Last Thursday, many advertisers experienced significant disruptions as Google confirmed a major reporting blackout. The Google Ads web interface’s Report Editor, Dashboards, and Saved Reports were all affected. The Products, Product Groups, and Listing Groups pages were also down across the web interface, API, and Google Ads Editor.
Despite Google claiming that only โa small fractionโ of advertisers were affected, the glitch exposed sensitive data and disrupted normal reporting services. Reactions varied from relief among those not involved in e-commerce to frustration among those who faced obstacles due to the lack of listing and product group data.
Greg Finn, Partner at Cypress North, highlighted the challenges faced by shopping advertisers:
โThe lack of listing and product group data last week was a massive obstacle for those shopping advertisers. We have some campaigns (PMax) featuring monthly deals and sale items for clients and could not confirm whether the campaigns worked correctly. Flying blind without product data is beyond scary. As an advertiser, I would much rather see a mistake and continue to work than to know there is a mistake and have no way to view product data.โ
Data usage and breach concerns
Paid Search Specialist Sarah Stemen raised questions about data usage in Googleโs auction system:
โWell, we know Google knows the prices of all products, profit margins, MSRP, sales, etc. But seeing the data cross-contaminated makes me wonder if data is being leveraged in the auction more than Google will admit.โ
Kate Luke, Head of Digital, emphasised the gravity of the data breach:
โLetโs not overlook that this sensitive data is paramount to the businesses affected. Google should address those affected directly rather than deliver generic โresolutions.โโ
Performance and marketing consultant Meriem Nacer expressed concerns about Googleโs transparency:
โWill they notify affected brands and reimburse them, or only respond if contacted? Many might not check their accounts or know how to do so. How did this happen? โ
Nacer also speculated about the timing of the glitch, suggesting a possible link to the Merchant Centre Next rollout:
โThey claim itโs unrelated to the Merchant Centre Next rollout, but the timing coincides with updated PMax reporting and the upcoming migration. Is it a coincidence, or did someone push that ‘big red button’ weโve always joked about? The situation raises many questions.โ
Mike Ryan, Head of eCommerce, summed up the severity of the situation and questioned Google’s timeline of events:
โThis is a serious potential breach of advertiser confidentiality and a huge billing issue. Google maintains that these errors only occurred from July 30 through July 31, but my team members believe this may have been happening for two weeks or longer.โ
Automation and feed security
Julie Bacchini, President and Founder of Neptune Moon, pointed out the broader implications for automation and feed security:
โIt definitely raises some questions about firewalls between accounts, doesnโt it? Reporting and data lags happen, but data leaks are much bigger. As automation takes over more and more, will we even know if something like this happens in the future? The biggest issue is that it impacted feed-based campaigns, so the sanctity of the feed is compromised. I want a detailed explanation from Google Ads about how another advertiserโs feed data infiltrated another account and what has been done to ensure it can no longer happen.โ
Competitive intelligence
Marketing Director Scott Frederickson detailed the potential competitive intelligence leak:
โThe screenshots showing custom label content in the reports were chilling. For those who donโt know, those labels are entirely free-form. Iโve seen them used for margin bucketing, seasonality, stock controls, best sellers, various promotions, vendors, divisions, and all kinds of things.โ
Finally, advertisers like Reid Thomas, Marketing Strategist, viewed the issue as โa tempest in a teapot,โ stating:
โI have never had an account where even a week of reports being inaccessible would massively change strategy, especially given that real data wasnโt being blocked for automations, etc.โ
Despite some downplaying of the issue, most responses indicated serious concerns about data privacy, competitive intelligence, and Googleโs handling of the situation. As PPC specialist Chloe Varnfield said, โTrust in Google is low anyway, so itโs just another letdown.โ
The incident has left many advertisers demanding more transparency and better safeguards from Google to prevent similar issues in the future.
