Introduction
With pay-per-click (PPC) advertising remaining one of the leading marketing tools, understanding the tool and where it is going is key to ensuring your business’s marketing strategy stays effective. As 2023 comes to a close, it is time to start thinking about the trends that will emerge in the next year and the way in which PPC will continue to dominate marketing strategies.
So what are the trends set to gain traction in 2024? From the increasingly popular AI to the possibility of Ad-free social media, the landscape around PPCs is continuing to evolve, so understanding it is key to using it effectively
AI and automation
Discussions around AI have continued to dominate the online and offline world in 2023, and they aren’t set to subside anytime soon. With many in the world of marketing already experimenting with AI, its place within our work remains to be seen.
Used properly AI could be a powerful ally in targeting the right people with PPC ads. With its ability to understand audience preferences and patterns, it could help those in digital marketing to use PPC in the most effective way, delivering results and saving costs. AI has the ability to streamline campaigns, optimise audience, and create compelling AD content overall improving targeting and increasing the efficiency of your PPC ads.
Great emphasis on video-led advertising
In the last year, we have seen video advertising dominate. With estimates suggesting that the average viewer watches 17 hours worth of content online every week in 2023, video-led advertising is sure to continue its growth in 2024.
Brands increasingly are turning to the video form using reels on Instagram and TikTok to promote their businesses and the quality of the advertising is only improving. Keeping up to date with trends on social media, is often a quick and cheap way to attract more customers to your brand but video advertising can be a great way to demonstrate products, show off customer testimonials or simply raise brand awareness. They have grown in prominence throughout 2023 and are sure to become essential in 2024.
Voice search optimisation
We have touched on the continued growth of established advertising channels but it is likely that new ways to advertise will grow in prominence in 2024. As voice assistants become commonplace in the home, and customers turn to their smart speakers to search the internet for them, making sure that your website or product is easily found is key. You might think that a voice search is the same as a text search but when we talk to our devices, the way we word things changes, and our searches closely match how we speak in real life. This means that for those in charge of SEO, making sure that their business is easily found through voice search will become increasingly important in 2024. Voice search optimisation should address common verbal queries within your content so that voice search technologies and other virtual assistants can find and share your content
Adapting to greater data privacy regulations
In a world that is increasingly online, data privacy is key, especially for advertisers. This doesn’t just mean complying with laws and regulations but being respectful of your customers and audience’s space online.
Balancing this fine line between creating targeted and effective content and being too involved is difficult, so establishing a privacy-first approach is the best way to approach this. Putting your audience’s privacy as the first priority, by taking approaches like anonymising data will make sure that you are creating successful PPC campaigns.
Social commerce and shopping online
Ask anyone who regularly uses TikTok and they will have come across TikTok shop. The social platform isn’t just about scrolling through videos anymore, the platform itself now has a shop- a key example of social commerce integration.
Online shopping doesn’t just mean looking on your favourite site’s website anymore or typing into a search engine something you saw on Instagram. Social media platforms have integrated a way to buy the product you are being shown without leaving the app, keeping you using their platform once your purchase is made. Making use of shoppable posts and integrated links is sure to rise in prominence throughout 2024, changing PPC advertising and feeding the increase in online shopping.
Ad-free social media
From Meta to Tiktok and X/Twitter, proposals for ad-free scrolling in exchange for a monthly subscription are being floated. In exchange for a monthly fee, users may be able to enjoy unlimited scrolling without the interruption of ads.
Reports suggest that these experiments in ad-free social media, at least in Meta’s case may be in reaction to changing EU digital privacy regulations and the restricted ability for platforms to obtain and use customer data. It means that ads could be less targeted to each user and provide the platform with less data on their customers.
Clearly as a result this may entice fewer businesses to advertise on the platform, and the loss of revenue would be made up in a subscription instead. But in economically difficult times, this could become a point of tension. Only the year ahead will show which direction this is going to take, but it is certainly a story to keep your eye on.
Data in exchange for goods
On the other end of the ad scale, we could see a rise in data being given in exchange for goods. Start up, Telly, plans to make TV’s available to people at a total cost of £0, with one catch. Every 55-inch 4K panel comes with a smaller rectangular screen just below with a stock ticker or a menu bar. The plan is that while you watch a film or binge a show, the smaller screen will display adverts.
The idea is that instead of parting with cash for a TV, you share data about yourself and watch ads. For those who can’t afford a new TV, this could be a viable alternative in times to come, for those comfortable enough to share their data in exchange for a 55-inch TV.
Conclusion
As technology continues to evolve and new commerce platforms develop then so will the way businesses have to approach advertising. The place of PPC advertising will also have to adapt. Knowing and being aware of these changes will be key for marketers to meet the constantly changing habits of the consumer.
Privacy and the role of data are clearly going to be one of the driving forces for shifting habits in the world of PPC in 2024. Staying ahead of the trends in the coming year means that businesses can make the most of the opportunities as they present themselves. AI and voice search optimisation aren’t just trends to dismiss, they are sure to influence the figure of marketing.