2018 proved to be yet another exciting year in the world of PPC and the team at Global Search Marketing are on their toes to see whether the latest predictions in PPC will come true in the coming year.
First, let’s look at a brief summary of the biggest events in PPC in 2018
- We saw huge changes from Google that included AdWords being rebranded as Google Ads, a new Google Ads interface being introduced and also the launch of various new features, targeting options and campaign types.
- Bing also launched loads of targeting options, features and reporting improvements.
So, what can we expect from 2019? It’s looking like most of the hottest trends in PPC include Audiences, Automation, Amazon and much more.
1. Audiences taking over Keywords
Keywords used to be the primary way that search engines matched ads with prospective customers. Now a new tool is being given to budding PPC experts which takes the form of audiences, targeting ads based on behavioural data, demographics, and interests rather than keywords. This means that targeting is done through context, allowing for a more personalised experience. While audiences are set to grow in popularity in 2019, keywords are unlikely to die out completely because they show user intent, but you may find that they stop being the primary tool when it comes to delivering search results.
2. Automation in Search Marketing
Automation has been around for a while and you may already be using it during your daily PPC tasks, but it is set to be even more commonly used in 2019 because it takes away the pain of having to perform daily mundane PPC tasks. Small businesses are beginning to leverage the accuracy of machine learning to help them boost performance because it is much more cost-effective, more available and more accurate than any human. This all makes the team at Global Search Marketing conclude that automated processes to become more popular in 2019.
3. Amazon Taking Over PPC
Over recent years, Amazon has become a huge advertising network that could begin to edge its way in front of Google in 2019. We’ve seen this growth because Amazon offers an attractive alternative to Google with its specific targeting and the huge audience that is ready to purchase. Amazon advertising works through keywords and bids, so the highest bidder will appear in the front position of Amazon’s search results and product listing pages.
4. Increased Brand Awareness Through Video
Small business has begun to realise that increasing brand awareness was becoming increasingly difficult due to increased competitiveness from larger counterparts. But in 2019, it seems that these smaller businesses have begun to utilise the online marketing tactics in the form of video to increase brand awareness for a relatively low price. This means that more video campaigns are being created with the key marketing objective being brand awareness and video format is the desired media choice.
5. Attribution and Lifetime Value
Businesses are now beginning to understand the full value of a customer beyond their initial purchase. This has prompted Google to launch different attribution models such as DDAM. This allows for business to begin to gain a more accurate picture of how effective their ad campaigns are rather than just looking at Google Ads metrics, allowing for more educated decisions when judging the effects of any campaign.