Google Adds Frequency Capping, Reporting for Ads

What a week it’s been for Google’s AdWords crew.
One day after launching its Google Insights for Search extension for the Trends utility, the group has added a DoubleClick ad-serving cookie across the Google content network that will let advertisers access some new tools.
Before advertisers get queasy stomachs over the keywords “DoubleClick,” “ad-serving” and “cookie” in that last sentence, Google made it clear that users can opt out of a single cookie for both DoubleClick ad serving and the Google content network with one click.
Moreover, if a user has already opted out of the DoubleClick cookie, the opt-out will also automatically apply to the Google content network.
The cookie, while a concern for some advertisers leery about the ongoing Google-DoubleClick integration, is a convenience. DoubleClick advertisers and publishers who elect to stick with it don’t have to make any changes on their Web sites as Google continues to integrate DoubleClick and make necessary changes.
So, on to the new features, which include performance improvements within the content network.
First up is frequency capping, which lets advertisers dictate the number of times a user sees an ad. No customer wants to see the same ad over and over again–unless it’s that Messin’ With Sasquatch series from Jack Link’s beef jerky–so capping is important to keep the users from running from publishers’ Web sites.
Along with the capping comes frequency reporting, which tells advertisers how many people have actually stumbled across their ad campaigns online, as well as how many times people are seeing these ads on average.
Finally, a view-through conversions perk lets advertisers gain insights on how many users visited their sites after seeing an ad.
It doesn’t get any more important than this. Advertisers, particularly in this ad-spending slowdown, can’t afford to guess which ads work and which don’t.
This conversions tool lets advertisers know how effective (or not) their campaigns are proving at a time when they can’t afford to waste time.
Overall, I’d have to say these are solid features. Yet there are still a swath of people out there who are put off by Google grabbing DoubleClick. It’s almost as if they feel the DoubleClick technology will enable Google to harass them more with online ads.
Blame the advertiser for this, not Google. At worst, Google is an enabler.