It’s always been important to stay ahead of the curve with PPC trends, but never more so than in 2022 when change comes swiftly and the future is changeable. To help you out we’ve delivered a guide to the top 5 PPC trends you need to know for the upcoming year and the things you should focus on to achieve successful marketing campaigns. Let’s take a look…

No. 1 – Automation

Automation is at the forefront of PPC trends and that will continue in 2022. Playing a key role in helping marketers make informed decisions based on data; the planning, execution, and analysis of scalable, data-driven campaigns across multiple channels and platforms will require adequate processes and tools to succeed. Start the year by diving into identifying audiences and creating a variety of content with differentiated ads. It’s time to invest in smarter technology to help you gain an advantage over your competitors and embrace automation for paid search and social.

No. 2 – Conversion Tracking

To improve the performance of campaigns through better optimisation, embracing offline conversion tracking is the key. Especially as there is set to be added emphasis on the Facebook Conversions APIs and Google’s Offline Conversion Tracking. Marketers will need to be creative when looking for ways to maintain tracking quality in a pixel-less environment.

No. 3 – Keep Testing

As the end of expanded text ads approaches, we have one important suggestion: TEST! And don’t stop for as long as you can test ETAs. Another tip? Add in additional variations for later testing, once they can no longer be created. Test different messages and pin various parts of the ad. The shift to ad creative automation is arguably the most impactful trend we will see in paid search this year. It will impact the tactical and technical aspects of campaign management as well as paid search and digital marketing strategy of any omnichannel marketer.

No. 4 – Audience Targeting & Segmentation

Audience characteristics will prove to be even more important to capture and target audiences, rather than the use of keywords. This comes with the announcement of how Broad and Phrase match keywords are being categorised. Ensure your marketing starts when your target users are online, not just when they are searching. In summary: fewer keywords, more audience, better intention.

No. 5 – Be Prepared. Stay Ready.

Take a fresh approach when focussing on the fundamentals and be ready for anything in this continued period of uncertainty. Being ready for change is one thing but being open to anything is another. 2022 will likely be another year where advertisers will need to be ready to take full advantage of all the flexibility search marketing has to offer. The trick could lie in having a campaign structure that is flexible enough to support changing track when business data warrants it. Automation can help things run smoothly through times of unrest.