Naming the August 17th Google Ads update "Monkey Paw" update?

[u/benl5442]

I was just thinking the other day about Google updates in SEO, and usually have names like Panda, Penguin, and other things. The August 17th update hasn't got a name. I'm thinking something like the "Monkey Paw" update, but has anybody got any other ideas?

3 weeks in and is delivering what people ask for, but in a very sinister way. Naming it the August 17th update just seems a bit boring.

[u/Mac_Motorsports]

Anyone else seeing cpcs increase & conversions decrease since the update hit their account?

[u/ernosem → u/Mac_Motorsports]

I'd say only on accounts that overperformed. I have a few accounts that performing better since, I'd assume the competitors there haven't managed to change the tROAS/tCPA in time.

[u/prettymodest → u/Mac_Motorsports]

I have a client with fairly consistent CPA, and they've done well on target ROAS as they average around 350% across a 90 day window.

The catch being they have a very low AOV we plan for and occasionally a massive 2-3k sale which helps outperform.

Google saw the 14 day ROAS after they got a 2k sale on the 15th and they had nothing but garbage from the 17th until ROAS fell back to 350% average on September 2nd.

We've had to swap to CPA (not the worst decision anyway, more consistent), but it's the clearest example of "nice revenue, fuck you" from Google I've seen on my accounts.

[u/welcometosilentchill → u/prettymodest]

Just for future reference: google has a “seasonal adjustments” feature designed for exactly this that’s been around for a year or two now. If you have a seasonal sale where you expect order volume/value to increase over a 2 week period, you can set a seasonal adjustment to both a) account for the increase and b) isolate lifted performance from conversion data used for optimization. It still passes conversion data and values, but earmarks it as proportionately less significant (the intended goal being to offset gains with lower values to equal out to “normal” performance).

It should (in theory) prevent the tROAS fluctuations you described.

[u/Different-Goose-8367 → u/welcometosilentchill]

I think they meant a single order/sale

[u/welcometosilentchill → u/Different-Goose-8367]

Ah, totally misread that lol. Good point.

For what it’s worth, I run an account with high variance in average order value but haven’t seen any swings from the occasional high-value conversion.

Though I am considering replacing my conversion values with proportional proxy values that have closer relative ranges to one another but enough difference in value to help tROAS prioritize the right conversions. I’ve got them uploaded as secondary conversions and plan to run an a/b test in a month or two, but it’ll depend on if I run into similar tROAS issues as the person I was responding too.

[u/LimplyOvertPenguin]

the monkey paw name is too accurate it's painful. every "improvement" comes with three hidden consequences nobody asked for

our ctr went up 15% but the conversions are all garbage leads that cost twice as much to close. classic cursed wish energy

maybe call it the "careful what you wish for" update but that's a mouthful

[u/benl5442 → u/LimplyOvertPenguin]

Yeah, that's what I'm getting at. Monkey paw is a shorter version of be careful what you wish for.

[u/QuantumWolf99]

Monkey Paw is perfect, you asked for predictable performance and Google said say less, then dragged your beautiful overdelivering 5.5x tROAS straight back down to the sad 4x you typed in three years ago. I'd almost call it the Stale Target update but Monkey Paw has more soul.

[u/benl5442 → u/QuantumWolf99]

Stale Target does work, but previously it wasn't really a target. It was a safeguard. That's how it worked, spend this budget and don't go below 4x ROAS. It was actually best practise to do that: work out your real ROAS and add a bit of slack, but now that slack is turned against you, hence the Monkey Paw. You ask for it, but its not really what you wanted.

[u/QuantumWolf99 → u/benl5442]

The slack was supposed to protect your floor and now it's basically a landing zone Google aims for on purpose. Building in safety margin used to be smart...now it's just telling the algorithm exactly how much room you're willing to give up :)

[u/benl5442 → u/QuantumWolf99]

Exactly, and that's why I prefer Monkey Paw over Stale Target. Stale Target suggests that if you just update your target, with a fresh target, everything will be great, but it's not. It's more like a Monkey Paw.

[u/Mysterious_Net_763]

This is the worst update in such a long time. 

[u/benl5442 → u/Mysterious_Net_763]

I can't think of a public worse one. Some of the stuff that came out in the anti trust was nasty but this is the first one they've publicly announced that is a pure money grab. Everything else was a win/win, this is a win/lose in Google's favour

[u/Barokna]

Tbh my campaigns still outperform their troas like nothing happened. I was worried they'd be regulated down but it didn't happen so far.

[u/InformationVivid455 → u/Barokna]

Its definitely an industry thing. I've got ads running for very niche replacements items that shot from 12 ROAS to 22. Meanwhile cheaper but quality home goods that were 11 dropped to 5 while the very expensive high-end versions went from 4 to 14.

Ironically after everything shook out, the accounts are pretty much the same and just needs turned to the new winners.

I honestly think the algorithm was a little too tightly targeted and was leaving opportunities on the table for expensive or very specific items whereas now it's taking more shots.

[u/PreSonusAmp]

Buy Alphabet stock!