The Pay Per Click (PPC) advertising model uses platforms such as Google and Facebook to increase visibility. Every click on an ad drives somebody to your site but also costs you money. To maximise your investment, it's important to stay on top of the game and monitor upcoming trends. Here, we'll look at some of the predicted trends in PPC advertising for 2022.
AI itself may not be new but it's something that perpetually evolves. The AI of 2022 will be different from the AI of 2021, just as it was different from that of 2020. Paying attention to its developments and exploiting them as quickly as possible is crucial to successful campaigns. Responsive search ads are set to be the norm with Google further developing their own AI: from June 2022, expanded text ads within Google will no longer be editable or added to. Google's AI is set to take over, mashing description and headlines together into what it believes will do the ad more justice.
Before Google deploys this new AI, be sure that your ads are well-written with keyword optimisation: once this AI rolls out, you won't be able to make alterations. Other changes include responsive image ads, dynamic search ads, as well as bid strategies.
Over the next few years, the evolution of Artificial Intelligence is set to have a huge economical impact by enhancing the effectiveness of PPC campaigns by, among other things, predicting the click-through rate of future advertisements and optimising keywords, should your cost-per-click fall below specific numbers.
Considering how much is automated these days, it's somewhat surprising that PPC automation is not already well-established. 2022 is expected to change that. To a degree, change has been around for a while - automated ads and emails for instance - but 2022 is expected to see the role of automation step up to another level. Expect to see much-improved support for ad testing, Call-to-Action analytics, and data diagnostics. These diagnostics and testing capabilities will play a hugely significant role in improving the identification of ads that work well vs. those that do not - and getting rid of the ones that don't work.
TikTok is one of the fastest-growing platforms in social media history and an ideal platform for mobile app marketing. Facebook has long been king when it comes to PPC advertising, however, TikTok has given it a better run for its money than any other social media platform in recent years - and it won't be slowing down in 2022. Advertising on TikTok - for the immediate future at least - offers massive scope in terms of reach and visibility. TikTok is now also in partnership with Shopify with the purpose of making it easier for businesses to advertise. TikTok is still on the ascension and is a very fertile ground for PPC marketing. If you are still looking for a platform to promote your business or limited company (LLC) then now is a good time to learn how advertising works on TikTok.
Smartphones are guessed to never be out of their owner's hands for more than an hour each day as more and more elements of our daily activities become dependent on them. 70% of paid search impressions are now happening via mobile devices. These facts mean that optimising and tailoring your website for mobile phones is crucial for success in 2022. More people than ever are browsing or using social media platforms from the palm of their hands - which is right where you want to be.
It's estimated that by the end of 2022, half of all online shoppers will be using voice assistants on their phones while browsing. What this infers is that a year from now, if you haven't incorporated voice search capabilities into your campaigns, then you'll only be reaching half your potential audience.
Siri, Alexa, Cortana, and Google Assistant have changed the ways in which we engage with our devices and the environment around us. Whether it's asking about the weather, wanting to hear a song, sending a text to a friend, or asking voice assistants to answer questions, it is becoming the norm. Voice searches will become increasingly critical to PPC strategies. So, if you haven't started already, now is a good time to include voice search capability and optimise it by including question-orientated keywords and long-tailed keywords. Short-tailed words are likely to be of much less benefit in this context.
The trend for smart bidding is also expected to accelerate throughout 2022. At present, the optimal performance of campaigns and budgeting is tracked manually. With smart bidding, machine learning steps in and takes over. The intent here is the improvement of conversion rates via automatic optimisation adjustments based on trends and user behaviors. Smart bidding will provide more accurate and beneficial insights.
Smart TVs have now infiltrated hundreds of millions of living rooms. Lockdowns since the start of the pandemic and other COVID-related restrictions have meant that more people have been staying at home than ever before. This combination has pushed YouTube to the number 1 spot of most-used channels. The coming year has the potential to be the best ever for YouTube PPC ad placing.
Third-party cookies are on their way out - which pushes up the worth of first-party data. Third-party intrusion is slowly being squashed as privacy policies around the world change. This makes data sourcing more difficult as marketers comply with new regulations to gather data. Harvesting and utilising first-party data is about to become a major player for PPC trends.
Having read this blog, it may seem that there is a lot to look out for but to remain competitive it is crucial to pay attention to PPC trends. That fact has been accentuated as we head into 2022: the last 18 months have seen huge changes for businesses and consumers alike. Time spent analysing PPC trends and adapting to them will be time well spent.
by Dmitry Tsybuliak | 27 Sep 23