Exceed - PPC Agency

PPC Industry Update! 📰
 
Google has announced the introduction of AI Max. 
After debuting last year, AI Max is now stepping in place of Dynamic Search Ads to offer smarter, more advanced targeting, reporting, and creatives.
 
Now what does this mean? 🤔
🔹Targeting is based on landing pages, assets, and real-time intent signals rather than just landing pages.
🔹Deeper insights into asset and search term reports.
🔹Creatives are based on existing ads and web content to tailor assets to user queries.
 
These are just a few of the advanced features that AI Max brings to the industry; we are excited to see the change, and the opportunities it'll open up.
 
Let us know your opinions, we'd love to hear!👇
 

Reddit Rolls Out Dynamic Product Ads

Reddit just rolled out DPA to all advertisers, promising smarter product delivery, real-time targeting, and better ROAS.
But before you jump in, here’s what you need to know:
 
1. Reddit isn’t Meta or Google
Its users are hyper-engaged, niche, and fiercely protective of their spaces. That means traditional product ads won’t always fly. Context matters.
 
2. Scale ≠ success
Just because you can dynamically promote thousands of products doesn’t mean you should. Relevance beats volume — especially in Reddit communities.
 
3. Data feeds still need human thinking
Automation can only do so much. If your product titles or images aren’t sharp, no algorithm can save your CTR.
 
4. Expect the unexpected
Reddit’s machine learning may find conversions in subs you’ve never thought about. However, it can be chaotic if you’re not monitoring performance closely.
 
Exceeds’ Opinion?
DPA on Reddit is powerful — but only if you respect the platform. Be thoughtful with your feed, watch your frequency, and don’t treat it like just another channel.

Thinking of testing Reddit DPA’s? We’d love to help you build a smart, scalable setup.

Adding more assets to your Performance Max campaigns? Think twice!
 
PMax isn’t like other campaign types — it runs on a black-box algorithm that mixes and matches your assets to find what works.
 
But more assets don’t always mean better results.
 
Here’s what we’re seeing with eCommerce brands:
 
1. Slower optimisation
Every new image, headline or video adds more combinations for the algorithm to test. That means longer learning phases and delayed performance.
 
2. Higher production costs
Creating strong visuals across dozens (or hundreds) of products isn’t cheap — and there’s no guarantee the platform will even prioritise them.
 
3. Less control
More assets = more unpredictability. You won’t always know which audiences you’re hitting or where your ads are showing — especially if branded terms sneak through.
 
4. Scaling becomes harder
The more noise you add, the harder it gets to scale with confidence.
 
Our view?
Keep it lean. Focus on goal-driven structures. Prioritise what converts. And test assets deliberately — not just because you can.
 
If you’re running eCommerce campaigns and want a second opinion on your setup, we’re happy to help!

Double Serving Ads Enabled This Month

Since April 14th, all Google search ads are capable of showing multiple times on the same page. This huge update to Google’s Unfair Advantage Policy is the result of months of testing. And now the possibility has been rolled out to all advertisers.

What does this mean for advertisers? Well...it likely means that those who currently dominate their space will see a huge boost in performance. Unfortunately, for those struggling to show on page 1, you’re about to find life even harder. What can you do about that? You already know the simplistic answer...spend more money.

Google, of course, benefits from heated competition vying for that top spot, with a resulting inflation of everyone’s CPCs. And the biggest spending advertisers are rewarded with more ad real estate than ever before. But what digital gymnastics have Google done to pull this off?

Essentially, they have redefined ad positions. Ads above organic results are defined as their own contained ad space, separated from ads in other locations. This means you can serve a search ad at the top and bottom of the search results on the same page.

From a user’s perspective, looking for the most relevant results, does having duplicated listings provide a positive experience? Perhaps not. From an advertiser’s perspective, seeing CPCs inflate and performance monopolised by a handful of businesses, does this provide a positive experience? Maybe not. One thing that is clear, is that it’s more important than ever before to have the perfect strategy in place to avoid falling behind and pouring your resources down the digital drain.

Tips for eCommerce Success in 2025

🚀 Want to crush your advertising goals this year? Here’s what’s trending:

1️⃣ AI-Powered Campaigns: Leverage AI for personalised ads and better ROAS. Google Ads’ Performance Max and Facebooks Advantage+ are game-changers!

2️⃣ Video Ads Dominate: Short-form videos drive conversions. Showcase your products in action!

3️⃣ First-Party Data: Build stronger customer relationships with tailored messaging powered by your own data—no more relying on those pesky cookies

4️⃣ Sustainable Shopping: Highlight your sustainable practices in your ads!

5️⃣ Omnichannel Approach: Seamlessly connect Google and Meta as well as TikTok, and Pinterest campaigns to capture shoppers wherever they browse.

💡 Ready to revamp your PPC strategy? Let’s talk!

💡 Did you know about these new Performance Max features?

2024 is coming to an end, but not without some major changes to Performance Max campaigns first. Here’s 3 changes you need to be aware of if you want to get the most of out of Pmax:

🧪 New Experiments
View detailed performance insights on newly added assets
With new experiments being added to the experiments page, you’ll be able to measure the uplift from adding assets such as videos, images & text to a product-feed only campaign in early November.

Final URL expansion experiments will also be added so that advertisers can test whether a more relevant landing page will drive better results.

📽️ Video Enhancements
Unlock additional YouTube inventory and performance opportunities
Google AI will allow you to automatically create more versions of your existing videos so you can double up your YouTube inventory. AI will also use your original video format to create videos in new aspect ratios, as well as shortening your video content while maintaining your key message.

You’re still in control – if you don’t like the content, simply opt out or remove any assets that just don’t work for you!

🛍️ Pmax & Standard Shopping
Google levels the playing field for Standard Shopping campaigns
Performance Max campaigns will no longer be automatically prioritised if you are running them alongside a Standard Shopping campaign. Instead, Ad Rank will be the decider of which campaign serves an ad first.

Who’s excited to test out these new features? Let us know in the comments!

🚨 Exciting News! 🚨

We’re thrilled to welcome Dylan Kowalczyk to the team as our new Paid Media Manager! 🎉
Dylan is a coffee connoisseur ☕, husky walker extraordinaire 🐾, and a Jigsaw puzzle pro 🧩. When he’s not optimising campaigns, you’ll probably find him cheering on Manchester United . Although his Wordle game leaves a lot to be desired

Welcome aboard, Dylan! Let’s make magic happen

🎉 Another work Anniversary 🥳

Carrying on from last week’s anniversary theme, today we’re celebrating a huge milestone, with Shafaq (Who loves her picture taken 😅) completing four years at Exceed.

Having started on an apprenticeship in 2020, Shafaq is now our reliable Senior PPC Executive, working on some of our key client campaigns and generating great results.

Her dedication and attention to each task she carries out is second to none and we look forward to celebrating many more years of Shafaq at Exceed.

Now we’re not saying *everything* a Google Ads rep suggests should be ignored, but it is worth taking what they say with a pinch of salt!

Happy Friday! 🥳

Here at Exceed, we pride ourselves on client growth and generating more revenue for each client across multiple PPC channels.

This is illustrated in the data for our clients on a QoQ basis and a HoH analysis.

So what are the results?

For H1 2024 compared to H2 2023, we have seen a 30% INCREASE in ROAS for our clients
When comparing YoY data (H1 2024 vs H1 2023) We have seen a 54% INCREASE in ROAS

How have we achieved this?

Our client relationships are all strong, with regular calls and communications between the client and the team. This allows for an holistic overview for what is occurring client side (new products, any limitations) as well as insights in to performance and how we are achieving results and what we are doing t improve them.

With a full paid strategy, as well as stringent optimisations and a constant desire from the team to keep pushing for further success, we have consistently delivered results for our clients and continue to do so in to H2 2024.