A Subtle Google Ads Bidding Change
July 14, 2026 • Matthew Umbro
Will the new bidding system provide more predictable performance as Google claims?
Platforms & Apps
New services for post-purchase, in-game commerce, payment options, analytics, ad campaigns, logistics, content syndication, search filters, chargebacks, and fraud prevention.
Cross-border Selling
The best channel for U.S. launches depends on whether consumers discover the product or search for it.
SEO
Google's newly updated "Crawling infrastructure" documentation includes helpful pointers for streamlining crawls.
Photography & Video
AI-generated images help small businesses compete with large corporations by reducing the need for expensive photoshoots.
Analytics & Data
Brett Fish, founder of TagHero, says bad data kills advertising performance, a kind of "garbage in, garbage out."
Paid Post
Business
AI search can force media companies to pivot and recognize the value they already possess.
Platforms & Apps
This week's rundown includes new services for limited-time selling, quick deliveries, secure payments, cross-border, automated marketing, loyalty programs, and more.
Cross-border Selling
The Open Network for Digital Commerce aims to help small, local merchants, yet brands can access it, too.
SEO
Google and genAI platforms show search-result snippets (and answers) that help users.
Email & Text Marketing
RCS is worth the cost if it helps shoppers complete a task more profitably than SMS.
Amazon & Marketplaces
Agency owner Sean Stone says brands should focus on their own domains while selling Amazon-only items secondarily. It's a one-two punch, he says.
Will the new bidding system provide more predictable performance as Google claims?
AI marketing, while new, relies on tried-and-true techniques. The tools are changing, but not the challenges.
The best visibility metrics measure what consumers actually enter, not carefully chosen prompts.
The new "Generative AI" section reports on a page's visibility in AI Overviews and AI Mode, as well as AI features in Discover.
The new "AI Assistant" feature in Google Analytics shows performance metrics such as engagement, events per session, time per session, and more.
AI's growth in search and shopping adds precision to intent behaviors and opportunities.
Using AI, a fraudster can generate fabricated product images, adjust explanations, and repeat or even automate the process.
Paolo Vidali has a suggestion for merchants considering advanced ecommerce features.
This week: new services for product videos, recommerce, social marketing, local commerce, robots, recovery services, product data, and more.
This week's rundown includes new services for livestreaming, product images, logistics, agentic commerce, one-click checkout, Amazon, and more.
Steve Woda is founder of BuySafe, a firm that offers insurance for the safety and reliability of ecommerce transactions.
Harley Finkelstein, chief platform officer with Shopify, the hosted shopping cart, shares three unique sites and the implications they may have for ecommerce.