New Updates in PPC: Everything You Need To Know
What’s New in PPC Marketing
Much like other marketing areas, pay-per-click (PPC) marketing constantly evolves. New updates emerge from time to time, and while that can feel a bit overwhelming, it gives advertisers new opportunities to reach their target audience amid the changing landscape. Let’s take a look at the newest developments impacting the digital advertising scene that you should keep on your radar:
TikTok enters search ads space
TikTok is upping the ante in PPC marketing, and its entry into Search Ads makes that crystal clear. Since September, advertisers in the U.S. can now use TikTok Search Ads to reach high-intent consumers within the video-sharing platform.
Before this update, TikTok had ads, but now advertisers can use it as a PPC platform and choose specific keywords they can rank for in TikTok’s native search results. TikTok Search Ads go beyond the typical text-based format, delivering engaging video results for search queries.
Advertisers can launch Search campaigns with goals like driving traffic or boosting conversions, and there’s a handy keyword research tool that can help them choose the best keywords. Plus, if they want to keep track of their metrics, there’s a TikTok Ads Manager they can use within the platform.
Far from being just a discovery tool, TikTok is now a promising PPC advertising channel for businesses. If you’re an advertiser seeking fresh ways to reach new audiences through paid advertising, this exciting update is worth exploring.
Local service ads make ranking change
You’d think that for time-sensitive or location-based searches, proximity is a big factor in ad rank/ranking Local Service Ads (LSA). But recently, Google changed its tune. In a surprising move, Google decided to take it out of the ranking criteria.
Over time, they’ve learned that proximity isn’t necessarily a crucial factor for serving LSA campaigns. However, it continues to be part of their policies, along with location targeting, which they still see as vital to the overall search experience.
What does this mean for advertisers' PPC strategy? Well, this update means that PPC ads of businesses with stronger credibility and service quality will be rewarded with more visibility than those that are simply nearby. Meanwhile, when users are searching for service providers, they will have more options to choose from based on quality and expertise, not just proximity.
Auto-pause on underperforming keywords
Advertisers often juggle too many keywords for multiple pay per click advertising campaigns and, in doing so, may overlook ones that are just not converting. Google is aiming to fix this by helping advertisers focus on high-performing keywords with this auto-pause update within Google Ads.
Rolled out in June 2024, Google can now auto-pause low-activity campaign keywords that haven’t generated significant impressions for a year. Some advertisers prefer to keep low-performing keywords to meet specific digital marketing goals, so they can still manually reactivate them. However, if those keywords don’t gain impressions within three months, they’ll be paused again.
This is the perfect opportunity for advertisers to reassess their keyword strategies and make sure their PPC campaign isn't negatively affected by this Google Ads update. It also calls for them to be more intentional and strategic with keyword choices for their next and existing Google Ads campaigns.
Google removes eCPC bidding
If you’re thinking about setting up new campaigns with the Enhanced Cost-Per-Click (eCPC) bidding strategy, you’ll need to rethink that approach. Starting in October 2024, Google will no longer offer this bidding strategy for new Search and Display Ads campaigns. Existing campaigns running on eCPC will be transitioned to Manual CPC bidding by March 2025.
This marks the end of Google’s earliest smart bidding strategy as it moves towards more advanced machine-learning-based options. Google is steering advertisers toward more sophisticated strategies like Maximize Conversions, Maximize Conversion Value, and Maximize Clicks, which deliver better results.
Google knows there are limitations to the eCPC bidding strategy and is pushing advertisers to go for auto-bidding options to improve their PPC campaign performance. That said, Manual CPC will still be available for those who prefer more granular control over their PPC ad campaigns. As these changes roll out, advertisers will need to carefully assess their ad campaign goals and smart bidding strategies to adjust to this major update.
Virtual product try-ons via ads
Augmented reality (AR) filters that you see on social media are now part of Google Ads, thanks to their launch of AR Beauty Ads. This feature now allows advertisers to create PPC ads that users can virtually try on beauty products like lipstick, eye makeup, foundation, and hair color, creating an immersive shopping experience.
This comes after Google noticed that AR interactions on websites often lead to higher purchase rates. By bringing this technology to paid advertising, Google aims to capture more potential buyers and guide them through the purchasing journey through these highly interactive shopping ads.
Major beauty brands like L’Oreal, Fenty, and MAC Cosmetics are already using this new ad placement format, making it a must-try for advertisers. Google is also working with data partners to offer even more customization for these AR-powered paid ad campaigns and hopefully expand to other industries.
Performance max gets new features
Advertisers can now enjoy greater control over their Performance Max campaigns with the rollout of a host of new updates, particularly in Insights reporting.
The way they view insights is revamped, allowing them to compile their analyses and findings in one singular view instead of juggling multiple reports. There are also improved customization options for column views and visualizations.
Plus, they can now analyze the performance of each individual asset (e.g., ad copy, image, description, sitelink) with new conversion metrics, highlighting how each visual element impacts conversions. This update also helps them identify asset groups that aren’t performing well and optimize them with suggestions.
On top of that, there's a fresh integration with Typeface, a creative platform that allows advertisers to seamlessly use its assets for their campaigns, streamlining the creative process. They can also tap into AI-driven image editing tools, like object removal and replacing elements within images.
Catch up on the latest PPC advertising and digital marketing updates by visiting our blog page.