9 Significant PPC Trends to Follow in 2019

Next year, you can expect significant developments in the world of artificial intelligence, audience targeting, and automation, and we predict that voice search will also expand its abilities.

If 2018 was anything to go by, PPC marketing is going to be huge in 2019. Google AdWords continues to expand its features and targeting options, and Amazon is starting to become a major playerF as its search numbers increase.

To help point you in the right direction, we've compiled nine of the most significant trends you need to keep an eye on in 2019.

Trend 1: Remarketing

Remarketing, which is the targeting of customers who have previously visited your website, will be a big focus in 2019 for one simple reason; it offers high click through and conversion rates. Which is one of the main goals, right?

The combination of Facebook’s Click to Message format with the strategy of remarketing will continue to provide a significant return on your marketing dollars.

Trend 2: Cross-channel advertising

Advertising across multiple platforms is becoming more necessary which is why cross-channel and cross-device attribution will be prominent in 2019.

Creating well-coordinated multi-channel campaigns is easier than ever, and businesses will expect more of this from their marketers. Just be aware of the difficulty in reporting, adjusting models based on performance case-by-case will be the key.

The lines between search, social and e-commerce are blurring, so understanding the customer journey to enhance campaign performance and attribution is vital.

Trend 3: Brand Building

ROI is important, but don't lose sight of the need to create demand for a product along with brand loyalty.

In 2019, the world of digital marketing will focus less on profitable clicks, instead segmenting strategies by goals. Tactics are malleable; brand loyalty is a long-term strategy that continues to supply big returns and beat out the competition. Ensure it is not forgotten about.

Trend 4: Less focus on keywords

The keyword may become less critical in 2019 as the attention turns to context and people. Let us be clear, keywords are still relevant, but audience-targeting in the search network is just as crucial.

How audience data is segmented and implemented is vital to your audience targeting strategy, In 2019 you will need a detailed strategy for various audience types and lists to form your paid search strategy.

The more relevant and personalized ad messaging is, the better. To achieve this, you still need to know what types of audiences are searching for your products and services.

Trend 5: Video marketing

Video content via social platforms is a crucial inclusion in your strategies as it is seeing increasing placement on search engine result pages.

The average cost per view on video is $0.02, but even without this spend, YouTube is still a valuable audience target for your search campaigns. Video is quickly becoming the top type of mobile content, and more platforms are encouraging advertisers to get on board. Expect to see more updates like Google’s vertical video ads.

Trend 6: The role of campaign managers

Campaign managers may need to tweak what they do, but their role is crucial. They are now able to conduct machine learning battles to discover which system will get the best results. In the age of machine learning, PPC and campaign managers will need to adapt their skillset.

Leveraging automation and developing new-market analysis and cross-channel strategy skills will assist with the amount of strategizing 2019 will require.

Smart automation is the PPC of the future for things like:

• Bidding
• Ad testing and serving
• Query
• Efficiency of accounts

Trend 7: New ad types

With the rate digital marketing is progressing, we can expect some unknown territory in the world of PPC. Expect new ad types, tools, and reports.

While the unknown is precisely that, we do know that Local Services Ads are on their way. Ads will likely crossover into things like maps and answer boxes as Google continues to keep advertisers on their toes. PPC marketing will continue to be a challenge as the landscape evolves.

Trend 8: Automation

Less of a trend and more of a mainstay, automation is going to continue growing. Google, in particular, are big advocates for automation and will create many more ‘smart’ features in 2019.

This means that successful PPC will leverage automation in place of manual campaign management. When dealing with large scale strategies, machine learning is extremely effective.

It's a very good thing from a time-saving perspective; machines can do the busy work like bid tracking or reporting. In conjunction with this, machine recommendations will likely become more refined (and in turn more accurate) as we progress as well.

Trend 9: The world outside of Google

Diversification of PPC spend will ensure you don't get left out of the race.

2019 will provide even more opportunities to reach potential customers with comprehensive personalization and precision.

Consider the leading platforms and their updates:

• Bing: Soon to release local inventory ads that include product availability
• Facebook: A new instant storefront template format that generates video personalized to users
• Pinterest: The ability to buy directly from a product pin and personalized product recommendations
• Google: Local catalog ads with in-store availability and pricing

PPC Advertising in 2019

So the big winners? Audiences and automation.

There are exciting things on the horizon in the world of PPC, and the landscape will be as erratic as ever, but if you managed to make it through 2018, you should be well equipped to handle the challenge again next year.