Search Marketing in 2022: Privacy, Automation, and Consolidation
Search marketing has come a long way in the past decade, with paid and organic search delivering steady results for marketers. However, the pace of change is accelerating, with more shifts expected in the next two years than in the past eight combined. The evolution of search marketing has gradually been moving toward automation and consolidation, and to stay ahead of the curve, it’s essential to stay current on what’s changing and why.
Privacy Legislation and Signal Loss
The evolution of digital privacy has had a significant impact on search marketing. Privacy legislation such as GDPR and iOS14 has restricted data collection, making it harder for advertisers to track users across apps and websites, reducing the effectiveness of targeted advertising. With CPRA and the phasing out of third-party cookies by Chrome, Safari, and Firefox, ad-serving platforms are developing alternative methods to target audiences and track ad performance without third-party cookies.
- FLoC (Federated Learning of Cohorts)
- Topics API
- Trust Token API
With these changes, marketers must modernize their strategies to stay competitive, and Bridgewell Marketing’s SEO services can help.
Machine Learning and Automation
The adoption of machine learning algorithms has significantly advanced in recent years in parallel with signal loss caused by advancing privacy legislation. Advertising platforms such as Google, Facebook, and Microsoft are overhauling their ad platforms to rely on automation and artificial intelligence with initiatives like data-driven attribution and Smart Bidding.
With the core functionality of keywords also changing, broad match can provide additional search coverage and revenue growth when paired with well-crafted bid algorithms. Consolidation is also occurring with the retirement of broad match modified (BMM), and it’s likely that phrase match will be phased out in favor of exact and broad.
Campaign Consolidation
Campaign consolidation has come through data-driven attribution and Smart Shopping, which allows businesses to automatically show their product ads across Google’s search network, YouTube, Display Network, and Gmail. Performance Max (PMax) is the current peak of campaign consolidation, allowing advertisers to access new inventory, ad formats, and audiences across all Google channels. Another consolidation point will include Dynamic Search Ads (DSA).
Adapting to the changes in search marketing is crucial to stay ahead of the curve. Bridgewell Marketing’s SEO services can help modernize your strategies and stay competitive. Contact us today to learn more.
