PPC is constantly evolving. It's been doing so since the beginning of Google AdWords back in 2000 when it first came out. Even more now than ever before! This year has brought a lot of fresh changes to the game, but what do you need to know for the future?
In this blog post, we look at a few strategies and trends on how to stay ahead in SaaS PPC marketing.
1. PPC Automation
PPC automation is a major buzzword these days because it's an effective way to take the load off your team. Automated bidding can help you optimize your budget and save money on clicks by only targeting those keywords with high ROI. You can use automated bid management tools like Bid Optimizer (in Google Ads) to set bids at certain levels so that ads will show during specific times. This tool allows you to adjust bids as needed without needing help from anyone else.
In fact, the global automation market size is expected to grow up to 214 billion by the end of 2021, with the largest segment being marketing automation.
2. Artificial Intelligence
We're living in a world where Artificial Intelligence (AI) is becoming more and more commonplace. By 2030, the economic impact of Artificial Intelligence is expected to reach $15.7 trillion. When it comes to PPC, AI will enable marketers to create highly effective ad campaigns. AI will allow marketers to target specific customers, increase the number of conversions, and optimize bids without having to spend time with a manual bid optimization process.
AI is already being used in PPC for this purpose. In 2018, Google launched their AI-driven ad platform called "Google Ads Select," which was designed specifically for small businesses as they navigate through the complex world of advertising technology. And IBM's Machine Learning solution can be incorporated into your SaaS marketing mix by using it to identify potential leads before you reach out. It uses customer data from past interactions to find new prospects who are similar so that reps have more productive conversations on social media channels like LinkedIn.
We already have quite a number of new and upcoming solutions in the artificial intelligence-based advertising space. Some of the novel players include Skro, Redtrack, and Hyros. All such solutions aim at using Artificial Intelligence to improve attribution, tracking, and optimization of ads.
3. Responsive Ads (RSA)
Responsive Ads are a new type of ad format from Google that has become popular in the last few years. With RSA, marketers can create an interactive experience with their customers through search ads. They're designed to be immersive, so they use "Product Listing Ads" (PLA) style images as well as popup videos!
Google automatically tests different options of images, videos, headlines, and descriptions. It shows prioritizes impressions for the ones that perform well. These ads can also be geo-targeted to local audiences and you can also place demographic (age and gender) and audience (website visitors, YouTube engagers, etc.) filtering to improve the performance further.
4. Ads Data Hub from Google Analytics
As more than 70% of time spent on YouTube is through mobile devices, marketers have been relying on third-party pixels to measure the effectiveness of their YouTube campaigns. However, in 2020 Google announced that they would be providing advertisers with a new platform called "Ads Data Hub."
This system will allow Google to monitor and measure the effectiveness of its ads. It does this by collecting data on impressions, clicks, conversions, and other metrics from third-party providers like Criteo or AdRoll, in addition to YouTube's own analytics tools. This means that marketers will now have more visibility into which channels are driving traffic as well as which campaigns are most profitable.
5. Voice search for PPC campaigns
Voice search is quickly growing into the dominant form of PPC. With voice becoming an ever-present part of our day, it’s inevitable that both how we interact with and what we find online will change dramatically. In 2021 and beyond, Voice Search for PPC campaigns will be a key element in your strategy to generate more leads.
Studies have shown that by 2022 50% of consumers will be using voice shopping while voice commerce sales will reach $40 billion. Therefore, businesses that fail to create PPC campaigns for voice search will be at a tremendous disadvantage. Awareness and action regarding voice search for PPC campaigns are critical now since it’s already becoming more popular with consumers who shop online.
The Bottom Line
For complete success in SaaS PPC marketing, it's important not only to keep up with the latest changes but also to stay ahead of them. By using these tips and strategies, you should have a better chance of succeeding in 2021 and beyond.