The Data Driven Business Newsletter
​Harnessing Data to Drive Growth
​Volume 11.4.4
April 28, 2023

Reading time: 5 minutes​
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Hey Reader,

AI technology is moving so fast that it’s hard to keep up, even for us.

Many are jumping into generative AI to create ads with tools like Ad Creative, Jasper, and a hundred others.

With AI tools, you can now produce creative content like images and even videos for your ad campaigns!

Scrambling to catch up with Microsoft's AI-powered Bing and Meta’s Advantage+, Google plans to roll out generative AI into its advertising business this year.

But should marketers dive into this? Or should they look before they leap?

Is AI still prone to errors, biases, and even “hallucinations” when applying it to advertising?

Does AI help us with better targeting than we can on our own?

Do we still retain full control of our campaigns when using AI to advertise, or are we looking at a “black box” solution even if the results are better?

These are pretty heavy questions to ponder when considering using AI for paid ads, but if nothing else, it’s probably worth a test drive!

What are your thoughts on AI for advertising? Reply and let our team know!
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🎟️ BigQuery CYA Program Projected to Sell Out

We just announced our new BigQuery CYA Blueprint program this week, and more than half of the reserved slots have been taken already.

In this new CYA program jointly taught by DDU and Analytics Canvas, enrollees will gain marketing data independence by learning how to streamline reports from multiple marketing channels and datasets at a very low cost.

Based on webinar engagement and the number of signups so far, we expect that there won't be any spots left by Monday.

​Get program details here​

🪲 Meta Ad System Bug Causes Mega Overspending

Last Sunday, many Meta ad buyers received an unfortunate surprise when Meta's system went wild with overspending. This was a huge issue and has impacted almost everyone in the Ecommerce community.

Multiple accounts experienced a lack of controlled spend, blowing through their budgets in mere hours. We've seen these kinds of snafus before, and this won't be the first nor last time something like this happens.

Always keep an eye on your ad accounts and keep spending on a short leash.

​Read more​

🚧 Unblock Google Tags In Consent Mode

Google tags help website owners track traffic and user behavior, but if they're blocked until users give consent, conversion modeling is less accurate. Consent mode adjusts how these tags behave based on user consent status. However, to get the full benefits of consent mode and improve conversion modeling, website owners should adjust tag settings so Google tags load in all cases.

To unblock Google tags, website owners need to remove exception triggers and additional consent checks in Tag Manager. If they use a Consent Management Platform, they need to modify the Google tag as specified by the platform or exempt Google tags from blocking in the platform's user interface.

Unblocking Google tags helps website owners get more accurate conversion data while respecting user consent status.

​See documentation​

🙅‍♂️ Facebook Ad Working Well? Don't Touch it! Seriously.

One little change can break your campaign and make your CPC soar. Jon Loomer tells his story about making a seemingly insignificant change to his campaign that made his costs jump from $1.50 to around $20 per lead! He thought nothing of the change he made until he saw his results. The moral of the story?

If your Facebook ads are working, don't change anything to your campaign, to the form, to the landing page - just leave it alone. Anytime you make a change, even to fix a typo, your campaign goes into learning mode all over again.

Pro Tip: If you must do something, just create a new campaign, test it, and compare it against the original one.

​Learn more​
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🔖 GA4 Custom Reports: Shortcut to the Data You Need

Google Analytics 4 is filled with reports and data you will never look at. On the other hand, there are important metrics that are missing from GA4 reports.

The solution? Custom reports in GA4 can solve those two annoyances and make web analytics 100% useful to your business.

​Read article​

🎥 Unlocking the "Direct None" Traffic in GA4

Watch this video to understand common reasons why you may get "direct none" traffic, such as users typing URLs, clicking non-UTM-tagged email links, visiting bookmarked pages, and using aggressive ad blockers.

By customizing GA4 reports and using campaign URL Builder for tagging campaigns, you can better understand your website's visitor sources and gain valuable insights.

​Watch video​

That's all for this week!
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