If you manage Google Ads, this week brought three updates worth paying attention to. Google Ads Liaison Ginny Marvin announced the changes on LinkedIn, covering Smart Bidding Exploration, a new Promotion mode beta, and a backend optimization update rolling out on August 17. Two of them expand tools that were previously limited to select advertisers. The third will affect campaign behavior whether you opt in or not.
Here’s what’s changing and what you should actually do about it.
Smart Bidding Exploration Is Now Available Globally
Smart Bidding Exploration (SBE) has been one of the more closely watched features in Google Ads over the past year. The idea behind it is straightforward: it allows campaigns to pursue converting traffic from queries that fall outside what a campaign would normally target under existing bidding goals, without requiring advertisers to significantly loosen their ROAS targets.
Until now, availability was limited. As of this announcement, SBE is live globally across all languages for Search campaigns and Performance Max campaigns without a product feed. Google has also opened a beta for Shopping advertisers, covering both standard Shopping campaigns and PMax campaigns that include product feeds.
For advertisers who feel volume-constrained but aren’t ready to overhaul their bidding strategy, this is worth testing. It’s an incremental expansion play, not a structural change. The key advantage is that you don’t need to abandon your existing targets to explore additional reach.
Promotion Mode Enters Beta for Search and PMax
Promotion mode is designed to solve a very specific, very familiar problem: the manual scramble that happens every time a campaign needs to flex around a product launch, flash sale, or seasonal peak.
In its beta form, the feature lets advertisers schedule temporary adjustments to ROAS tolerance and layer on extra daily budget during high-demand windows. It can also be used alongside campaign total budgets, which adds some useful flexibility for accounts already using that setup.
The appeal here is operational. Most PPC teams already do this kind of manual adjustment before major promotional periods. Promotion mode looks to bring some structure and automation to that process. That said, Google hasn’t confirmed eligibility criteria or how broadly the beta will roll out, so it’s worth checking your account rather than planning around it.
The August 17 Update: The One to Watch
The third update is the one that deserves the most attention right now, because it applies to all advertisers running budget-limited campaigns, regardless of whether they adopt any new features.
Starting August 17, Google is updating how it handles backend bidding target optimization for campaigns that regularly hit their budget ceiling. The goal, according to Google, is to make performance more predictable in line with CPA and ROAS targets, particularly when budget levels increase.
Google has been upfront that there will be a calibration period following the rollout, during which some advertisers may see minor performance fluctuations. The length and scale of that calibration haven’t been specified.
To give teams time to prepare, Google will begin surfacing notifications in Google Ads accounts starting July 6. Those notifications will include historical campaign performance data and guidance on whether CPA or ROAS targets may need adjustment before the change takes effect.
That last point is the most actionable one: this is a good moment to revisit your targets and make sure they reflect where your business actually is, not where it was six months ago. If a campaign has been coasting on targets that were set during a different budget period, August 17 could surface that quickly.
What to Do Before August 17
For SBE and Promotion mode, the path forward is test and evaluate. Both are optional, and their value will depend entirely on your campaign structure, budget levels, and promotional calendar.
For the August 17 update, the steps are more time-sensitive:
Watch for the July 6 account notifications and review the historical performance data Google surfaces. Audit CPA and ROAS targets across any campaign that regularly operates at or near its budget limit. Flag these campaigns for closer monitoring during and after rollout.
If you’re working with clients, this is also a conversation worth having proactively. Teams that surface this context before the change lands will be in a better position than those explaining fluctuations after the fact.
Google is moving fast on automation, and these updates reflect that direction. The smart move right now is making sure your targets and your client expectations are calibrated before the platform recalibrates for you.
