We have a special edition of The PPC Show this week. Paul Wicker is joined by JD Prater, Head of User Acquisition at AdStage, and they break down the top news and trends in ad tech and digital marketing.

It's the same, but different. (HT to Joe Martinez for the GIF).

Show notes:

Facebook Offline Conversions

• Direct connections between ads and results, whether a sale in a store, a booking over the phone or an in-person meeting you can see, measure and adjust their campaigns based on real downstream metrics that matter to their business.
• Create campaigns based on offline success by targeting high-value customers from the prior month using Custom Audiences and Lookalike Audiences, and excluding in-store purchasers to find new local prospects.
• Gain insights and build campaigns based on the actual transactions by retargeting buyers of a certain category with the next product or service you'd like them to buy."

Google AdWords Similar Audiences for Search and Shopping

"To find similar audiences, AdWords looks at the millions of people searching on Google. The system will automatically identify which of your remarketing lists qualify for similar audiences based on a variety of factors, including but not limited to the following factors:

• The number of visitors on the original list
• How recently these people joined the original list
• The similarity of these visitors’ search behavior
• As your remarketing list changes, your similar audience will adjust

A similar audiences list is created from a remarketing list with at least 1,000 cookies with enough similarity in search behavior to create a corresponding similar audience."

Bing Merchant Promotions

"Merchant Promotions appear in Product Ads as special offers (clickable links) within the shopping ad box in the search results. They allow you to promote deals and special offers that pertain to certain products or are site-wide in your store, to help you stand out either with or without a promotion code."

Tune - Mobile ad fraud: what 24 billion clicks on 700 ad networks reveal
"Eight ad networks are 100% fraud. 35 ad networks are 50% or greater."

Paradox of Choice - Revisited

"When you first consider whether to buy you are likely to focus on the benefits of a large assortment. If many choices are available you can feel more confident that if you buy here, you will be able to find an option that satisfies your needs. This will lead to a more positive attitude towards the assortment and these more positive feelings are helpful when you get to the next step of which option is best."

Which channels do consumers use when researching products before buying online?

Listen to the full episode of The PPC Show as Paul and JD discuss the latest trends from the past week.