Major trends
Google Ads expert Felix Wenzel shares his predictions for the SEM market in 2019
Content courtesy of AdPoint: Written on January 23, 2019 at 7:30 a.m
Over the past 10 years, SEM has been a marketing tool that has turned things around. But to this day, a simple ad isn’t enough to drive traffic to your website. Online search has become incredibly complex, and it is difficult for a layman to create a successful advertisement.
Felix Wenzel, Resident Expert and Managing Director of agency AdPoint (Google Premier Partner), was asked how to create a successful SEM campaign in the new year. He was responsible for the Google DigitalGarage in Hamburg, Germany in 2018 on several occasions and outlined some of the key opportunities and challenges for Google Ads in 2019 during a packed training session.
Smart Features – Adds complexity but brings advantages
The update of Google AdWords to Google Ads will include a number of new features, including more automated and smart options, such as “Smart Campaigns”. Google Marketing Platform will incorporate some new and updated tools.
These updates have a lot of potential, but they can also have both positive and negative effects on users. New features can be great for professionals, but they can be confusing for newcomers.
Collaboration leads to better outcomes
One of the shifts after the update is that Google Ads is no longer fully automated. Experts who are familiar with the platform will be able to take advantage of the new features and gain an advantage in manually creating and automating ads.
Now, in order to create an advertising campaign with real results, you must first have considerable knowledge and experience with Google; The complexities that come with Google Ads will force market players to resort to specialized Google Ads agencies.
The increase in advertising costs has increased
It is estimated that advertising products account for 95% of Google’s billions in sales (which are expected to reach 100 billion in 2019). If Alphabet has record-breaking advertising revenues, it could mean that more and more companies are advertising, or it could mean that the company’s advertising spend is at an all-time high. If this is the case, the battle for keyword rankings and price will also intensify.
The storm is bound to have an economic impact. Five years ago, if you had a budget of 1,000 euros and spent one or two hours a month preparing an advertisement, you would have paid off several times more in terms of time and money. It was easy to make money in search back then, but by 2019, the industry had become crowded with advertisers vying for a favorable position. Without a lot of money, it’s hard to succeed in Google Ads.
A new all-time high for CPC
Increased competition, combined with improved ad quality, will ultimately lead to an increase in cost-per-click (CPC). Even if you keep an eye on the CPC for specific keywords, the cost of some of these words has more than tripled in the past four years.
Many ranking indices (60% of CPC x searches x click-through rate) have risen more than sevenfold. For Google AdWords agencies, CPC has more than tripled.
There is a growing emphasis on quality
Quality is one of the reasons why I love digital marketing. In 2019, this is even more important. Google offers a wealth of incentives for high-quality campaigns, which is reflected in higher ad positions and lower CPCs.
Keywords are changing as voice search becomes more common
Voice search has been around for several years. Although it cannot be described as “new”, only large companies (Amazon, Google, Apple and PayPal) are investing in voice search.
More and more internet users are getting tired of typing their searches on Google websites or apps and turning to software such as Siri or OK Google for voice queries. This trend can make a huge difference in keywords, as queries made in sentences will contain more words.
Many of the partners and experts we work with around the world have long believed that the future of Google Ads will include context in addition to keywords.
Sticks: It’s worth investing heavily in longer keywords and providing answers to questions in your ads. Advertising doesn’t have to be concise.
User signals are becoming more and more important
User signals not only affect Google’s rankings, but also increasingly Google Ads campaigns. In this case, the user’s interaction with the ad is key to determining the Quality Score. These are signals that originate from the user’s activity on the website and are a scoring tool for Google Ads.
Sticks: For example, if a potential customer clicks on a link to your website and then leaves immediately because they can’t find what they’re looking for, their actions can negatively impact your rankings. This is important if you’re doing SEM.
The target group must be clearly defined
Unclear target groups run the risk that online users may quickly click on your ad and then become uninterested in your product. For you, this will not only waste your ad spend, but will also cause your Google Ads rankings to drop. To increase your chances of success, you need to do your best to conduct market research and try to narrow down your target group.
Ad text expansion makes a difference
Recently, Google Ads has started to allow users to add “Description 2” and “Title 3”. As a result, your ads will not only convey richer messages, but will also have more unique designs.
It remains to be seen whether these extensions will work, but it presents a rare opportunity. In marketing, every word counts, and with Google Ads gaining traction, 120 extra words (30 for headlines and 90 for descriptions) can make a huge difference.
Remarketing that keeps customers coming back
When a potential customer clicks on your ad, we can assume that they are interested in your product. However, customers may decide not to buy for a number of reasons. Workaround: Google Ads remarketing.
Flexibly designed Google Ads will remind potential customers of your products and, over time, convince them to buy, thereby expanding your customer base and sales.
Leverage an online-to-offline strategy to win customers
Google Ads’ native campaigns are attracting the attention of advertisers because of their success. Many potential customers look for all possible purchase channels when purchasing a product of their choice. The option to shop online is just the beginning of the whole search.
Many people visit physical stores after completing their online research, turning online transactions into offline transactions. Google spotted the trend and figured out ways for advertisers to make money — Google Ads now displays a list of items in your store, so customers know what’s in stock and encourage them to make a purchase.
Google Ads trends in 2019
What is already complex will become even more complex. With a large number of digital marketing methods, the likelihood of failure is also greatly increased. Businesses that renew themselves or hire regular agencies to manage and run their advertising campaigns are likely to waste a lot of time and even money. Professionals who can create successful Google Ads campaigns in a short period of time will be well worth the investment for merchants.
Because of this, the digital marketing industry (or more accurately, GoogleAds) will become increasingly specialized. True success depends on real experts.
So, why not take the opportunity to switch agencies? Only after a direct comparison can the most ideal agent be found. A professional agency will help you discover the power of Google Ads advertising. Our advice for 2019 is: talk to the experts!
