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PPC Pulse

Google Promotion Mode feature cover art by smec
Google Ads  •  3 Min read

Google’s Promotion Mode is live (Beta)

Google just gave PPC teams a new lever for Black Friday 2026: Promotion Mode. It lets you schedule a…
Cover art for EU tariffs on China ecommerce.
Google Shopping  •  6 Min read

Europe’s New Tariffs on Temu & Shein: What Google Shopping Data Reveals

Update — July 21, 2026: The EU's €3 import levy is now live as of July 1st, and…
Google UCP is rolling out - a hero illustration
Ecommerce  •  2 Min read

Google’s UCP is rolling out: What it is and why your feed configuration matters.

Google just crossed a threshold that retailers have been quietly dreading, aka it launched UCP. AI agents are now…
Illustration of AI Max coming to Standard Shopping Google campaigns
Google Shopping  •  4 Min read

AI Max is coming to Google Shopping: Strategy & testing checklist

Ahead of GML, Google's Ads Product Liaison Ginny Marvin recently made an announcement on LinkedIn that took us off guard:…
Google Ads  •  6 Min read

TEMU hits 71% market share: How Chinese Marketplaces impact your CPCs

Chinese retail giants are aggressively buying up the European SERP, subsidizing their acquisition costs, and leaving your campaigns…
Universal commerce protocol blog article image
Google AI  •  6 Min read

What is Google’s Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP)?

Google’s Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP) creates a standardized language for AI agents to execute frictionless transactions, forcing retailers…
Cover art for topic of return rates affecting profit margins
Google Ads  •  5 Min read

How item return rates are affecting your profit margins (And what to do about it)

Zalando's decision to ban high-return shoppers highlights a critical, margin-eating problem: high return rates are the #1 profit…
Cover Art for "Ads in AI Overviews and AI Mode" article
Google AI  •  4 Min read

Beyond blue links: Navigating ad placements in Google’s AI Mode & AI Overviews

Back in May 2023, Google teased new AI-powered search features that will eventually open up a new horizon…
The impact of AI Mode on Ecommerce
Google Ads  •  4 Min read

Google’s AI Mode: What changes for ecommerce ads in 2025

Google AI Mode is Google’s conversational search experience that can surface ads inside AI-generated answers. For ecommerce, eligibility…
black friday strategy starting in august
Google Ads  •  3 Min read

Winning strategy for Black Friday 2025: Actionable PMax Reporting insights

Is it too early to talk about Christmas? Not if you want to win Q4. The gravity of…
Amazon exits Google Shopping Ads - illustration
Google Ads  •  5 Min read

Amazon quit Google Shopping (and came back). Don’t let Temu win!

Listen closely. Hear that? ​​It's the sound of silence of the Google Shopping auction without its loudest voice.…
creative fun illustration of AI Max in Google
Google Ads  •  3 Min read

AI Max for Search: Google’s new brain transplant for your campaigns

Rolling out globally in beta this month, one toggle away from turning ho-hum Search ads into an AI-powered…
tiktok shop launch in germany - news graphic
Ecommerce  •  3 Min read

TikTok shop is coming for your sales!

Can a saturated market handle this much competition? Germany's ecommerce market is getting even more intense — and this time,…
google update demand gen
Google Ads  •  3 Min read

The great reshuffle: Demand Gen absorbing Display campaigns

If you feel like Google Ads is in a bit of an identity crisis, that's because it is.…
high performing pmax article illustration
Google Ads  •  3 Min read

The winning formula for high-performing PMax campaigns

In our PMax mistakes article we talked about the two biggest mistakes you can make in setting up…
pmax mistakes article hero image
Google Ads  •  3 Min read

The #1 mistake in your PMax campaign setup!

Super Bowl season is here. And just like in football, a solid game plan makes all the difference.…
pmax campaign performance
Google Ads  •  7 Min read

PMax 2025 FAQ: Campaign setup, brand strategies & more

Trying to keep up with Google’s latest PMax updates feels like chasing a moving target—blindfolded. More control, more…
ecommerce conquest strategies illustration
Ecommerce  •  4 Min read

Best 2025 Ecommerce Strategies in the age of China’s Ecomm Conquest: Temu & SHEIN

Navigating the ecommerce landscape these days feels like trying to master a high-stakes chess game, with ever-evolving rules…
Black Friday 2024 Recap
Google Ads  •  3 Min read

Black Friday 2024: Record-breaking sales. But at what cost? A recap

Black Friday came, saw, and conquered, leaving behind impressive sales figures—and even more questions for e-commerce advertisers. Sure,…
google bid simulator blog illustration
Google Ads  •  2 Min read

Google Bid Simulator: A bet you shouldn’t take

If you haven't played with it before, Google’s Bid Simulator promises to predict how adjustments to your ROAS targets or…

Ecommerce growth strategies

The smec Platform

Device and demographic targeting in PMax - platform screen
Platform  •  2 Min read

Device and Demographic Targeting capabilities in smec Campaign Orchestrator: Complete Guide & Specs

The Device and Demographic Targeting capabilities is a set of new control levers that lets a PPC manager…
Feed Composition Insights by smec
Platform  •  2 Min read

How to optimize your product feed? Feed Composition Insights

Feed Composition Insights is a specialized diagnostic dashboard within the smec platform that allows PPC Managers to audit,…
Screenshot of Smart Attributes in smec Platform
Platform  •  4 Min read

What is the Best Way to Segment Products in Google Ads?

At a Glance: smec’s Campaign Orchestrator is the best way to segment products— backed by our 2026 European…
Standard Shopping support in smec Platform
Platform  •  5 Min read

smec Platform Update, March 2026: Standard Shopping & PMax enahnced controls; Smart Attributes

The March 2026 update introduces enhanced Performance Max (PMax) and Standard Shopping controls within the smec Campaign Orchestrator,…
smec platform insights
Platform  •  4 Min read

What insights does the smec platform offer, that Google hides?

The smec platform offers many actionable insights like channel-specific spend distribution, brand traffic, and real-time price competitiveness that…
smec Campaign Orchestrator
Platform  •  3 Min read

Which tasks does the smec campaign orchestrator automate?

The smec Campaign Orchestrator automates the strategic alignment of PPC campaigns with real-time business data by dynamically re-segmenting…
Data orchestration in smec platform
Platform  •  3 Min read

Which data sources can be integrated in the smec platform?

The smec platform integrates performance data (e.g. Google Ads data), inventory data (e.g. Google Merchant Center feed) ,…
illustrated AI-driven predictive modeling in smec platform
Platform  •  4 Min read

How smec’s AI-Powered Budget Recommendations Solve the ‘Average ROAS Trap’

Your ‘best’ campaign may be your worst investment because a high Average ROAS frequently masks a negative Marginal…
Dynamic Segments feature in smec Platform
Platform  •  4 Min read

What are Dynamic Segments?

Dynamic Segments is a strategic product-clustering feature, developed by Smarter Ecommerce (smec) that allows retailers to group products…
Smart Score for product segmentation by smec
Platform  •  5 Min read

What is SmartScoreAI and how does it work?

SmartScoreAI is a predictive AI solution developed by Smarter Ecommerce (smec) that assesses an individual product's potential to…
Innovation  •  3 Min read

smec Campaign Orchestrator: Price Competitiveness Insights & Advanced Price Filters Guide

Price Competitiveness Insights is a feature set within the smec Campaign Orchestrator designed for PPC Managers that benchmarks…

smec News

Cover art for Marketing Mix Modeling by Smarter Ecommerce (smec)
News  •  3 Min read

smec launches Marketing Mix Modeling: independent proof of the true return on advertising

The new solution shows brands and retailers what each marketing channel contributes to revenue, independent of the ad…
Google certification badge for International Growth Agency Program
News  •  3 Min read

Going global, guided by Google: smec joins the exclusive International Growth Agency Program (IGAP)

Today, we are thrilled to announce a major milestone that takes our strategic capabilities to a truly global…
smec is Drum Awards Finalist 2026 - illustration
News  •  3 Min read

smec named Drum Awards Finalist for River Island Strategy: Unlocking +34% Revenue via AI-Driven Product Scoring

smec is a Drum Awards Finalist in the Search category for their work with River Island, a leading…
European Search Awards 2026 Finalist smec for Best PPC Management Suit
News  •  3 Min read

From Black Boxes to Business Results: Why smec is a Finalist for the European Search Awards 2026

The European Search Awards 2026 has named smec a finalist in two premier categories: Best PPC Management Software…
Finalist Badge for Google Ads Impact Awards
News  •  3 Min read

Smarter Ecommerce (smec) Named Finalist for Google Ads Impact Award 2025 in International Growth Category

Smarter Ecommerce (smec) proudly announces it has been named a Finalist for the Google Ads Impact Award 2025…
PMax Channel Report
Analytics  •  6 Min read

PMax Channel Reports are here! What Google isn’t showing you.

Google’s long-awaited Performance Max Channel Report is finally here! Well. Almost. Currently in beta and rolling out to…
Hero image new branding
News  •  5 Min read

We grow ecommerce together.

In the aftermath of a tremendous, pandemic-induced ecommerce boom we discovered that the retail industry is changing. If…
NRF conference hero image
Ecommerce  •  6 Min read

NRF 2022: Retail’s Big Show

January is an exciting month for retail: Consumers and employees alike are returning after a well-deserved break, the…
Designing-the-solution-AI-based-item-level-bidding-automation-in-Google-Shopping.jpg
Data Science  •  6 Min read

Designing the solution: AI-based, item-level bidding automation in Google Shopping

In the Google Shopping world, bid management for large product ranges is a time-consuming and complex task which…
News  •  2 Min read

Talking strategy: A new force for smec’s international consulting

A highly successful bid management tool called Whoop!, a company name that almost acts like a slogan, as…
News  •  2 Min read

Corona crisis in online retail: Many industries were hit hard – and some even harder

Stores are closing, unemployment rate goes up or short: economy shrinks. And that is something online retail has…
News  •  < 1

COVID-19: smec is 100% operational and 100% available for you

Although the situation presents lots of uncertainties, we are convinced that the know-how and insights we have created…
innovation needs collaboration
Innovation  •  5 Min read

Roles in innovation: collaboration follows participation

In my other blog article before I wrote this one I emphasised how important it is to motivate…
Power to the People: Innovation is about Participation
Innovation  •  4 Min read

Power to the people: Innovation is about participation

As you may have read in my former blog posts regarding innovation at Smarter Ecommerce, we always try…
ABS scheduling visualisation
Google Shopping  •  5 Min read

Enhanced ABS for your Shopping strategies – and more to come!

Get ready: Our current Whoop! development initiatives are enriching the functionality of Advanced Bid Strategies (ABS) by offering…
Microsoft Advertising Regional Partner Awards 2019 – Finalists Badge
Microsoft Advertising  •  2 Min read

smec nominated twice for Microsoft Advertising Regional Partner Awards 2019

With CEO Jan Radanitsch fighting on our forefront, it is not so much of a surprise that companies…
Innovation  •  5 Min read

Killing good ideas for better ones: The 4 phases of innovation

One of the hardest challenges in all innovation processes is keeping the focus on what’s most promising. As…
Blog  •  3 Min read

Challenge accepted: my first month @ smec

First of all, I have to admit that I had no idea what to expect. But I can…
idea light bulb for lean innovation
Innovation  •  4 Min read

How lean can Lean Innovation really be?

You may have heard the Lean Management story about a lumberjack sawing a tree with a blunt saw.…
Ecommerce  •  2 Min read

PSD2 – The new European legislation in a nutshell

Update (31.10.2019):The technical implementation of PSD2 culminated in a lot of challenges for Payment Service Providers as well…