The world of PPC advertising is one that constantly shifts and evolves. To keep your marketing campaigns one step ahead of your competitors, it is imperative that you keep on top of the latest PPC trends.
So what does 2022 have in store? While no one can accurately predict the future, there are a few emerging PPC trends that are here to stay. Grab a coffee and sit back, as we’re about to break down 9 of the most important PPC trends to follow in 2022.
1. Artificial Intelligence
The use of AI is not a new trend per se, but experts predict it is about to enter hyperdrive and significantly change the nature of PPC in the coming years. AI can benefit PPC campaigns in plenty of ways, such as:
- Analyze the bids likely to achieve maximum traffic
- Optimize unsuccessful keywords
- Predict the CTR for future ads and enhance them in advance
- Measure the performance of ads in terms of quality scores
And the list goes on. That being said, there is going to be a learning curve until we figure out how to optimally integrate AI with human ingenuity. “Advertisers need to use some automation but realize Google is terrible at certain aspects of automation, and there are areas the human is clearly superior that should be leveraged,” Brad Geddes, Co-founder of Adalysis told Search Engine Journal. He went on to list strategy, empathy, insights, and prior knowledge as skills where humans still top machines.
Staying on top of AI and automation developments will be imperative in 2022 and beyond. However, truly successful PPC advertisers will learn how to deploy these tools and still stay in control of their campaigns.
2. Responsive Search Ads
Google has announced that by the end of June 2022, Expanded Text Ads (ETAs) will be discontinued. This means advertisers will be left with Responsive Search Ads (RSAs) as the only creatable and editable search ad type. This format allows you to add up to 15 headlines, four descriptions, and two paths (vanity URLs). Google then uses machine learning to test different combinations and identify the top performers.
Google states that the intention behind this move is to ‘show the right message for the right query’ across a wider variety of relevant searches.
The downside of RSAs is that unlike with ETAs, you can only see pairs of headlines and the percent of times users clicked on those pairings. With less manual input comes less control and RSAs offer less insight into what exactly is driving performance. Further, your brand may experience lower conversion rates since RSAs tend to prioritize CTRs.
Therefore, we recommend rigorously testing specific ad copy while it’s still possible. It’s worth noting that pre-existing ETAs will continue running, providing data, and being pausable/removable after June 2022.
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3. More Video Ads
Consuming content in video form has been gaining popularity in recent years, to the point that in 2022 85% of all internet traffic is expected to come from video. The use of video as an advertising format increased accordingly – 86% of businesses utilize video as a marketing tool as of 2021.
This trend was accelerated due to the massive growth of social media platforms based around short-form videos. TikTok has surpassed 1 billion users online and Instagram announced its intention to become a video-first platform by prioritizing reels and IGTV. Google developed a tool powered by machine learning that creates multiple videos of 6 seconds or less, known as bumper ads, which can be placed in front of YouTube videos.
As you can see, video is everywhere and it’s here to stay. A well-executed paid video ad will aim to mimic organic content on any of the social media platforms mentioned above.
4. Audience Targeting and Segmentation
For a long time, PPC advertising strategies focused on algorithm-pleasing content, but this approach will not cut it in 2022. Google will identify users who share similar characteristics with your existing audience and show your ads to them. That means creating targeted content, segmenting your ads by persona, and differentiating between the various stages of the customer journey is becoming more important than ever.
5. Voice Search
With voice-enabled services like Alexa and Siri and significant advancements in voice-based AI technologies, on-the-go voice searches are becoming increasingly popular. That steady rise is expected to skyrocket over the next year. Believe it or not, studies predict that about 50% of consumers will begin shopping strictly by using their voice this year. Another research suggests that the majority of on-the-go searches will focus on discovering nearby businesses.
If you’re not creating and optimizing ads with voice search in mind, you will miss out on a great deal of traffic in 2022.
6. Diversification
When it comes to ad platforms, most of us grew comfortable and reliant on Google and Facebook. But more and more brands are turning to different mediums in order to reach wider and more accurate audiences. Don’t overlook platforms like Twitter, Snapchat, Pinterest, and certainly not TikTok and Quora.
It may seem like Google’s reign as the world’s most popular search engine is unshakable, but the truth is that smaller engines are rapidly gaining popularity among users and advertisers alike. Yandex and Baidu, for example, account for roughly 60% of Russia’s search market and over 85% of China’s search market respectively. Bing has increased its search advertising revenue by 13% for the fiscal year 2021, and ad campaigns can easily be transferred from Google ads onto the Microsoft Search Network.
Diversification will allow you to examine ROI data more holistically and is set to become more crucial in the coming year.
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7. Privacy Concerns
Since the first days of digital marketing, advertisers have been using cookies to track users’ data and present them with relevant ads. In light of the strong shift in public sentiment regarding consumer privacy protection, Google has initiated the phase-out of browser cookies, which is due to be complete by the end of 2023. This move came a few months after Apple implemented some anti-tracking mechanisms of their own.
The iOS 14.4 update that was released in April was a hard hit for advertisers. The new framework still allows apps to track users’ behavior for purposes of serving them ads, but the users now have to give their permission. According to the Wall Street Journal “digital advertisers say they have lost much of the granular data that made mobile ads on iOS devices effective and justified their prices.” Facebook in particular was negatively affected by these new features. As the great majority of Apple users declined to opt-in for tracking by the social network, many advertisers took their business elsewhere – apparently to Android and even Apple’s own ad business.
The bottom line targeting is only going to become more difficult in the future. How can advertisers prepare for this looming change? That question requires a more detailed answer than we could provide here. It will require some innovation and a more holistic view across the entirety of one’s marketing channels to generate sufficient data.
Final Thoughts
The way things look now, 2022 is set to be an interesting year in PPC. The shift to ad creative automation is perhaps the most impactful PPC trend we will see in the near future. This is already manifesting itself through Google’s step back from ETAs.
Other forthcoming trends include further growth in video consumption and production, rising demand for voice-enabled searches, and increased focus on audience characteristics and segmentation. Venturing into new terrain and diversifying your ad platforms (e.g. Quora, Pinterest, etc.) is the way to go in 2022. Speaking of diversity, in response to Google’s overwhelming market dominance, some region-specific alternative search engines like Yandex and Baidu have seen significant growth.
If there is anything we learned from the past couple of years it’s being prepared for…anything. 2022 will likely be another year where advertisers will need to be flexible and forward-thinking. You should never get too comfortable with what you think you know because everything can change in the blink of an eye.
To do so, staying on top of the ever-changing trend in PPC advertising is absolutely vital.
