When it comes to pay-per-click (PPC) advertising, keeping up with the digital trends is key to your successful paid search campaign. This includes considering algorithm updates, the plethora of social media sites and the big shift to mobile commerce — Pew reports that 63 percent of adult cell owners use their phones to go online.
In case you missed them, here are some trends you need to know about from 2014 and trends to look out for in 2015.
How PPC Marketing Changed in 2014
- Simplicity. This year saw the demise of digital bling. Big, flashy banners might as well be a stop sign, especially in a mobile world where they signal bulky downloads and complicated landing pages. The shift has been toward simplicity, clear CTAs and direct messages.
- Social. Changes in social media platforms have given you great opportunities to get your brand in front of your target customer. But promoted tweets and Facebook's algorithms are changing how often your fans or followers see your posts. A paid social media campaign has become an essential tool in any digital advertising campaign.
- Mobile. Marketing Land reports that 37 percent of all Web traffic comes from mobile, which indicates that users are increasingly viewing ads on their mobile devices. Mobile-optimized sites are gaining visibility, but getting ahead of this trend is imperative going into 2015.
In short, 2014 showed us that trends in the paid advertising world are pointing to a more social and mobile-friendly landscape.
PPC Forecasts for 2015
- Mobile marketing. Mobile optimization continues to be at the top of the list of strategies to implement in your paid advertising campaign. The Denver Post reports that shoppers are using their smartphones in-store to check product reviews, pricing and product availability elsewhere, which means you need to be ahead of the PPC curve in engaging, appearing in local directories and offering product reviews.
- Product listing ads (PLAs). Frederick Vallaeys, former Google AdWords Evangelist, predicts that PLAs, which Google terms shopping campaigns, will knock keywords off the top of the PPC strategy list. While they were slow to catch on, PLAs are now getting better exposure across display networks. This means that you may need to consider augmenting your focus on keywords with a product ad strategy to drive sales.
Being at the forefront of PPC trends may sound like a lot of work, but the good news is that things are looking bright for the digital marketplace in 2015.
