Since Google Ads began 15 years ago, a lot has changed in the world of PPC advertising. Over the years, the search engine giant has increased the number of automated functionality tools it provides for Google Ads users. Each year brings an abundance of new additions to the PPC toolbox, but we’ll focus on the top three PPC trends you can benefit from before we flip our calendars to 2020.
PPC Trend #1: Methodically Experiment with Google’s Smart Bidding and Automated Features
When it comes to PPC, you want results, and you want them now. However, it takes time and patience to really see the benefit of some of the new automated Google Ads features. It’s essential to deliberately experiment with the automated features Google introduces, one at a time, for a defined length of time.
Yes, there are great and powerful automated tools, and certainly, no one knows how searchers behave on a Google page better than Google, but we can tell you that not every automated strategy works for every campaign.
Test. Test. Test.
Now, here’s the hard part. The automated strategies provided by Google take time to learn. You are going to feel the need to panic when results temporarily get worse. And they likely will. But you need to stick with it to give the automation time to learn. It’ll take a different amount of time for every account based on your volume, but you have to resist the urge to stop at the first sign of declining results. Stick to your testing plan.
Be careful. Don’t test more than one automated strategy (bids, recommended ad copy, responsive search ads) at a time.
PPC Trend #2: Use Video Ads and Video Content to Sell your Product or Service
Nothing makes an impact on the internet today like a video. People don’t want to sift through paragraphs of information; they want answers NOW. When learning something new, millennials are 2.7 times as likely to do so by watching a YouTube video compared to reading a book1
Video advertising on YouTube is way easier and less expensive than you think. Placing an ad on YouTube is an easy and cost-effective way to get your business in front of targeted prospects. Because it is the second most widely-used search engine in the United States, you will be able to reach your prospects there. Plus, almost everything you need to produce an effective video ad is on your phone, making this PPC trend one of the most convenient options for your business.
PPC Trend #3: Use Hyper-Specific Landing Pages to Cater to Consumers’ Highly Specific Expectations
The internet surrounds consumers everywhere they go through home devices and wearables, meaning they have more access to more information than ever. Because it’s now common to speak your search request into the air, people are using longer search phrases, making their search queries more specific, compared to when they type it out.
To take advantage of this change in consumer behavior, a popular and valuable PPC trend is to implement hyper-specific landing pages. By creating several different, very specific landing pages, you bring consumers to exactly what they want. Recently we added a landing page about “cystic acne” to our client’s website who formerly only had a page about “acne,” and they saw an immediate lift in engagement and conversions.
The PPC trend of using hyper-specific landing pages increases your website’s success because:
- People are more likely to convert or take the action you want them to take when the page they land on is purely relevant to what they want.
- Google Ads rewards relevance, and the more aligned your ads and landing pages are to your searchers’ queries, the lower the price will be for your paid click.
Sometimes as marketers, we over-complicate things, but what this PPC trend indicates is that people want what they want without having to work too hard to get it.
PPC trends are always changing and evolving, thanks to Google’s constant drive to improve the Google Ads tool. Keeping up with the latest and greatest PPC trends can be difficult, but we make it a whole lot easier. At ROAR!, our team is dedicated to mastering the Google Ads tool and manages millions of dollars in Google Ads spend.
Contact our internet experts today and find out how our knowledge of the most current PPC trends can take your website to the next level.
1 – Google/Ipsos Connect study of 1901 US respondents age 21-36 fielded between 4/27/17-5/5/17, https://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/data/millennial-learning-statistics/
Frequently Asked Questions
Automation in paid search systematizes automatic and recurring tasks through Google Ads’ scripts, rules, and automated reports. Automation in paid search is ideal for businesses looking to save valuable time and resources while scaling their ads campaigns. When you set tasks up to occur automatically, your PPC specialist doesn’t have to worry about constantly keeping tabs on them.
Google Ads Smart Campaigns reach greater depths of data found by Google’s algorithms. Unlike automation in paid search, Google Ads Smart Campaigns use their smart technology to set up a campaign in minutes and continuously monitors and improves your campaigns for you. In essence, Smart Campaigns put your automation in paid search on auto-pilot.
Not necessarily. Which one is better for your website depends on several factors, such as your business market. If you are in a niche market, Google probably doesn’t have deep historical data to form reliable campaigns for you. In this case, using smart bidding and choosing your own settings under your Google Ads tools would work better for you.
Smart bidding uses machine learning and contextual signals like user device or location to allow Google Ads to manage your bids automatically. You can set what you want to gain from your smart bidding tool, such as: maximize conversions, increase site visits, and get more conversion value within your budget, just to name a few.