Welcome to Cultivative’s weekly roundup for all things PPC from around the web—everything you need to know right now about PPC!
At Cultivative, we’re all about making your life easier. We’ve gathered the top PPC news and innovations from around the web and getting it into your hands. Check out what we found this past week.
How Digital Marketing Will Change: 17 Predictions for 2019
By Matt Douglas | Dec 20, 2018

DigitalMarketer presents 17 predictions for 2019, from 17 industry experts, to be on the look for in the new year. They cover predictions for new technologies, trends, and tactics on the horizon for 2019.
Facebook Extends Deadline for Subscription Messaging Permissions
By Virginia Nussey | Dec 23, 2018

Subscription Messaging on Facebook’s chat platform, Messenger, offers marketers a huge opportunity to leverage engagement with their audiences. Facebook announced that they will be extending their Subscription Messaging (Beta) permissions period. A Facebook page can send non-promotional content on a recurring basis using the Messenger platform. But to use this feature, the business page’s need to get permission from Facebook. With 80 percent open rates and 20 percent click-through rates, you may want to consider opting in for this feature!
Can searchers tell the difference between ads and free listings? Google engineer says ‘yes’
By Barry Schwartz | Dec 24, 2018

Paul Haahr, a senior Google engineer, claims that searchers are able to differentiate between the search ads and organic free listings, based on his information. This claim is in response to an article on Medium that said, “More than 50 percent of people between the ages of 18–34 can’t differentiate between an ad and an organic result on Google. To maximize this percentage, Google is always testing to find ad visuals that blend in best with organic results.” Barry Schwartz weighs in on this debate.
[SPECIAL EDITION] Google News Digest: The Biggest Headlines of 2018
By David Bain | Dec 26, 2018

In celebration of Google turning 20, and the end of the year, SEMrush has put together their top ranking news stories from Google this year. They share what they consider to be the most important developments in search, ads, and related tools and projects. They also briefly touch on Dragonfly.
5 Voice Engine Optimization Strategies to Get Ahead
By Loren Baker | Dec 26, 2018

Voice search usage on the rise, with leading research firms forecasting that between 30 and 50 percent of all searches will be conducted via voice by 2020. Right now is a perfect time to optimize strategies to get ahead of the curve for voice search. Collin Holmes, founder and CEO at Chatmeter, shared five tips to get started with a Voice Engine Optimization (VEO) plan in a recent webinar. Those strategies include:
- Optimize Your Business Listings
- Speed Up Your Website
- Your New Content Strategy: Focus on Questions
- Your New Content Strategy: Provide Answers
- Test It
PPC 2018: These changes will have the biggest impact on advertisers in 2019
By Ginny Marvin | Dec 26, 2018

Ginny Marvin shares the major changes the affected paid search marketing over the past year. She notes that nearly all the major shifts observed came with a common thread of more automation and machine learning. She discusses nine big areas of change in 2018 that will shape the way paid search marketers work in 2019 and beyond.
Ask an SMXpert: New approaches in customization can build better analytics reports
By Wendy Almeida | Dec 27, 2018

Data-driven digital marketing expert Simon Poulton decided to do a follow up answering opportunity following his SMX session. He offers detailed insight to these questions:
- Do you have experience linking Google My Business Insights data into Data Studio in combination with Google Analytics?
- Any tips for integrating data that isn’t built into Data Studio automatically?
- Can you import first-party audiences (e.g., loyalty members) into GA and/or Data Studio?
- Have you tried using the “compare to” toggle for scorecard vs. blending data?
The 9 Biggest Online Advertising Stories of 2018
By Gordon Donnelly | Dec 27, 2018

It’s that time of year– time to reflect on what happened over the last 12 months. Gordon Donnelly helps us remember the biggest headlines to impact the digital marketing industry. He recaps the most memorable and impactful stories from 2018.
The State of PPC Report 2018-2019
By Chandal Nolasco Da Silva | Dec 28, 2018

Digital advertising is always changing– in 2018 we saw the popularity of Amazon ad offerings skyrocket, major changes to Google’s offering, Facebook platform issues and updates, and plenty more. Chandal Nolasco Da Silva discusses Hanapin Marketing’s annual State of PPC Report, giving insight to digital media marketers and what to expect for the coming year. The report is based on the feedback of over 400 marketers, aimed to help you focus your budget for 2019.
We hope you learned something new you can apply to your PPC business strategy. Let us know in the comments below what you want to start implementing. As always, we are happy to be a resource for your paid advertising needs. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us.