Another Year and more tools roll out in the world of PPC. How can you keep up with all the latest PPC industry trends? Our guide to PPC Trends in 2023 has the answers!
Google AdWords Is Now Google Ads
in 2018 Google AdWords became Google Ads mainly because their platform outgrew the name ‘Words’, making way for interactive content, video, and many more options. Ad Copy is much more than text. Seriously, stop calling it AdWords đ
Google also launched smart shopping and other enhancements. Targeting became yet more sophisticated, leaving us marketers with much to learn but excited at what it could do.
Bing Ads, hot on the heels of Google, launched many new features too. LinkedIn gave us profile targeting, similar audiences, and a substantial user shift to Amazon’s display marketing platform.
Amazon is, ironically, both Google’s biggest competitor and most prominent client, and they exist in symbiosis. However, who knows more about people’s shopping habits than this retail giant?
Given the exponential curve of digital marketing, it leaves us wondering what 2021 Trends in digital marketing will be.
Being Expertly Google Trained, we googled around for a few answers and collated them here in this blog post.
Trend 1: Video
Video advertising is now, not the future. It’s the best-performing content in the mobile age. The average cost of a video view is about 2 pence. Using video can boost your brand and increase your placements on search engine listings.
YouTube also utilises search and display campaigns by showing those ads. i.e. you don’t need to advertise on YouTube with video.
Video ads are available on all major platforms.
Trend 2: Remarketing
Ok, it’s not so much a trend because it’s been stalking us for a while now, but remarketing is often overlooked in ad campaigns.
Remarketing, though, has a much higher click-through rate and conversion rate. Why? Because the customer is so much further down the buying funnel. It takes 7-10 views of a brand to stick in your brain, so remarketing makes total sense.
Larry Kim says, “People who have previously engaged with content are much more likely to engage again,â Kim said. âThe weird thing about remarketing is the more times people see [an] offer, the less likely they are to click, but those who do are twice as likely to buy.â
Trend 3: Artificial Intelligence.
The Robots are taking over! While AI is downright weird when creating copy, something is best left to the writers. For the mundane stuff, though, machines can spot patterns where humans cannot.
AI can spot trends, search patterns, behaviour and more. This is how ads can automatically optimise content and serve the people most likely to convert.
Automating the grunt work and leaving it to the bots frees up more time to concentrate on what matters. Creativity.
Trend 4: Brand Loyalty
I’m personally reading more and more about this. And when you think about it, it’s not rocket science. It’s flipping obvious. Businesses, big and small, thrive on their customers’ loyalty and word of mouth.
It’s time to start building your brand and generating awareness around it.
Trend 5: Keywords aren’t all that and a bag of chips.
Firstly, this isn’t a sweeping statement that keywords are on the way out. But Aaron Levy of Elite SEM has suggested that the keyword as we know it will die in 2021, with a much more significant shift to custom audiences.
The potential for precision audience targeting is mind-boggling. It’s why fewer people notice ads. Good advertising means you will only get served the content you want, so it’s less likely to annoy you. Instead, it should engage you.
Applying audiences to your search campaigns is a fairly recent Google feature and can bolster your click-throughs and ultimately convert traffic.
For a while now, there have been in-market and affinity audiences within Google Ads, based on customer intent to buy.
What we have now is the ability to connect with your customers at the exact moment they need your product or service based on the intent shown in their browsing habits.
To put this into context, if you were toying with the idea of moving house, you might look on Rightmove, Zoopla and search for homes in your area. In doing this, you may well be categorised as an affinity audience for estate agents or mortgage companies.
Moving down the funnel, you may decide you are serious about the move. Your browsing habits may include the cost of living, schools in the area, transport, crime statistics, mortgage options, etc.
These kinds of searches would place you in the ‘in-market’ category. i.e. you are in the market for a house.
It’s easy to see the value of doing this for advertisers. Yet there are still so many ad accounts not taking advantage of these features. For further reading, look at this article on WordStream
Trend 6: It’s not all about Google.
Amazon is hot on the heels of Google. Both their biggest client and biggest competitor, We imagine it’s a love-hate relationship. But as I said earlier, no one knows more about consumer behaviour than Amazon.
Any serious PPCer needs to up their Amazon game and introduce this as a potential strategy for online advertising. Amazon’s potential for customisation is off the chart.
Bing: No longer the nerd or the wallflower, Bing has become a serious competitor and is gaining more market share daily.
Many rich features exist on many other platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest.
Trend 7: Account managers will have to roll with the times.
There’s literally no place for the 90’s web guy of 2021 PPC Ads. Don’t be that guy or gal. A clever PPCer will use AI to determine the best strategy for their clients.
Machines spot trends even the most gifted savant would not be able to. Account strategists need to embrace automation, not fight it. Essentially, we are consultants, and the machines will handle the labour.
Trend 8: Attribution Models.
The new changes to the search console reflect how necessary attribution is becoming in the marketing process.
The number of times I’ve heard people say they don’t bother with mobile bids because all the conversions are on a desktop. It’s insane to me.
The desktop is like that extrovert in the meeting that steals all the mobile’s ideas because it was just sitting there, on silent, minding its own business, and then the desktop comes along and takes all the credit.
You likely saw it first on mobile if it converted on a desktop.
To fully understand consumer behaviour, you have to understand the path to purchase.
Trend 9: All the new stuff.
Who knows what’s coming, but Map ads are now a feature. And what about position zero, appearing before any ads or organic results? Is it possible that they will monetise this too?
Trend 10: The Ads Themselves.
Google Search is still the most widely used search engine, followed by YouTube. Search Ads are just as relevant as ever.
Responsive Text ads allow you to enter a third headline and allow up to 15 headlines and four copy options, meaning it can match your ad closely to a user’s query. It will rotate and optimise until it finds the best-performing ad. Then there are the numerous callouts and ad extensions.
Basically, its all poised to keep PPCers on our toes, but we embrace change and new technology.
As a Google Partner Agency, we have access to the latest beta products before the general public. Speak to us today for a free consultation.
Why Work With Us?
It’s an all too familiar tale. If you aren’t a big brand with an in-house marketing team, then the chances are you may have attempted to struggle through the minefield of PPC marketing alone.
Many of our clients at Made By Factory didn’t start by using a digital partner; they tried to go it alone. Unfortunately, this resulted in over 70% of wasted spend.
What if we told you, you could get double or more the results for the same amount of digital marketing spend?
Our digital agency is fully Google certified. Co-Founder Ben Tennant, Our head of PPC, is a former Googler and an authority on high-performing ad campaigns.
We were chosen as one of 30 UK Agencies to attend Google Elevatorâan elite coaching programme for talented digital agencies.
We have handled millions of pounds of advertising spend and are confident we can increase your conversions and Return on Ad Spend, as well as cutting out needlessly wasted spend.
As a well-rounded digital marketing agency, success is one aspect of your online presence. PPC or SEO alone isn’t going to drive customers to your door, even if it drives traffic.
Online success also relies on an optimally performing website. It’s a multi-faceted thing.
Firstly a website relies on speed. Otherwise, users won’t even stick around to engage with your content.
Secondly, it requires engaging and useful content laid out in a clear and straightforward customer journey, helping them reach mapped-out goals.
At Made By Factory, we take into account all aspects of the website and its content, tying it in with a robust digital marketing strategy encompassing both paid advertising, social media strategy and organic reach.
What are the benefits of using a skilled agency?
Made By Factory is a full-service digital agency. We build websites from the ground up, carefully planning your project with you, from a website plan, through to wireframing and development and testing.
Working with us means you can benefit from diverse team experience, from the workings of your website to the build, implementation and management of your digital marketing campaigns.
We can virtually eradicate wasted spending with our expert knowledge of setup and optimisation. Typically, clients see around double the results for the same amount of spend, conversions, and conversion rates go down.
In our experience, people who go it alone have done it to save money on an agency’s fee. A skilled PPC agency fee costs far less than the amount you waste on a poorly set up or mismanaged campaign.
More benefits of Working With Us
Made By Factory is an established PPC Agency in Manchester. We are a Google Partner Agency. Working with us means you can access new beta products before they are publicly available.
As experienced PPC experts, we generate much higher conversion and click-through rates, resulting in lower costs per click.
We also provide you with advanced reporting and a human to explain everything.
Working with a former Googler means you have the added advantage of our wealth of knowledge from working with multiple accounts from various industries, not just yours. In short, we know what works and how to get results.
How we work with you on your digital marketing strategy.
Our first step is to audit your existing digital campaign and your web presence. We look at the way the campaign is set up and the way it is structured.
Even fixing minor oversights in a digital campaign can be tantamount to saving thousands of pounds throughout the year.
After identifying gaps, we look at creating a stable, well-rounded campaign. We look at the best digital strategy for your brand and what generates the best return on ad spend.
We want to ensure you are taking advantage of the benefits of the various advertising networks and correctly using them.
Keeping a campaign optimal can be compared to gardening if youâre inclined. Itâs about âplantingâ new and seasonal content and rooting out all the weeds so they donât strangle all the good stuff.
Having the reassurance that a trained eye is monitoring your account can let you get on with whatever you do best. Probably not PPC.
You get the benefit of superior expertise, and your account is never handled by a junior or an apprentice, which is common in large agencies, especially if you arenât a huge business.
We are a qualified and experienced team, each bringing a different mix to the table. We have you covered from creative to video and copy and account strategy.
We spot holes you potentially didnât, which could save you thousands.
Made By Factory is a Manchester Digital Agency. We specialise in developing laser focussed Google Ad campaigns and bespoke WordPress websites. To start your project today and start seeing results, get in touch.
