Which PPC Trends are taking 2024 by Storm?

In the competitive Pay-Per-Click (PPC) industry, it’s important that you stay ahead of the curve. In 2024, there are several PPC trends that you should follow so you don’t fall behind competitors and keep yourself ahead of the crowd.

So, which PPC trends should you keep an eye on? 

If you work in the PPC industry – either in-house or agency – or you’re trying to learn more about it, continue reading to stay ahead of the pay-per-click curve.

The key PPC trends to keep an eye on

Whatever industry you work in, you must stay up-to-date with trends and changes or you’ll fall behind your competitors.

Fortunately, at Paramount Digital, we’re experts in PPC and love to stay in tune with industry trends. For that reason, here’s what we believe are the key trends you should be paying attention to.

PPC automation and AI

In 2024, PPC automation has emerged as a powerful option to improve the performance of your campaign thanks to Google investing a lot of time into enhancing their automation options.

To make the most of automation, you must make the algorithms work to your benefit by assisting with machine learning. To do this, set accurate and effective conversion tracking, write excellent ad copy, and make sure to identify keywords and target audiences.

PPC automation can save you and your PPC team a lot of time. With hands-on management, you can free up time by allowing the automation AI to deal with things you’d normally do yourself – allowing you to focus your efforts elsewhere.

In terms of artificial intelligence, expect even more for the PPC industry over the next few years. By 2030, AI is expected to have a major impact around the world so implementing it into your campaigns now can help to predict future CTRs and identify bids that will return the most traffic.

Times are changing and anyone unwilling to use AI and automation will fall behind their competition.

Target CPA

As of 2024, manual bidding has become a thing of the past. Smart Bidding – a machine learning-controlled automated bidding system – is much more powerful, especially when optimising conversions and conversion values in auctions.

One example of Smart Bidding is Target Cost-Per-Acquisition (CPA), which is an automated bidding strategy that works to achieve as many conversions or customer actions as possible.

When selecting Target CPA, you set your desired average cost per conversion. Google Ads then uses your Target CPA to bid based on the likelihood of the ad to convert. Essentially, if you know how much a conversion is worth, you can set that as the CPA target.

Emergence of Amazon

While it’s true that Facebook and Google lead the way in paid advertising platforms, Amazon is quickly closing the gap.

They’re the fastest-growing advertiser and now rank third behind Google and Facebook, making them a viable option for PPC campaigns. Amazon ads are displayed both on and off the website, helping to dramatically increase popularity with online retailers.

Another major reason for their sudden growth is buyer intent, which is a huge advantage they hold over Google and Facebook. While numbers 1 and 2 in the industry give access to huge audiences, users aren’t necessarily using Google and Facebook to buy something; on Amazon, their main intent is to purchase a product.

Social media PPC growth

It’s safe to say that social media is not going away anytime soon. If you’re ignoring paid social media campaigns, put simply you’re missing out.

Whether it’s TikTok, Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, LinkedIn, or Pinterest, most people are using social media daily – and many young people use all of these.

PPC marketing experts will be putting a lot more focus on social media platforms throughout 2024, so make sure you also cash in on this trend. While Facebook and Google are still the best options for paid advertising, you should look further afield. Take TikTok, for example. They have a bustling online store that’s used by thousands of people every day. It’s a market that’s sitting there ready to be targeted.

Specific platform metrics for success

Another key feature to track throughout 2024 is key platform metrics, such as conversion rate optimisation (CRO) and average order value (AOV).

To efficiently measure the success of your PPC campaign, it’s essential to include conversion rate in your search metrics. The conversion rate indicates how often a click on your ad results in a lead, sale, or email subscriber. The higher your conversion rate, the higher your ad’s performance and potential sales for your business.

Average order value is also an important metric to include. This metric measures the average amount a customer spends in a single transaction through your ad. It reflects what customers are willing to spend when they see a specific product or service, proving the effectiveness of your ad campaign.

Video advertising

In terms of mobile content, video is market-leading. Search engine experts who lack video experience will fall behind those who know how to market video content.

Video advertising is fantastic for increasing reach at a low cost. Plus, with Google’s latest marketing tool, you can transform videos under 90 seconds into bumper ads that are ready to be displayed on YouTube, drastically increasing your reach.

Voice search

Personal assistants like Alexa, Google, Cortana, and Siri are, seemingly, everywhere now. Whether it’s via an at-home speaker or through your smartphone, it’s easier than ever to ask a device to search for a product or service.

Also, for people living with disabilities, voice search is a major asset. For many individuals, typing on a keyboard can be difficult so the ability to speak into their smart device to search for something they need is a fantastic option. These markets may be missed if you do not focus on voice search.

While paid voice search advertising hasn’t yet become mainstream, the possibility is certainly growing.

To prepare for its imminent arrival, adopt a more conversational tone on your website, and use long-tail keywords on FAQ pages. When voice searching, people tend to speak a lot more naturally so this will improve the chances of higher traffic.

Visual searching

Despite being available since 2011, Google’s visual search has only risen to prominence in the past 12 months. With better technology, it’s now easier than ever before to use the camera of your smartphone or highlight a portion of an image to search online and find what you’re looking for.

Whether that’s a pair of sunglasses seen in a picture or using the camera to find a physical product cheaper elsewhere, smartphone users are taking advantage of this new function a lot more.

Stay ahead of this growing trend by creating a photo catalogue of your products and services. Use metadata on the images to ensure they’re categorised correctly in search engines.

Speak to PPC experts at Paramount Digital

If your business needs PPC experts to adopt the latest trends and increase your leads and conversions, Paramount Digital can help you.

We boast a team of PPC specialists who stay up-to-date with trends and changes in the industry, constantly using their skills to tweak ad campaigns to transform results.

With us, you don’t need to break the bank to notice the benefits of PPC advertising. We have experience of managing budgets from £10 to £10,000 per day – just set us a budget and we’ll do the rest.

So, are you keen on achieving immediate results without wasting time and money? Speak to Paramount Digital today and we’ll set your business on the road to success with our unrivalled PPC expertise.