3 Lesser-Known Google Ads Features You Might Not Be Using
Google Ads in 2025 is a different beast. It’s automation-first, data-light (unless you know where to look) and packed with sneaky new features you may have missed the memo on. Here are three we think advertisers may be sleeping on.
1. Search Term Insights for PMax – Finally, more visibility!
Performance Max campaigns, like your Yorkshire born blog post writer here, used to be a little tight-fisted when it comes to sharing (data that is). But not anymore.
Google has rolled out a Search Term insights report for PMax, and while it’s not as granular as traditional Search campaigns, it's a big step forward.
Why use it?
- Spot high-intent search terms driving conversions (helpful for both PPC and SEO optimisations).
- Identify irrelevant searches wasting your budget.
- Optimise creative, copy and audience signals with a data-driven approach.
How to access it:
Head to your PMax campaign > Insights tab > Search term insights. Bear in mind this may still be in beta, and you might not be able to access at this point!
2. Customer Match & Conversion-Based Lists
Google has seriously upgraded how you can use first-party data in campaigns, and it doesn’t involve any tedious manual uploads. Honestly, we all deserve better. There are two ways you may not be aware of which harness this data for performance:
1. Customer Match Lists in Smart Bidding & Optimised Targeting
Customer Match audiences can now directly power Smart Bidding and Optimised Targeting, even if you don't apply them at the ad group level. Google uses these lists behind the scenes to make smarter bid decisions and reach more high-value users.
Important: If you opt out of using Customer Match in smart bidding, your campaign performance may be impacted, so if you can, have it enabled unless you have strong privacy concerns.
2. Conversion-Based Customer Lists – Automatically generated
Inside your account settings, you can now turn on conversion-based lists. When enabled, Google will automatically build customer lists using consented data from your existing conversion tags (e.g., purchases, sign-ups).
This saves time and ensures your most valuable users are always being captured, dynamically, cutting any manual upload process out.
Privacy-first: These features comply with Google’s Customer Match policies and GDPR. Your data is only used to match customers to Google accounts and fuel campaign performance, never for third-party use.
No need to hunt for it: just head to: Admin > Account Settings > Customer Match
Toggle on both features from here. (Make sure your Data Protection contact details are up to date too).
3. Engaged Audiences – Quietly rolled out, but seriously useful!
Google has started automatically pushing Engaged Audiences into most accounts. These are people who’ve interacted with your ads or site in meaningful ways (but maybe haven’t converted, yet).
Why you should care:
- Target warm traffic with lower CPAs.
- Use in PMax audience signals to strengthen intent from warm prospects.
- These audiences are perfect for light-touch remarketing, even if you don’t have a full customer data strategy. Want to avoid showing "new customer" offers to someone who’s already interacted five times? Exclude them here.
- Exclusions to fine tune funnel stages.
- We’ve tested it with a few clients across retail, finance, hospitality and travel and the results came back stronger than I like my cup of Yorkshire Tea.
Where to find them:
Under Tools > Shared Library > Audience Manager > Your Data Segments, The audience is likely to be named “Google-engaged audiences – for account XXXXXXXXXX”. Go on, check it, I bet it’s already sitting there waiting.
Not every Google Ads update makes the headlines, but these features are quietly transforming campaign performance for smart advertisers. Whether it's squeezing more insights out of PMax, activating your own data, or riding the wave of Google’s new automation layer with engaged audiences – they all add up to better targeting, better performance, and better ROI when used appropriately as part of your strategy.
Looking for help implementing any of these features? Get in touch.
