Predictions & Trends for 2017

Our 6 PPC Predictions & Trends for 2017

A start to 2017 would be nothing without trying to foresee into the future of digital marketing. To know what the future holds, we need to consider PPC trends and base our predictions on features that have been emerging in the past few years. And now with more businesses turning to PPC as a way of generating sales. PPC has become a powerful source in this world of ever changing technology. So what can we hope to see in this new year?

Personalized Targeting

For the last few years, there has been a rise of audience targeting features and now in 2017 we may finally see marketers take advantage. We expect to see a rise in personalized ads with audience targeting options being integrated directly into Adwords and other advertising platforms. Ads will be increasingly targeted by devices, age and behavioural signals with an emphasis on demographic and interest-based targeting options.

In 2017, Marketers will have to give audience targeting just as much importance as keyword targeting. Keyword, location and audience will all play critical roles in a strong PPC marketing strategy.

The overall purpose of personalized targeting for ads will be to build relationships before customers buy. This transformation will be reflective of the growth of sequential advertising – finding potential customers in to the top of the funnel and channeling them through to the purchase stage. It will help marketers focus on a strategy that is not just dependent on the last-click attribution strategy, but investing in all areas of the sales funnel. In creating an end-to-end paid search strategy, marketers are realizing the importance of building loyalty and trust for consumer retention.

How to Respond
If you're not already using audience targeting, this year is the time to start
Use social media platform data, search query data, and demographic data together to improve your strategy
Focus your paid search strategy on the entire sales cycle, not just the buying phase
what's next in ppc for 2017

PPC taking up more space?

In 2016, we saw typography and styling shifts that make Google search ads blend in with organic results as organic results get pushed further down in the page. We also saw the removal of right hand side ads, the addition of a 4th ad before the organic results and the release of Extended Text Ads (ETAs). Moving into 2017, we are likely to see ads taking up even more space on the search engine results page (SERPs). Using ETAs and ad extensions continues to be non-negotiable, allowing paid search ads to take up as much real estate as possible in the SERPs. In the coming year, there are predictions that Google may be adding more types of ad extensions. Google has used unique attributes in ad extensions over the years as a means to use space in the search results more effectively and we don't see this slowing down in the future.

We're also seeing growth in the types of ads outside of display and text, especially in product listing ads and video ads. The good news for e-commerce marketers is that the increased popularity of shopping advertising means product listing ads will continue to hold more value and space in the SERPs and display more product information. Video ads continue to be on the rise with user engagement increasing when we add visuals to our content. Video advertising also has the advantage of being more affordable than search ads. With search ads getting more and more expensive each year, we expect the price point of video to help shift advertisers in this direction.

How to Respond
Make sure you're using Extended Text Ads and all relevant Ad Extensions
Watch for new Ad Extensions and other ad feature releases
Take advantage of shopping ads and video ads

Once Again... Voice Search

We've talked about voice search in previous years and how it will continue to rise and take over users physically having to type in what they are searching for, and 2017 is no exception. With increased accuracy rates on mobile assistants and the growth of devices like Amazon Echo and Google Home, this could be the year we start to see a major shift. Although we will have to see a tremendous increase of voice search for it to be embedded into an AdWords platform, there is the possibility we may see an integration of voice search in PPC in the near future. This means PPC marketers will be able to pinpoint whether the queries are coming in from voice or typing through analytical data. This information can help us tailor messaging not only to the user and keywords, but to the type of search (audio vs screen). In 2017, the implementation of voice search campaigns may come into effect beginning with shopping and local search campaigns before expanding into other campaigns.

How to Respond
Make your site information is voice search friendly
Watch for voice advertising releases
frogs using google search engine

Are Bing Ads Still a Thing?

Bing continues to grow in the world of digital marketing. Even though it isn't quite up there with Google, Bing has gotten better over the years. In 2017, we will see an increase in the use of Bing ads with the platform adding more ad extensions and audience targeting. Since audience targeting will have a greater emphasis when it comes to paid search, its an ideal time for Bing to be inputting this into their platform. Demographic bidding is now in Bing and Google, therefore incorporating audiences into their marketing strategy and not simply keywords will be a universal trend of 2017. Bing has a unique audience and a lower cost per click on keywords which makes them appealing to PPC marketers. Budgets and CPC will continue to rise in 2017, so it is expected that advertisers will see a shift to Bing ads as even more attractive.

How to Respond
Copy your AdWords campaign over to Bing and start on a small budget
Make use of Bing audience targeting

Continual Reign of Kings

The king of search engines is undoubtedly Google and for social media it's Facebook. In 2017, this reign will continue in digital marketing. Google will grow in audience buying and visual chopping capabilities. Facebook will expand and diversify its revenue stream with the launch of search ads. Therefore, running integrated Google and Facebook campaigns could mean up to 70% higher returns.

What could this mean for other social media platforms? While there will be a tremendous growth in Facebook ad spend, we also expect an expansion of Twitter and LinkedIn in terms of digital advertising. Visual and video content is an essential component to a users' internet experience, therefore visual social platforms such as Instagram, Pinterest, Snapchat and a video social platform like YouTube will need to be adapted into your paid search strategy.

How to Respond
Continue to advertise on Google and Facebook
Look into expanding into other growing platforms that compliment your business
artificial intelligence in 2017

Optimizing with Automation Tools

The rise of automation tools means its time to focus on top level PPC strategy. The use of PPC automation will boost ROI, and save time for us to focus on tasks that require manual work and can't be automated. Paid search marketers can make use of scripts, automated rules and the AI built into personal assistants and computers grow their campaigns in complexity and intelligence. Now we have advanced prediction engines, smart bidding and automated bid management tools that limit over-spending and control a wide variety of campaign metrics. In 2017, tasks will be taken out of our hands and passed over to automation tools.

How to Respond
Find what automation tools and scripts can work for your campaign
Automate PPC tasks and use saved time to focus on manually refining campaigns