Over the past year, there has been noticeable uncertainty surrounding the PPC marketing industry. Despite the release of several new advertising features, cost-per-click on search advertising is worryingly high and desktop searches are heading steadily downwards. During this time we’ve seen a large shift from desktop to mobile, and it is negatively affecting digital advertising. Because of the new focus on mobile rather than desktop, the PPC marketing industry should be prepared to make a few changes in order to win back their audience.
Optimizing Ads for Mobile
In light of the fact that mobile searches have overtaken desktop searches in at least 10 countries, it is crucial to start optimizing advertisements for mobile visitors. One way to do this is by utilizing the Google AdWords “click to call” button. By using this method of advertisement, the audience is able to connect directly over the phone without having to visit any other pages. This makes the conversion basically instantaneous and helps to earn more leads.
Ad Blockers Vs PPC
Another problem that must be overcome in order to gain leads on mobile are ad blockers. Even if advertisements are set up to work properly on mobile, an audience who blocks ads will never become customers. Pagefair and Adobe’s research shows that 200 million people worldwide use ad blockers, a number that is 41% more than it was in 2014. Although these numbers were taken from desktop users, there is still a high probability that mobile will soon be affected by this same problem. In-app advertisements, which are safe from content blocking extensions, should be prioritized, especially considering that a majority of mobile users spend their time using apps rather than browsing the web.
Despite the threat that mobile places on PPC advertisement, the market can continue to thrive by utilizing new formats and adapting quickly to the recent changes in their audience’s behavior.