From privacy legislation to campaign consolidation, the industry is evolving at an accelerated pace. To stay ahead of the game, marketers must stay up-to-date on the latest changes and their underlying reasons.
Learn how to adapt your strategies to succeed in this fast-paced landscape.
1. Privacy Legislation
Recent privacy legislation and technological developments have sparked changes in the way personal data is handled and tracked online.
The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) now gives EU citizens greater control over their personal data, with non-compliant organizations facing significant fines.
The App Tracking Transparency (ATT) feature on iOS14 allows users to opt out of being tracked by apps, reducing the effectiveness of targeted advertising. The California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA), which comes into effect in July 2023, also has the power to investigate and prosecute violations and impose heavy fines.
Furthermore, Google’s announcement to phase out third-party cookies by 2024 will impact online advertising, as these cookies are crucial for targeting ads. With these changes, it is evident that the landscape of digital advertising is undergoing a significant shift toward greater privacy protection.
Performance measurement and audience targeting are integral to successful digital marketing. However, advancements in digital privacy have compelled leading ad-serving platforms, like Google, Microsoft, and Facebook, to adopt novel targeting and measurement approaches.
To keep pace with these developments, it’s advisable to engage with a reputable Google Ads agency to help your company stay marketers must also update their strategies to remain competitive.
2. Google Ads Campaign Consolidation
One crucial aspect of campaign consolidation in Google Ads is data-driven attribution. Google’s ad-serving algorithm has mastered user intent on its search product.
For effective optimization across Google properties, the algorithm must understand how ads perform across channels in the Google ad ecosystem. The introduction of Smart Shopping campaigns on Google and Microsoft opened the door for further consolidation.
With Smart Shopping campaigns, advertisers could automatically display their product ads across Google’s search network, YouTube, Display Network, and Gmail, using machine learning to optimize bids and placements.
Currently, Performance Max (PMax) is the pinnacle of campaign consolidation. Advertisers can access new inventory, ad formats, and audiences across all Google channels, including YouTube, Search, Gmail, Shopping, and Discovery.
Dynamic Search Ads (DSA) will soon be integrated into PMax, but Google has not yet announced a specific date for the migration.
By consolidating campaigns with data-driven attribution and using PMax, advertisers can maximize their ROI and reach a wider range of audiences across all Google channels.
3. Machine learning and marketing automation
Recent advancements in machine learning algorithms have coincided with an increase in signal loss due to privacy legislation. As a result, advertising giants like Google, Facebook, and Microsoft are revamping their ad platforms to leverage the power of automation and artificial intelligence.
Google has always been forward-thinking, anticipating marketers’ needs for cross-campaign attribution support and the ever-increasing privacy restrictions on data. Now, with automation and consolidation, their predictions have become reality.
In September 2021, Google Ads rolled out data-driven attribution (DDA), a machine learning model that uses historical account data to determine customer interactions with ads. It’s a game-changer for campaign performance, offering a more precise view of ads’ contribution to conversions. Engage in smarter ad campaigns with DDA.
Bid algorithms have been around in paid search advertising for a while now. Google introduced Smart Bidding with target CPA bidding back in 2013, and dynamic bidding values like revenue and ROAS were added in 2017. Initially, many advertisers were hesitant to use these features because they didn’t want to relinquish control of bidding to the platforms, but over time, Smart Bidding algorithms have improved significantly and have become the preferred method of bid management.
Bid algorithms have been around in paid search advertising for a while now. Google introduced Smart Bidding with target CPA bidding back in 2013, and dynamic bidding values like revenue and ROAS were added in 2017. Initially, many advertisers were hesitant to use these features because they didn’t want to relinquish control of bidding to the platforms, but over time, Smart Bidding algorithms have improved significantly and have become the preferred method of bid management.
These changes are a direct result of machine learning advancements within Google Ads and Microsoft Ads, and advertisers will need to adapt in order to stay ahead.
Final thoughts
The years ahead will be an exciting ride as we experience rapid advancements in artificial intelligence, automation, and machine learning.
These changes will be accompanied by stricter privacy legislation, and it is essential to stay ahead of the curve. Prepare yourself for the ride ahead.
