Revamp your PPC Strategy in 2024 with Top Trends

With how quickly user behavior and advertising evolve, 2024 is an all-new frontier. Use our guide to pay-per-click (PPC) advertising in 2024 to stay ahead of the competition and maximize hidden opportunities.

AI-Driven Audience Targeting

Many businesses are familiar with how artificial intelligence (AI) is changing content creation and conversational marketing, but its implications for PPC are just as interesting. Regarding PPC, AI can analyze massive amounts of information to craft meaningful insights and make effective decisions – all in just a few seconds.

Here’s how AI can be a part of your PPC strategy this year:

• Targeting: Enhanced audience targeting is one of the best tools for advertisers today. Tools like Shopify Audiences and Google’s Performance Max campaigns use AI-powered algorithms to understand and segment groups of users that display common patterns and behaviors. Using those tools, we can ensure that our ad campaigns reach the most relevant audience possible, enhancing ROI and making conversion easier.
  
  The best part of this PPC trend in 2024 is that you don’t have to understand the ins and outs of AI to make the most of these tools. For example, all you have to do with Google Performance Max is specify your budget and your goals for the campaign (increased traffic, conversions, etc.), and the platform will do the rest.
  
• Personalization: Finding the right audience is only one part of a PPC strategy. AI-powered tools can also assist in delivering the correct type of content to that audience. Since we can broadly understand a segment’s general user behavior and preferences, we can also estimate what content works best for them.
  
  For example, Instagram customizes the headlines and images to suit the target segment. If a user has shown interest in headphones before, an ad for an electronics store will prioritize headphones in the post. Doing this is easy with tools like Performance Max. Marketers just have to upload their media assets, and the algorithm takes care of the rest.
  
• Efficiency: Algorithm-based marketing tools take the repetitive manual tasks out of your PPC strategy. AI-powered tools can determine the most effective ad schedules and simplify bid management through automation, allowing marketers to work on strategy and other avenues.

The upside of this 2024 PPC trend is significant at face value, and if used well, AI-driven audience targeting can reduce costs and time. However, you don’t want to drive your entire campaign through automation. Getting and translating great PPC results to meaningful outcomes requires years of expertise and tested strategies. 

Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) Ads

Apple’s incredibly successful Vision Pro launch is a sign of the times. As AR and VR devices get cheaper in 2024, businesses will have the opportunity to engage audiences more directly than ever through their PPC strategies.

We can already see hints of this in action with Google’s AR ads. Brands can create 3D models of their products and use them as assets in their campaigns. For example, a potential customer could use a 3D model of a bed to visualize how it would look in their room. 

Controlling CPC Inflation

Inflation is a widespread issue creeping into every facet of the economy, and this trend also applies to PPC in 2024. CPC inflated by 17% in 2022, and the surging popularity of advertising platforms and increased competition will likely keep those cost-per-click values high. 

In this environment, controlling your budget will become a top priority for your PPC strategy.

The key to maximizing your budget is to get the most value out of each click instead of chasing shortcuts and cheaper solutions. Tools like Performance Max that support smart bidding can be helpful here, as they are designed to allocate your resources effectively. Marketers should also look at past performance data to understand which advertising channels have worked well. Doing this can help you increase your ROI by reducing ad spending on ineffective channels.

Dominance Through Video Ads

68% of businesses that don’t currently use video ads plan to switch over for their PPC strategy in 2024. This PPC trend for 2024 reflects an increasing awareness that a cross-platform strategy is necessary for success in 2024. Understanding which platforms best suit your brand and how to build a consistent brand identity across those channels is vital here. 

Video ads are some of the highest-performing advertisements regarding engagement and user retention. These ads are non-intrusive, and if you’re making the most of audience targeting, they are shown to people who will be more likely to engage with them.

YouTube Shorts is an excellent example of this and should be a focus for your PPC strategy in 2024. Audiences scrolling through content will see ads that blend seamlessly with organic content, and the comments section allows your business to connect with your audience to answer questions and invite them into the funnel.

The Importance of First-Party Data

Growing privacy legislation worldwide forces companies to revisit how they look at user data. The most significant impacts of this trend affecting PPC in 2024 are the browser and platform-side restrictions on tracking data. These restrictions make it difficult for businesses to use third-party data to understand user behavior.

First-party data offers a way out for your PPC strategy. First-party data comes directly from your consenting customer base and their actions, usually tracked through cookies. You can leverage this first-party data to model user preferences and optimize PPC campaign ads accurately. Brands can also optimize their budget usage by using that data for remarketing lists to target potential customers.

Conversational Advertising

Conversational marketing is about reducing touchpoints and connecting directly with potential customers through dialogue. Key benefits include:

• Authenticity: Customers value authenticity in a digital age. Every conversation is an opportunity to quickly and effectively demonstrate that your brand can be relied on.
  
• Brand Identity: Catchy one-way image ads are great for highlighting businesses, but conversational marketing can be a cut above when building your brand. Adding this tool to a PPC strategy is particularly useful for businesses that are branching out to other platforms and need a way to keep a consistent voice. Duolingo does this well by maintaining a strong presence in the comments sections of Instagram and TikTok.
  
• Quality Conversions: Cutting down on touchpoints and understanding what your customers look for makes conversions easier. LinkedIn’s new Conversation Ads is an excellent example of this PPC trend in 2024. These ads use automated chatbots to engage prospects directly, and the bot can be modified to suit business goals, whether increasing website visits or generating leads.

Sustainable Advertising Practices

The only limit to the perfect PPC strategy is the budget. Make the most of that budget with these tips:

• A/B Testing: Finding the right messaging for your PPC ads takes time. A/B testing can help you understand what type of ads work best for your audience and will cut down on costs later on. You can also use this tool to optimize your sales funnel and maximize the value of each click; this could be anything from finding the perfect page layout to sales copy.
  
• Define Goals: PPC tools allow you to define your goals for every campaign. Defining those goals with a clear strategy will reduce needless spending. Some businesses benefit more from increasing traffic through ads, while others target conversions. Find the right priorities for your business, and move from there.
  
• Bidding: A large budget doesn’t necessarily translate to better results. You’ll want to research the best possible keywords for your goals to make the most of your bids. Previous campaign data can help out here.

Social Commerce Integration

If you’re active on social media, it can be one of the best data sources for your PPC campaigns. Make the most of this PPC trend in 2024 by integrating social commerce with PPC with a cohesive PPC strategy. This can improve brand awareness, enhance audience targeting, and increase ROI. Here are a few examples:

• Lookalike Audiences: Social media platforms offer vast demographic and user data that brands can use to create lookalike audiences for their PPC campaigns. These audiences contain users that are similar to existing customers, increasing the chances of conversion.
  
• Retargeting: Around 91% of marketers say retargeting works just as well, if not better, than display and search ads. This approach works because it takes users who have interacted with the brand on social media and specifically targets them with PPC ads. 

Voice Search Optimization

User search habits shift towards voice search as voice recognition accuracy and speed improve. Understanding these changing preferences can help your PPC strategy find the right audiences. 

Currently, platforms like Adwords don’t specify which items are voice searches in their reports. However, you can still identify voice searches through their phrasing. 

‘Cafe arabica williamsburg’ vs. ‘What’s the best cafe in Williamsburg serving arabica beans?’ 

Voice searches are more conversational and more prolonged than traditional searches. Additionally, they are also more likely to contain long-tail keywords. These keywords are generally less competitive, allowing you to craft ad copy that targets exact matches. 

Build The Perfect PPC Strategy With Coalition

Coming up with the perfect strategy for your business can be challenging, considering how quickly user preferences and PPC trends can evolve in 2024 and beyond. Building a winning strategy is easy when working with an agency with the PPC expertise to turn small businesses into industry leaders. Contact Coalition Technologies today for a free consultation and learn how we can transform your business with PPC.