Top Google Ads Trends Going Into 2021

PPC is constantly evolving, driven in large by how people are using the internet.

But lately, Google itself appears to be driving the biggest advancements in this space.

More advanced automation options and the rise of artificial intelligence are the biggest changes we see coming to PPC in the coming years.

More Advanced PPC Automation

Pay Per Click advertising has changed dramatically over the last decade.

It wasn’t so long ago it seemed that everything was done manually, from testing headline variations to setting individual keyword budgets.

This certainly offers a lot of control over your campaigns, but it can be painstaking work, especially for big accounts.

PPC management often felt like you’re repeating the same tasks over and over again.

Thankfully, Google’s automation options have gotten better over the years. It was only a matter of time before their machine learning increased the efficiency of technology like Smart Bidding and Dynamic Search Ads.

Automation leads to getting your ads live faster, seeing the results of your efforts faster, and making optimisations to increase your ROI faster. Who wouldn’t want that?

Automation frees up PPC managers and business owners to think more about strategy rather than repeating the same tasks. And we believe that the more data Google has access to as people use these functions, the better they’ll get.

So we expect more automation innovations from Google going forward. From bidding to creative to reporting functions.

The Rise Of Artificial Intelligence

Automating, as we described above, lowers the amount of manual labour needed, making the tasks you were already going to do easier.

Artificial Intelligence takes it a step further by helping make decisions for you.

Google’s ability to do this is thanks to its machine learning that they’ve been implementing for years.

Artificial intelligence can predict things like click-through-rates and the probability of a conversion.

Some people may be reserved to hand over part of the thinking process to Google’s AI, particularly when it comes to strategies around budgets and bidding.

But the long term benefits can’t be ignored. For example, AI can potentially respond much faster to changing market conditions and buyer behaviour than a human can.

Bids can be raised or lowered and creative can be swapped out constantly in the search of higher ROI, once again, freeing up PCC managers and small business owners time to focus on strategy and optimisation.

As the amount of data Google is being fed increases, their machine learning and AI systems will only improve in the years to come.

Video Ads, Video Ads Everywhere

Traditionally, creating videos ads was for companies with big budgets. TV ads are prohibitively expensive for most businesses, especially if you want a prime-time slot.

And running a 30-second commercial during the Superbowl in the US can cost upwards of $5 million according to Business Insider.

But, companies continually forked out these massive amounts of money to get their products in front of as many eyes as possible.

Video ads on the internet have completely turned this model on its head.

Production costs are coming down with newer software, platforms are making it easier than ever to run video ads, and almost everyone has a smartphone in their pocket.

And people love watching videos. 53% of people surveyed by Hubspot say they want to see more video from the brands they love.

Video ads won’t just be something to think about going forward. Video ads on YouTube and the Google Display Network should form a critical part of your overall brand strategy.

More Advanced Audience Targeting

One of the main differences between advertising on Google Ads versus Facebook Ads until recently was the targeting methods used.

Google used to be solely focused on keywords, and then, serving relevant creative to people who searched for those keywords.

Alternatively, Facebook targeting used audiences based on people’s behaviour as a group.

So you could reasonably expect that people with the same behaviour would respond similarly to your ads.

Two different methods, both with their own merits.

But in recent years Google made the leap into audience targeting too. With so much data being collected through YouTube, Gmail, and Google accounts, this has enabled to grow more robust targeting methods based on user behaviour too.

We believe Google audiences will continue to grow in effectiveness over the years to come, and when you mix it with the previously mentioned automation and AI, it could offer a powerful way to target the right audience with your ads at exactly the right time.

Conclusion

A lot of these trends are already underway, but many small businesses we see still shy away from putting their faith in things like automation and artificial intelligence solutions.

While the PPC market is rapidly evolving, its never been more important to know what new advancements are being made in this space.

The faster you can learn and adapt your PPC campaigns to customers changing behaviours, the more competitive you’ll be in your marketplace.

Speak With A Google Ads Expert At Yes Digital Today

Here at Yes Digital, we help create and optimise highly targeted Google Ads campaigns for our clients. If you want to see how Google Ads can help you grow your business, get in touch for a free no-obligation Strategy Session today.

Speak With A Google Ads Expert At Yes Digital Today

Here at Yes Digital, we help create and optimise Google ad campaigns for our clients.

If you want to see how an optimised Google ad campaign can help you bring in a flood of holiday traffic, get in touch for a free no-obligation Strategy Session today.