Google ad changes leave marketers flying blind, expert says

In September 2020, Google changed what information it provides to advertisers about the text ads that appear at the top of a search results page, Jerath said. The change to those so-called search query reports reduced data that advertisers get on about 20% or more of their text ad spending, he said. — Bloomberg

Alphabet Inc’s Google quietly made changes to its advertising platform that significantly limits the amount of information marketers have about where their spending is going, according to an expert called on behalf of the US federal government in an ongoing antitrust trial against the search giant.

“Google controls the rules and influences the outcomes of its auctions and these auctions are a black box to advertisers,” said Kinshuk Jerath, a marketing expert at Columbia Business School, who testified in federal court in Washington as part of the US Justice Department’s case.