January 16, 2023
We can barely believe we're already midway through January of 2023! To help you to prepare your Paid Marketing for what's set to come, our Associate Director Sarah has got in early with her key predictions for PPC in 2023...
1. Data input becomes just as important as account management
With automation leading the way like never before, and PPC managers feeling the control slip from their grasp… we’re seeing new, alternative ways in optimising accounts and a lot of the time, this is through work outside of a Google Ads account.Feed optimisation and management will play a huge role in optimisation in 2023, to ensure:
- The essential and recommended product data is entered in to your Google feed
- That the data is up to Google's best practices,
- There is consistent testing being done in areas like feed segmentation
- A/B product title and description testing is taking place
- That the newer feed attributes such as short titles and lifestyle image link are being utilised where possible
All of these optimisations should be with the aim of regaining control within Performance Max and Shopping campaigns and giving back to the power to still affect performance with the data being input into these campaigns.
2. Creative will conquer
A prediction not just for 2023 (or just for PPC either!), this has been a big talking point every year. However, similar to the prediction above, it is about what you’re feeding the automation that will make all the difference to performance and where you can keep an element of control. A huge part of PPC management as we move into 2023 will be around testing creative, in the form of ad copy, imagery & video. Testing allows for so much additional data to then make informed decisions on the direction of strategy.
3. Making the move to GA4 (if you haven’t already done so!)
A top priority for the first half of 2023 is moving to GA4 to ensure you’re collecting as much data as possible to support activity not only through paid activity but your other marketing channels too.
A big tip this year if you haven’t yet done so, is to use Google Ads conversions tracking, rather than importing your Google Analytics conversion data. Google Ads conversions are also needed to implement enhanced conversions.
4. First party data focus
This actually featured in last years predictions too - but it’s firmly in 2023’s too! Google Ads have confirmed they will no longer be generating similar audiences from May this year, with them being fully removed from your campaigns and ad groups from August! This puts even more reliance on first party data. It is such a huge marketing asset, not only for PPC but your other marketing channels such as email and paid social.There are lots of methods to collect more first party data, but some of our favourites we’ve spotted retailers adopting are:
- Newsletter subscriber forms & preferences
- Additional data requests of current customers - in order to receive more tailored communications
- Site/customer surveys
- Customer reviews
My key takeaways on how 2023 is shaping up:
Control what you can, at all costs. Whilst platforms take away so much as a result of automation, hold on to what you can still control to leverage performance and make the data and assets the best they can possibly be, for the automation to work as effectively as possible.
Buckle up! If 2022 was anything to go by, the real winners of 2023 will be those who remain agile and work with the updates to features and solutions as they are thrown our way.
If you're looking for a fresh take on your PPC Management in 2023 you can get in touch with our team using the button below!
