Macy is a marketing writer with over five years of experience creating content for dozens of industries including food and beverage, home services, and education. She also specializes in creating SEO and PPC content. Her work has been featured by Search Engine Journal, HubSpot, Entrepreneur, Clutch, and more. In her free time, Macy enjoys trying new crafts and reading comic books.
Did you know that global digital advertising revenue is expected to surpass one trillion dollars by 2027? That means that, in 2024, you’ll want to make sure online advertising is part of your business’s marketing strategy. Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising strategies are great for reaching people online and getting your products and services in front of them to boost revenue.
To maximize your results from your PPC campaigns, check out this list of 19 PPC trends to follow for 2024:
If you want to learn more about these PPC marketing trends, keep reading! But don’t forget to join our email newsletter to get the latest marketing trends sent straight to your inbox!
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PPC trend #1: Using automation for paid ad campaigns
Google continually pushes out ad automation features to make advertising easier on the platform. You can opt to use the features they provide in addition to using an automation tool that helps automate other advertising tasks Google doesn’t.
As for Google, one automation feature they offer is Performance Max. Performance Max is a goal-based campaign type that enables you to access all your ad inventory from a single campaign. This ad type automatically optimizes your performance in real-time through Smart Bidding (we’ll talk about this more next).
Google Ads also replaced Discovery campaigns with Demand Gen campaigns, which use AI to help create campaigns that drive consumers from mid-funnel to purchase.
So, if you want to maximize results from your PPC campaigns in 2024, take advantage of automation.
Expert insights from
Kayla JohansenInternet Marketing Specialist
“The key with any PPC automation is to feed the platform quality data to use as signals, such as offline conversions, and to put the right controls in place.”
-Kayla Johansen, Internet Marketing Specialist
PPC trend #2: Relying on Smart Bidding
Another of the top paid search trends is relying on Smart Bidding. Smart Bidding uses Google AI to optimize for conversions with every auction. It enables you to optimize your bids, so you get the most from your budget and reach your company goals.
Smart Bidding encompasses several strategies, including:
Target cost per action (CPA):Target CPA is an automated bid strategy where you set your desired average cost per conversion or action. Google then uses that target amount to automatically set your bids based on the likelihood of someone converting through your ad.
Target return on ad spend (tROAS): tROAS is a bidding strategy where Google AI analyzes and predicts the value of a potential conversion and automatically adjusts your bid amount to maximize your return.
Maximize conversions: As the name suggests, Maximize conversions uses Google’s AI to set bid amounts that help you earn the most conversions for your budget.
Maximize conversion value: If you use Maximize conversion value as your Smart Bidding strategy, Google will use AI to optimize and set bids to help you get the most value out of conversions.
All these Smart Bidding strategies can help you get more from your budget and maximize your return on investment (ROI).
PPC trend #3: Loosening of keyword match types
One of the most notable pay-per-click trends for 2024 is loosening of keyword match types. So, what does this mean?
Google Ads offers different match types, including:
Broad match: Ads may show on searches related to your keyword.
Phrase match: Ads may show on searches that include the meaning of your keyword.
Exact match: Ads may show in searches with the same meaning as your keyword.
With phrase and exact match, the matching is more precise than using comprehensive matching, which means you appear in fewer searches. But for 2024, that’s changing a little bit.
Google is expanding what qualifies under exact and phrase match keywords to add some broader search terms that are still relevant. That means that phrase and exact match will remain precise in targeting, but will include some broader, but still highly relevant search terms.
Essentially, you have more opportunities for your ads to appear for relevant keywords without compromising the match accuracy.
PPC trend #4: Optimizing landing pages to better match intent
When you look at PPC marketing trends, you’ll find that optimizing landing pages ranks at the top of the list. Having a customized, relevant landing page has always been the best way to go, but for 2024, it’s a must.
More businesses are advertising online each year, which means increased competition for you and options for your audience. They don’t have to settle for businesses that waste their time with irrelevant information.
As a result, you must have optimized landing pages for your ads. Whether you run search ads or social media ads, your landing page needs to provide the best experience to keep your audience from shifting to a competitor instead.
So, how do you create an optimized landing page?
Here are some tips for making optimized landing pages:
Keep your landing page focused: The information on your landing page should match the information in your ad text. It wouldn’t make sense to have an ad about cookware and then a broad landing page for kitchen supplies. Keep your landing pages focused on what you’re advertising.
Make landing pages informative but concise: When trying to sell someone on your product or service, it’s tempting to word-dump all the juicy details about what you offer. But sharing too much can overwhelm your audience, so keep it concise and focus on vital details.
Use visuals: Adding images and videos can help enhance your ads by showing your product in action and making your landing pages more engaging.
Creating a focused and optimized landing page will help boost your conversions through PPC.
PPC trend #5: Evolving search landscape and use of AI
When talking about PPC trends for 2024, we must discuss artificial intelligence. AI is taking the digital world by storm and making its way into different facets of marketing. That means you need to keep tabs on the evolution of AI and see how it changes when searching online.
Recently, Google has been experimenting with its new feature, Search Generative Experience (SGE). This search experience uses AI to generate answers for searchers. It aims to help searchers find the information they need fast.
Since Google is already experimenting with AI, it’s only a matter of time before it becomes part of the search experience. That means you’ll need to be ready to adapt your ad strategy for the evolution of AI in search.
Expert insights from
Kayla JohansenInternet Marketing Specialist
“With the rise of AI-powered search, the ways users are searching and the way search results look faces substantial, potential shifts. A great example is Google’s experiment with SGE. These changes could impact the way ads are shown and the type of searches ads show up for, so you’ll want to watch and have a plan to adapt.”
What you’ll need to do remains to be seen, but be prepared that you might need to adapt your ad strategy for the changing search landscape.
PPC trend #6: Transparent and complete CTV attribution
Next up on this list of PPC marketing trends focuses on CTV attribution. Connected TV ads are one of the most popular ways for businesses to advertise –– you can advertise on streaming platforms like YouTube and Hulu.
One of the biggest problems with CTV in years past is attribution. Businesses struggled to attribute their conversions to specific CTV channels over different devices –– but now, that’s changing.
In 2024, you can expect Google to close the gap on cross-device attribution and deliver more accurate data. They will enhance tracking to help you better understand what CTV campaigns and ads deliver revenue.
PPC trend #7: Using first-party data to power campaigns
Today, more companies are under fire for the way they handle data. Concerns about privacy and data protection have risen exponentially in the past few years, and third-party data usage is becoming a thing of the past.
So, what do you do if you can’t use third-party data? You turn to first-party data!
First-party data is data you collect yourself –– it comes straight from your campaigns and your audience. You can use a tool like MarketingCloudFX to collect your marketing data for you to analyze.
offers your business an excellent advantage –– you get data from people actually interested in what you offer, which means you better understand your audience. As a result, you can adjust your ads to drive more leads and sales for your business.
PPC trend #8: Taking the omnichannel approach
One of the rising PPC marketing trends for 2024 is expanding on the omnichannel approach to advertising.
Many businesses make the mistake of relying on one advertising channel to reach their target audience when advertising on multiple platforms helps expand reach and revenue.
So, for 2024, it’s time to start taking an omnichannel approach to your advertising strategy. That means looking into other platforms aside from Google to take advantage of their unique benefits and expand reach to your target audience.
You can try strategies like:
Social media advertising
Display advertising
Amazon advertising
Bing advertising
We’ll discuss more on some of these strategies below, but you’ll want to check out these different digital advertising strategies to see which tactics best fit your business.
PPC trend #9: Taking advantage of social media advertising
Some top pay-per-click trends for 2024 involve investing in other advertising platforms. First up, let’s talk about social media. Social media advertising is an excellent strategy for reaching people where they spend 33% of their Internet time.
Which platform you use depends upon your target audience and where they spend their time. If you’re trying to reach a younger demographic, for example, TikTok is the place to go. Want to reach working professionals? Try LinkedIn.
With social media platforms rising in popularity, you can’t miss out on all the benefits they offer.
PPC trend #10: Using Amazon for advertising
If you’re selling products on Amazon, you’ll want to give advertising on Amazon a try. With 89% of people more likely to buy from Amazon than any other ecommerce vendor, you want to take advantage of every opportunity to turn browsers into customers.
Using Amazon as an advertising platform is a great way to expand your business’s reach and put your products first for shoppers.
Over 34% of Amazon sellers are already increasing advertising spend on Amazon, so don’t miss your opportunity to sell more through advertising on the platform!
PPC trend #11: Taking advantage of Ads Data Hub
Next up on this list of pay-per-click trends, let’s talk about Ads Data Hub. Ads Data Hub is an excellent tool from Google for helping you meet your business’s goals and drive better results with your ads.
Ads Data Hub enables you to create a custom analysis of your campaigns that aligns with your company’s specific objectives. You can import the first-party data you collected and use it with your event-level ad campaign data.
By combining these two data sets, you gain new insights into your audience and better understand them. You can also improve the efficiency of your advertising campaigns and create more effective campaigns that drive revenue for your company.
PPC trend #12: Using Google AdMob to get more from in-app ads
Many top paid search trends involve using Google’s software to enhance your campaigns. Up next, we’ve got another piece of Google software trending for 2024: Google AdMob.
Google AdMob is a must-use tool for businesses that advertise in apps. This tool can help you optimize your ads in mobile apps to maximize results for your business.
With Google AdMob, you can optimize your bids in real-time to improve your ad performance. It also enables you to choose from multiple ad formats, like banner, video, and interstitial, to deliver the best ad experience for your audience.
This tool also offers robust reporting on your ad performance, so you get deeper insights into your ads and can make improvements to maximize results.
PPC trend #13: Developing a remarketing strategy
When you advertise to your audience, they may not act the first time they see your ads. That doesn’t mean they’re not interested in what you offer. But that also means you need a remarketing strategy to get those leads interested in your business again.
Remarketing involves showing ads to people who previously showed an interest in your business. These ads get your audience to reconsider the products they checked out and get them to convert.
Segment your target audience: Like with a standard PPC campaign, segmenting your audience is crucial. You can group your audiences based on their interests to deliver relevant ads to them.
Schedule your ads at the right time: When you do remarketing, you want to show your ads when your audience is likely to see them. Schedule your ad to appear when your audience is likely to be online.
Cap the frequency of your ads: If you show your remarketed ads too often, they might annoy people. Put a frequency cap on your remarketed ads, and don’t be afraid to change up the ad content to regain interest!
If you want to drive more revenue in 2024, building a remarketing strategy is a must.
PPC trend #14: Integrating PPC and SEO together
Next on this list of PPC marketing trends is integrating PPC and SEO together. When users search on Google, they see paid search results and organic search results. So, it makes sense to optimize these strategies together to maximize your search engine real estate.
So, how can you optimize PPC and SEO together? Here are some tips:
Optimize both strategies for the same keywords: If you want to maximize your search engine real estate, optimize both strategies for the same keywords. It’s a great way to have your ads and organic results appear in the same area.
Combine your data from both strategies: SEO and PPC offer similar data to track, like click-through rate (CTR), conversion rate, and bounce rate. Combining these two data sets can help you better understand your audience and how they engage with your listings in search results.
Optimizing for both strategies enables you to create a cohesive marketing strategy that maximizes results for your business.
PPC trend #15: Using audience targeting to reach the right people
One of the top PPC trends for 2024 is using audience targeting to reach the right people. Audience targeting is a valuable PPC strategy because it helps you put your ads in front of demographics of people who fit your ideal customer profile (ICP).
With audience targeting, you can reach people based on:
Age
Gender
Location
Occupation
Income
And more
Audience targeting is a great solution for 2024 because it helps you reach a more precise audience than keyword targeting does. Keywords are still an excellent option for reaching people who search those terms, but audience targeting offers even more precise targeting.
PPC trend #16: Keeping tabs on click fraud
An important PPC marketing trend to track for 2024 is click fraud. Click fraud is when bots, pretending to be legitimate users, click on ads multiple times with malicious intent.
Sometimes companies will try to use click fraud to sabotage their competitors by using false clicks to waste the competition’s budget, amongst other reasons. As a result, it’s crucial to keep track of your ads to ensure click fraud isn’t happening to you.
Keep in mind that Google has protections in place to help with click fraud, but it’s not perfect. That’s why it’s paramount that you actively monitor your PPC campaigns to ensure fraudulent clicks aren’t happening.
The best thing you can do is learn how to identify irregular traffic and the steps you can take to prevent it. Check out Google’s resources to help protect the validity of your ad traffic.
PPC trend #17: Increasing use of video ads
Want more pay-per-click trends? Here’s another: One of the top trends for 2024 is using more video ads. In today’s world, people’s attention spans are shorter than ever –– the average attention span is 8 seconds.
That indicates that videos are a great way to keep your audience’s attention –– so why not use them for your ads?
You can use PPC video ads on social media, through Google’s Display Network, and more. Here are some tips for creating click-worthy video ads:
Tell your story without sound: A crucial component of successful PPC video ads is telling the story without sound. Many people will watch your video ads without hearing them, so you must ensure your video tells your audience everything they need to know without saying it.
Catch your audience’s attention immediately: Users still have short attention spans, so you need to catch their attention immediately. Make sure your videos are eye-catching or thought-provoking from the first second.
Use a clear call to action (CTA): Once your audience finishes watching your video, you must tell them how to proceed. Use a clear CTA that informs your audience about the next steps.
If you want to try and create more engaging ads, consider using videos to spice it up.
PPC trend #18: Prioritizing Google Shopping ads for selling products
More people turn to search engines every day to help them find the products they need. As a result, Google has adjusted its search results to deliver more relevant listings, like Google Shopping listings. So, one of the top PPC trends for 2024 is investing in Google Shopping ads.
Google Shopping ads appear in search results when users look for specific products. It expedites the shopping process for users because it enables them to shuffle through a carousel of products at the top of search results until they find what they want.
Choose the right product photos: Your product photo is the first thing people see when looking at your Google Shopping Ad. Make sure you follow Google’s Guidelines for the type of photo they want you to use, but also make sure to test different photos to see what works best for your audience.
Make sure the price is right: Your price impacts whether people click on your ads. Make sure that Google grabs the right price for your products, especially if you’re having a sale or marked down an item.
Add product attributes that help you sell more: Adding more details to your product listings can help you close the deal. Consider adding features like color, size, shipping information, and more to generate more buzz around your PPC ads.
By following this PPC marketing trend, you’ll help your business put your products in front of more interested leads and boost revenue for your company.
PPC trend #19: Staying agile
To wrap up this list of paid search trends, let’s talk about agility. The world of PPC advertising continually changes. Platforms like Google optimize their ad process and change it to make the ad experience better for visitors. So, that means you need to keep your strategy agile.
Being agile means you’re willing to adapt your strategy to the latest changes. It involves keeping up to date on PPC news to know if anything is upcoming or changing.
If you want to see long-term success with PPC, you must remain agile and adapt to the changes.
Ready to take advantage of these PPC trends?
If you want to drive better results with PPC in 2024, you need to stay on top of PPC marketing trends to ensure your strategy stays current and effective. But keeping on top of pay-per-click trends is time-consuming –– and it takes even more time to implement them.
That’s why it’s vital to partner with a PPC agency like WebFX. We have a team of 150+ Google Ads Certified team members who know how to run successful PPC campaigns. We’ve already driven $6 billion in revenue for our clients.
Macy is a marketing writer with over five years of experience creating content for dozens of industries including food and beverage, home services, and education. She also specializes in creating SEO and PPC content. Her work has been featured by Search Engine Journal, HubSpot, Entrepreneur, Clutch, and more. In her free time, Macy enjoys trying new crafts and reading comic books.
