Laurie Sullivan

Google is removing anonymized and encrypted user IDs from DoubleClick data transfer starting May 25, to align its data practices with the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR). The changes apply to all companies using the DoubleClick ID feature. The data remains accessible to advertisers, but the move makes Google the gatekeeper of the data to prevent data sharing and requires advertisers to use its platforms and tools.

Google Contributor, the subscription service that allowed users to see fewer advertisements on publisher sites for a fee, will close in January and reopen in early 2017 with a new version. The service allowed site visitors to pay fractions of pennies to see fewer Google-served display advertisements when visiting publisher Web sites, but insiders said getting users to pay for a subscription was slow going.

Subscribers paid a monthly subscription fee allowing those searching the Web and visiting sites as normal from any browser and device. Each time Contributor removed an ad from a page viewed by a subscriber, Google gave a percentage to that site.

Mobile devices will account for 50% of Google paid-search clicks by December 2015, according to Marin Software.

Marin predicts that mobile will become the primary channel for search as investment in these devices increases, surpassing 42% in 2014. Marin found the conversion rate of search ads on mobile devices rose in the US during 2013, indicating that consumers are more comfortable with mobile commerce. The conversion rates of smartphones and tablets rose 57% and 67%, respectively.

In 2013, tablet conversion rates at 5.5% edged out desktop conversion rates at 5.3% for the first time. In 2013, the share of paid-search clicks from mobile devices increased from 21.8% to 34.2% of all paid-search clicks. The percentage that marketers spent on mobile campaigns saw a similar increases, with mobile spend share rising 45% from 19.3% to 27.9% in 2013.