here, and let us know what you think on Twitter or our Google+ page.

    DS features in June

    In June, we added the following features to DoubleClick Search (DS):
    • Public launch of Yahoo! JAPAN accounts in DS
      We’re excited to announce the full launch of support for Yahoo! JAPAN campaigns in DS. You can create, manage, report on, and optimize Yahoo! JAPAN search campaigns in DS. To get started, you’ll first need to create a DS engine account for a Yahoo! JAPAN Listing Ads account. Once that’s set up, you can create and manage your campaigns under the account.
    • Report on AdWords estimated conversions
      Estimated conversions is an AdWords feature that provides a holistic view of all conversions driven by your Google search advertising. This includes conversions starting on one device or browser and completing on another, or that start online and finish with a phone call. (The feature requires you to enable AdWords conversion tracking in your AdWords account.) You can now include the number of estimated total conversions and cross-device conversions in your DS reports. Learn more.
    • Executive Reporting: new web-view mode
      You can now view executive reports online via a web-view mode without needing to download them. Learn more.

    We also made the following feature updates:
    • New options for segmenting reports
      DS now supports several new report segmentation options, such as segmenting reports on labels and applying date segments to the reports that you view in DS and that you download. In addition, in most reports you can now specify multiple segments, such as Floodlight activity and device. Learn more.
    • Updated time-range options for reporting tables
      DS now supports new time-range options in reports, such as including data from the current day, selecting the start day for weekly ranges, and selecting your own custom range, such as the last 15 days or the 37 days. Learn more.
    • Shopping campaigns: Use the Dimensions tab instead of the Products tab
      To analyze Shopping campaign performance based on product attributes, such as Category and Brand, you now use the Dimensions tab instead of the Products tab. Learn more.
    • New authorization process for Bing Ads accounts
      Bing Ads is changing its sign-in process from username-password authentication to Microsoft Account authentication and authorization. If you’re changing the settings of an existing Bing Ads engine account in DS, you'll need to follow the new authorization process before you can save your changes. You do not need to update engine accounts yet if you aren’t making other changes. Learn more.
    • "Campaign target network" is now required when creating AdWords campaigns via bulksheet The "Campaign target network" column in a bulksheet specifies the advertising network (search, display, partner, and so on) that an AdWords campaign targets. Previously this column was optional, but as part of supporting the new AdWords “Search Network with Display Select” campaigns, DS now requires you to specify a value for AdWords campaigns. For details, download the "Campaign" or "All" upload template (XLSX format) and rest the mouse pointer on the "Campaign target network" column heading.

    Watch the recorded webinar for June features to see these updates in action.

    Posted by the DoubleClick Search team

    DS features in May

    In May, we added the following features to DoubleClick Search (DS):

    • Public launch of Shopping campaigns in DS
      You can create and manage AdWords Shopping campaigns in DS, a feature that we initially rolled out in beta in March. Shopping campaigns are a new campaign type for AdWords Product Listing Ads that streamline how you manage and bid on your products, report on the performance of your ads, and find opportunities to grow your traffic from Google. Learn more.

    • Specify and report on sitelinks for ad groups
      Sitelinks are an ad extension available in AdWords engine accounts. They appear beneath the text of your ads (and in addition to the main landing page), link to specific pages on your website, and help customers find what they're looking for on your site with just one click. By default, all ads inherit sitelinks from the campaign, but now you can add different sitelinks for each ad group or prevent an ad group from displaying sitelinks. Learn more.

    • Include custom dimensions and metrics in DS reports
      If you use Floodlight activities to track conversions, you can add details to your DS reports that are customized to your business needs, such as the genre of a movie that a user purchases, the zip code to which an item is shipped, shipping costs, and so on. Learn more.

    • Upgrade to the new AdWords “Search Network with Display Select” campaigns
      AdWords will soon be replacing “Search & Display Networks” campaigns with a new campaign type, “Search Network with Display Select”, that offers 35% better Google Display Network performance than your current “Search & Display Networks” campaigns. You can upgrade your “Search only" and “Search & Display Networks" campaigns one at a time from AdWords, or use DS bulksheets to upgrade multiple campaigns with a single upload. Learn more.

    We also made the following feature updates:

    • Executive reporting: Filter data sources in charts
      By default, charts display metrics from all data sources that are in a report. If you want a chart to display metrics only from specific campaigns, devices, or even keywords of a particular match type, you can add a filter to the chart. The chart will contain data only for items that match the filter.

    • Support for the AdWords "Rotate indefinitely" and "Conversion optimize" settings
      DS now supports the “Rotate indefinitely” and “Conversion optimize” settings for AdWords campaigns in addition to the “Rotate evenly” and “Optimize for clicks” settings that were available previously. Learn more.

    Watch the recorded webinar for May features to see these updates in action.

    Posted by the DoubleClick Search team

    Making the most of Shopping campaigns in DoubleClick Search: Tips and best practices

    Since announcing support for Shopping campaigns in DoubleClick Search a few weeks ago, we've seen strong momentum with clients taking advantage of this new way to manage, bid, and report on Product Listing Ads. In fact, over half of DoubleClick Search retail clients have already tested Shopping campaigns, and we see this number rising on a daily basis.

    As Justin Johnson, Paid Search Program Manager at Cabela's notes, "DoubleClick Search was quick to provide complete support for Shopping campaigns -- mirroring the ease of setup and product-centric management and letting us be a first-mover to adopt Shopping campaigns.  We are eager to continue using these new tools to help us get the best performance out of Shopping campaigns."

    With regular PLA campaign types retiring in late August 2014, we know that Shopping campaigns continue to be top-of-mind for retail search marketers. Today, we wanted to share a few best practices to those of you just getting started with Shopping campaigns.

    Tip #1: Scale bid management of product groups with automated rules. Unsure what to bid on your new product groups? Let automated rules for Shopping Campaign product groups lead the way. Set up automated if/then rules to change product group bids based on performance. If you want even more control over your product group bids, try using bulksheets. DS bulksheet allow you to download your Shopping Campaigns, assess their performance, and upload new bids, whether you’re managing 10 product groups or 1000 product groups at a time.

    How to take control over your product group bids: Because DS has easy bulksheet reporting for both legacy PLA campaigns and your new Shopping Campaigns, it’s easy to use historic data from PLA campaigns to inform bids for your new Shopping Campaigns. Talk to your DS support team for more information and tips on how to migrate CPCs from old campaigns to Shopping campaigns.

    Tip #2: Know how to subdivide a product group. Product groups can be subdivided at any time into more refined groupings so that you can bid more granularly on any part of your business, e.g. breaking out Product Type Level 1 = Electronics product group into three product groups subdivided by Product Type Level 2: Computers, Video, or Phones, with a high max CPC on Phones, with lower CPCs on Computers and Video. This makes it easy to continually adapt the product group tree to your business structure, especially if you find that different products within the same product group require different max CPCs.

    How to best subdivide a new product group: When we subdivide a product group, that product group’s bid, landing page, and status are passed on to the new subdivisions. For example, if we just broke out Electronics (below) into Computers, Video, and Everything else, the bid and landing page URL we set for Electronics will be passed onto the three subdivisions. But, this also means that if we try to delete that Electronics row, the three subdivisions beneath it (Computers, Video, Everything Else) will also be deleted! As you create new subdivisions, you should take the opportunity to update the bid and landing page to the right value, specific to the newly created group.

    Screen Shot 2014-05-23 at 11.48.33 AM.png

    Tip #3: Experiment with PLA reporting. Take Shopping Campaigns as an opportunity to experiment with how you report and think about PLAs! Shopping Campaigns makes it easy to structure your campaigns and product groups around a certain set of attributes (maybe splitting out products by Product Type or Category), but slice performance data by different fields, including custom labels or product IDs

    How to try it out: Custom labels are a great way to experiment. We’ve seen advertisers use custom labels 0-4 to mark products as high or low margin, seasonal or year-round, etc., and add additional information like parent SKU.. Segmenting by custom label in the Products tab allows you  to report and take action on these custom metrics, without necessarily committing to that organizational structure. More insights for all!

    Can’t get enough of Shopping campaigns? Check out our webinar from April or our help center and keep an eye out on our blog and our feature releases page for more updates to Shopping campaigns.

    Q&A with Neal Mohan: A Sneak Peek at the DoubleClick Live Stream

    DoubleClick’s annual digital advertising summit is just around the corner, streaming live on YouTube on Wednesday, June 4th. (Sign up here to watch.) We caught up with Neal Mohan, Google’s Vice President of Display and Video Advertising Products, to hear what’s on his mind as we get ready for the event.

    Q: What topics should we expect to hear about this year? 
    A: I don’t think it will come as a surprise that our team has been very focused on how to make digital work for brands and premium publishers. You can expect to hear a lot more about that. Also, since this event marks Google’s annual conversation on the future of digital advertising, we’ll discuss how digital is redefining consumer behavior, content development, and the ways that advertisers and publishers reach their customers.

    Q: Will the live stream include any special guests? 
    A: I’ll be joined by Nikesh Arora, our Chief Business Officer at Google, and Jeffrey Katzenberg, the CEO and Co-Founder of DreamWorks Animation. I’m looking forward to hearing Jeffrey talk about how technology has changed content creation.

    Q: What consumer trends are impacting the way brands and publishers think about digital? 
    A: When we started this DoubleClick event 14 years ago, going online was a deliberate act that required going to a computer and “logging-in”. The days of going online are coming to an end. Today’s digital experience is one that is always-on and always with us. As a result, digital has become far more personal, and one of the most personal forms of communication - video - is playing a more central role in our online lives. All these factors have major implications for brands and publishers, which we’ll discuss at the event.

    Q: So...any scoops you can give us?
    A: As I mentioned, video has been very much on my mind lately. Getting video right is something that is essential to our brand, agency, and publisher partners...expect to hear more about what we have planned to help make that happen.

    We hope you can join us on Wednesday, June 4th at 9:30 am PDT / 12:30 pm EDT. Register to watch the live stream or to receive the recording. -The DoubleClick Team

    Join us for a conversation on the future of digital advertising

    Digital is no longer just another marketing channel. It’s a medium that’s changing the art of storytelling and reinventing the way companies connect with consumers.

    How will digital advertising evolve next? You’re invited to tune in live as industry leaders tackle the question at DoubleClick’s annual event on digital trends.

    Speakers include:
    • Jeffrey Katzenberg, CEO of DreamWorks Animation
    • Nikesh Arora, Chief Business Officer at Google
    • Neal Mohan, VP of Display Advertising at Google

    Wednesday, June 4
    9:30 am PDT - 10:45 am PDT / 12:30 pm EDT - 1:45 pm EDT

    Time not convenient? When you register you’ll receive a link to watch the recording on demand.

    We hope you can join!

    Here’s footage from last year’s event to give you a taste of the 2014 live stream: