Top 7 PPC Trends of 2018
Are you wondering about the top PPC trends of the year? If so, read on to learn about the top seven PPC trends of the year.
Since its start in 1998, Google has grown to be the largest search engine in the world. As such, it has been a major innovator when it comes to reaching target audiences and helping searchers find the products they are looking for.
Every year, Google’s strategies get just a little bit smarter, and everyone in marketing has to adjust their strategies to keep up.
Don’t get left behind. Take a look at these PPC trends to watch in 2018.
1. Structured Data Will Start to Take Over
Structured data is the term for information that is input into specific fields to make it searchable and easy to navigate.
In previous years, companies have had to roll out feeds of new data with their renewed product offerings. This is so that they appear in Google Shopping results. But now, Google Manufacturer Center (a three-year-old product) is spreading its wings. People are taking interest in its expanding features.
Google plans to use this information from manufacturers to expand the product knowledge it offers immediately when someone googles a product. This information can include product titles, images, features, and descriptions.
Once this information is entered into the Manufacturer Center catalogue, it becomes searchable while simultaneously making the product easier to track. In that way, Google can provide searchers with the most relevant products possible.
2. Changes in Artificial Intelligence
Search engines are using artificial intelligence to make their results more accurate. One way this is happening is through ad rank thresholds. An ad rank threshold is a measurement of what it takes to get your advertisement to show up on the first page of search results.
Unlike in the past where Google viewed all searches as the same, Google now takes into account whether the query is product-related or news-related to decide how many and which ads to display.
That means that when you are designing your ad campaigns, you will have to create specialized content if you want to show up in news results vs product results. In addition, you may be paying higher prices for placement.
3. Advanced Audience Targeting
With the recent happenings with Facebook data breaches, the idea of targeting a specific audience for advertisements should have seen a slowdown.
But instead, Google is answering by loosening its own data use restrictions and allowing signed-in data to be used by advertisers to better develop and target an audience.
Google is selling advertisements that are placed in an “in-market” audience for an additional cost-per-click. The audience is defined by pattern targeting as well as by using things like a user’s birthday or anniversary date to suggest advertisements.
4. Developments in Attribution and Local Marketing
Last year, Google rolled out Google Attribution, a product that is aimed at giving advertisers more information about how their campaigns are performing at every step in the funnel.
This data is collected and fed back into AdWords to form more advanced calculations for the cost-per-click for a given advertisement. With more technology and data available keeping track of attribution at all stages of the sales funnel, advertisers will be able to target their audiences better than ever before.
For quality pay-per-click campaigns, it means that less focus can be given to the final click, and more attention can be paid to earlier stages of the sales process.
5. The Google-Amazon Rivalry Will Create Innovation
Amazon and Google have many different battles raging at the moment with the most obvious being Amazon’s Alexa vs. the Google Home Assistant. But there are other fronts where the war is raging.
One change that will affect pay-per-click advertisers is the rollout of Google Express. This is Google’s partnership with more than thirty retailers including Walmart, Costco, and Target.
The aim of the program is to allow Google to offer a streamlined checkout and free next-day delivery to qualified orders place through the site. This is in direct competition with Amazon Prime.
If this product is successful, that means that even more focus will have to be put on updating Google product descriptions; it could reshape the way products are purchased altogether.
6. Voice Search Features Will Change the Game
When voice search features like Siri first came out, people were creeped out by the idea of a device listening in on them all the time. In fact, many people who purchased Xbox’s and PS4’s with this feature opted to turn them off.
But with the convenient and expansive amount of services currently available on Amazon’s Echo and Alexa devices, more people are turning to voice search than ever.
It’s especially popular for vehicles because hands-free search allows drivers to focus on the road while they change their music, find out what the weather is, ask for directions, and more.
With all those new people using voice search, the trends in pay-per-click advertising are sure to be affected. One place we have already begun to see this is in the length of keywords that are being used. It used to be that people would type in a couple words as a search query, but with the ease of voice technology, long-tail keywords are becoming more popular than ever.
People are searching using whole sentences and expecting to receive accurate and relevant content back. As this trend grows, advertisers will have to change the way they consider keywords for their pay-per-click strategies.
7. Ads Will Be More Customized Than Ever
With the ability to study the sales funnel at every step of the process offered by Google Attribution software, the changes in search habits, and the expansion of artificial intelligence and growth of big data, there is more information than ever before for advertisers to use to shape their target audience.
That means that if you want to keep up, you need to be paying attention all of the time. New products are rolling out every day. You will need to keep up and customize your ads if you want to rank.
PPC Trends: Wrapping Up
Now that you have an introduction to the top PPC trends for 2018, it’s time to start revamping your website.
Need help? Contact us for PPC management today. We will help your business’ website get the traffic it deserves.