It’s no doubt that 2018 brought massive changes to the world of PPC advertising and we fully expect 2019 to be another year of mammoth shifts and updates. We’re already seeing some significant trends starting to form in just the first few weeks of the new year!
For small business and local marketers alike, it’s worth taking note of what’s likely to happen in the next twelve months so you can be in-the-know about which trends to focus on. Our goal is to get you ready to leverage top performing and effective PPC practices to propel your business into growth.
Read on to learn more about which PPC trends we see making a big splash in 2019.
1. Keywords vs. Audience Targeting
Many experts and industry leaders claim that 2019 will finally bring the long-awaited battle between Audiences and Keywords.
Who will win? It looks like … both!
With a slight edge to Keywords, Audiences are gaining momentum in search targeting. Therefore, it’s important to consider how, when and where to use both Keywords and Audiences as you’re setting up your target PPC campaigns.
Advertisers are still interested in keywords, but they are also looking to hone in on specific segments of people in order to target not just the “right” people but the best potential customers. That means users who are actively searching for your products and services AND in the market to click “Buy Now.”
Keywords will be important, but audience-targeting on search networks will be of equal importance for securing high performance in 2019.
2. AI & Smart Automation — Secret Weapons for PPC Marketers
It’s becoming clear that automation is here to stay and it’s going to play a big role in the job of any PPC marketer.
Managing accounts more efficiently is important, and PPCers will find that this is most easily done by embracing aspects of automation and developing strategies to use machine learning to increase speed when it comes to ad testing, bidding, etc.
There are many ways smart automation can be incorporated into campaigns, and in this increasingly automated industry, there’s no way the future of account management and PPC marketing will exist without it.
3. Stepping Up Your Ads Game
The end message that you get across to users will always be the ad itself. Hands down, the ad is what matters the most and in 2019 how you craft your ads will be more critical than ever.
Well written headlines and descriptions are only going to become more important to advertisers going forward. Advertisers need to be smart and strategic in order to convey their message effectively, that’s for sure.
It’s all about making sure that every headline cohesively works with every description to achieve your ad goals.
4. Higher Focus on Remarketing
Many of the pros are already talking about the importance of remarketing in 2019. Why? Because time and time again it’s proven to be an effective strategy that results in high conversion rates. Not to mention that it’s a much more cost-effective way to convert users than many of the alternatives out there.
Boiled down, remarketing is taking people who have visited your website, tagging them and then marketing to them in a persuasive way, through display ads, that brings them back to your website again and again until they click “buy now.”
Smart marketers in 2019 know that remarketing works best when it’s combined with the “Click to Message” ad format currently available on Facebook Ads.
5. Shiny New Tools
Even though we can make informed predictions, 2019 has only just started. This ultimately means that there are many unknowns for PPC advertisers just on the horizon.
What will 2019 bring? Potentially new ad types, trends and extensions that will expand opportunities for marketers and advertisers. Google will undoubtedly bring new features to the table, and that will lead to changes that we can’t yet foresee. But new things will certainly be coming soon; that much is certain.
PPC advertising is always morphing and changing, and it’s important for business success, to be one step ahead of the curve when you can be. These are just five things you’ll want to keep your eye on as we move into 2019. Make use of what you’ve learned here and use it to your advantage in the year ahead.
If you have questions about PPC trends and insights and how they might affect your business, contact Sprout Media Lab online or call us at (800) 617-6975 to speak with one of our Pay-Per-Click Specialists.
