Do you know that Google rolled out 18 Google Ads updates in 2019 alone? And Covid19 pandemic has also changed the PPC landscape. The majority of the world switched to online modes for work or study while the others had to bid time in quarantine. That means much bigger internet audiences and that changed the PPC advertising arena as well. These changes have brought certain changes in the Pay-Per-Click advertising and introduced new trends. These changes are to stay and evolve further throughout 2021. Here are a few you should watch out for:
PPC Automation
Automation means giving control to Artificial Intelligence and saving time on the go. PPC is getting more and more automated with every passing day. Notably, automation does not apply to mere automatic bidding techniques like optimized conversions. It can also encompass the scripts or rules in the account to minimize the required time for auditing and reporting.
While many people still prefer manual bidding, automated techniques can save time. You can consider incorporating automation into your PPC strategies.
Having said that, you still need a fair bit of checks and balances even when you are running automated campaigns. This is where a PPC agency or lead flipping business can be handy. Most businesses don’t have the time or expertise to run PPC campaigns and you can earn by offering your services.
Limited Access to Data
Search Engines, especially Google, are limiting access to data. This trend is expected to go beyond 2021. The tracking cookies have been obliterated, much to the dismay of digital marketers. Things would go down further onwards, as search engines are becoming obscure and less transparent. That is why you need to be flexible and adapt to the change.
You have to depend more on machine learning instead of your acumen. However, rather than focusing on the loss, one needs to make do with what is available.
Video Ads Becoming Popular
Video ads are becoming more popular and result-oriented than the other ones. Video content has become more prevalent in digital marketing over the past few years. In fact, video marketing garners 69 percent of the total traffic.
Not only that it increases consumer traffic, but it also improves conversion rate. As per the statistic, video ads manifest 800 percent more conversions. 54 percent of people prefer watching videos from an enterprise they support. These people are 85 percent inclined to buy something after watching the ad.
Voice Search
People prefer voice to text search now. This transition is taking place quite rapidly. Around 50 percent of search queries are voice-based now. Voice search is more common on mobile devices, as it works better with them. Mobile users are also taking over the internet usage space.
So, voice search can help gain more audience. That is why it is dubbed as a prominent part of PPC advertising strategies in 2021.
Diversification
Diversification is expected to become crucial. As automation is taking over PPC marketing with Google, which implies that you would lose control, it is prudent to distribute your eggs in multiple baskets. This means you need to invest your PPC dollars in other search engines too like Microsoft Ads. Mostly, digital marketers focus entirely on Google for the campaigns. But now it is incumbent to diversify your PPC’s focus. The more diversified your media mix is, the more successful your PPC will be.
Insights-Based Strategy
The strategy will rely more on insights, preferences, and behaviors in the market than on variance in data. The industry is changing rapidly and PPC marketers have to know where and when to strike. In 2021, being responsive and adaptive (being defensive) will be a good offense. The strategy would require a focus on the structure of the campaigns rather than relying on superficial statistics. It will keep in view the actual objectives of the campaigns as well as the business instead of mere Google scores.
Constant Vigilance
2021 will be the year of persistent testing. You cannot get too comfortable with any one strategy. The realm will keep changing and so should the PPC tactics. Testing, again and again, will keep you updated on what is and what can work to achieve your goals.
Do not fixate on what you already know and instead seek to keep learning. Put every variable under a microscope and only continue the techniques that have proven to generate results.
Conversion Rate Optimization
2021 is going to fixate on conversion rate optimization. It seems obvious though, as every marketing strategy is intended to bring more customers. However, this objective does not get enough attention because it remains in the depths of the ad campaigns.
PPC marketers focus on making the ads spot on, but the major emphasis requires to be on the traffic coming to those ads. Automation will increase and the Customer Relationship Management platforms would be more sophisticated. That leaves more time and resources for the PPC strategists to improve the conversion rates.
