Almost all awesome buying journeys begin with an online search. Consumers search the web using their smartphones to find nearby stores or to check out their favorite products or services. It’s also common for people to locate special deals and offers and read reviews online before deciding which product to buy.
The latest stats reveal that around 51% of shoppers prefer to use Google when looking for a product they want to buy online. It’s impossible to ignore that search engine marketing has greatly influenced consumers. According to Statista, 65% of search traffic comes from eCommerce sites, 33% is from organic searches and 32% from paid searches.
New and interesting consumer attitudes have emerged due to effects of the pandemic. Trends like increased buying consciousness, support for local businesses, and use of digital commerce are likely to continue post-pandemic.
Marketers also predict this year’s top search engine marketing trends will still matter next year. Let’s take a closer look at these SEM trends and how they will take your business to the next level in 2022.
Top 4 SEM Trends That Will Continue Next Year
Search engine marketing techniques involve far more than just using paid search strategies. Promoting visibility through paid searches, contextual marketing, and use of organic searches are all part of every successful marketing plan.
According to Digital Authority Partners, it’s easy to confuse SEM with SEO. SEO is short for search engine optimization. SEO is a collection of techniques that aim to place a website on the first page of Google search results. Search Engine Management tactics are where you pay to be placed in search engine results. Get to know the following search engine marketing trends that will continue up to next year.
1. Paid Advertising – Amazon
SEM platforms focus mostly on Google and Bing but lately, consumers are depending more on Amazon. Amazon is an eCommerce retail site with almost every kind of product imaginable. Consumers use the Amazon search feature just as they would regular search engines to find the product they want to buy.
Because of this, Amazon grabbed the chance and ventured into paid advertising offerings. Usually, users have completed research about a purchase in Google or Bing. They can also do this from various social media sites before finalizing the sale on the shopping site.
Similar to placing products along the checkout aisle, Amazon’s paid ads are strategically placed at the time of purchase. This allows consumers to change their minds at the last minute.
Amazon’s paid ads can also be used to enhance conversions as the site’s customers are already very qualified or ready to make a purchase. You’ll get a good return on spending because consumers are more likely to convert.
2. Responsive Search Ads
Google launched Responsive Search Ads in 2019. It is a new ad design that gives you more headlines and longer product descriptions. Responsive Search Ads are a part of Google’s machine learning models that perform ad creative optimization. Marketers can increase conversion with different headline combinations plus descriptions for automatic testing.
Responsive Search Ads give marketers a chance to produce the best ad copy for reaching the target audience through automation. You can use as many as 15 headlines and up to 4 descriptions and sync copies with keywords.
You’ll get larger ad space compared to regular ads and this large space enhances machine learning algorithms to produce more copies. You can choose one that works best for your campaign. Marketers get the best out of Google’s machine learning and A.I. algorithms as these find the best match ad copy. These also help enhance ROI and improve searcher’s user experience.
3. Cookie-Free Future
Cookies track users’ activity in websites that they visit. Ads use cookies to provide consumers with the best content. Websites use cookies to create a more personal and more convenient experience for consumers. But, not all cookies are safe. Some can track your web activity without consent. Having cookies like these on your site can damage consumer trust.
Companies like Apple and Google are committed to blocking these types of cookies to protect their customers’ online privacy. This move is a huge change from traditional SEM and will continue to pave the way for more advancements in a cookie-free future.
Starting January 2022, Google will remove third-party cookies from Chrome. This will affect how remarketing ad campaigns work. This type of marketing strategy targets consumers for something that they checked out online. An example of remarketing can be seen when you search for a specific product like plus-sized women’s clothing online. You will get an ad about the same product when you visit different unrelated websites.
The ban on cookies will also force marketers to find other ways to position their ads. But not all hope is lost. Google still has plans to help marketers through their Privacy Sandbox feature. This initiative allows users to choose the information they are willing to share about themselves. Consumers may choose to opt-in with retargeting as this can help them remember the specific product they wish to buy online.
4. More Automation
Even someone new to online marketing can engage in SEM since most campaigns will become more automated. It is expected that automation of various marketing processes and campaigns will grow in the future.
Automation also has impressive positive effects. It can enhance efficiency and increase return on ad spend (ROA) and return on investment (ROI) simply by feeding the system the best data to get the most sophisticated results.
Taking advantage of Google’s Responsive Search Ads automates marketing. You’ll also enjoy all the benefits without investing too much time and effort.
Final Words
Like most online marketing strategies, search engine marketing is evolving. New consumer trends in using the web as well as increasing privacy concerns have led to better and more efficient SEM tactics.
The foundations of search engine marketing are mostly the same. But, updated technologies will change the way expert marketers use SEM in creating different ad copies.
To create better SEM campaigns, marketers need to focus on a customer-centric campaign rather than return-to-ad spending. Increasing customer satisfaction is more important because it boosts loyalty. Satisfied customers tend to buy more or use your services more than first-time users.
SEM may seem confusing, especially for first-time marketers and business owners. But as long as it is used efficiently, SEM can be a powerful tool in any marketing campaign.
