There’s no question about it, there was one thing COVID-​19 actually helped with: progressing digital advertising. Between 2019 and 2020, e‑commerce sales increased by $174.87 billion, according to Carolyn Lyden, writing for Search Engine Land. Lyden also does not believe that last year’s digital trends will be replaced any time soon. So, she recommends that PPC marketing services specialists pay attention to two specific trends while preparing this year’s ads:

1. Analyze proactively, not reactively
2. Communicate

Trends PPC Marketing Services Specialists Should Keep in Mind

Analyze Proactively, Not Reactively

No matter your profession, most people know that people who are proactive are more successful than those who only react to situations. The problem is that most PPC marketing services specialists aren’t as proactive as they should be. Lyden turns to the expertise of Steve Hammer, the president and co-​founder of RankHammer, on this subject.

“Ninety percent of people do [competitive analysis] in crisis mode,” said Hammer, “But there’s a real opportunity for those of us who can look at this proactively and in advance.” When it comes to auctions for online ad placements, PPC marketing services specialists should take a look at their client’s profit margins before forming a plan. Rank your client as highly profitable, marginally profitable, a client with weak to zero profit, or unprofitable.

If your client is highly profitable, they should fight for the ad placements they want and need. Profitability means that they don’t have to be as afraid to raise their bids on highly desirable ad spaces. If the client has weak to no profits, obviously their campaign should be put on hold until their financial situation is better. Marginally profitable clients are ones whose strategies you’ll have to consider. “If we’re in the marginal profit, we may… let them have their top position and maybe we work on ad testing instead of raising our bids,” says Hammer. When PPC marketing services specialists proactively analyze their client’s financial situation and the ad space up for grabs, they’ll know exactly how to proceed.

Communicate

It’s your job as a PPC marketing services specialist to stay on top of search marketing trends. Not only that, you have to keep your client updated on what you learn so that you can plan for the future. Amanda Farley, a partner at SSDM, recommends including the client’s customers’ user journeys in trend reporting. What are your client’s customers searching for before they see and click on your client’s ads? Once the prospect is on the client’s website, what do they do? Do they shop? Do they click to sign up for the client’s email newsletter? “By tying the communication strategy to the user journey and to the important KPIs and metrics for each audience, you’re ensuring that they stay informed both on their individual PPC campaign and account performance,” says Farley, “but also about the latest PPC news and ad platform updates that could affect their strategies.”

One of the first steps to being a proactive PPC marketing services specialist who communicates with their clients is to know how the client’s current digital ad strategy is faring. Run a Digital Audit on AdMall by SalesFuel to learn what’s working for your clients and what they can improve on.