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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.

9 Changes that Impacted Google Advertisers in 2021

By Tara Johnson | Dec 26, 2021 | Tinuiti

Tara Johnson highlights some of the most critical Google Ads and operational updates that Google rolled out in 2021 – so you can stay on top of the competition in 2022, including:

1. Sunsetting of Expanded Text Ads
2. Enhanced Conversion Tracking
3. Consent Mode 
4. Image Extensions
5. Integration with Shopify
6. “Deals Results” Page
7. Performance Max Campaigns & Audience Signals
8. New Bidding Strategies
9. Smart Shopping

Google Ads for Ecommerce: Prerequisites

By Kasim Aslam | Dec 31, 2021 | DigitalMarketer

This article walks you through the prerequisites you need for successfully running Google Ads for e-commerce before you can hit the ground running. Kasim Aslam covers in-depth why you need to have the following lined up before you start building your ad campaigns:

1. Reasonable Monthly Spend
2. 90 Days to Prove Concept
3. An Ecommerce Enabled Website With a Product Feed
4. Enough Margins to Support a Traffic Campaign
5. Unique Selling Proposition
6. No One-Off Products

2022 Marketing Predictions: What WON’T Change This Year

By Marty Weintraub | Jan 2, 2022 | AIMCLEAR

“The following predictions highlight several of many timeless marketing truths that will remain in 2022 and perhaps forever. Principles apply to both in-house and agency marketers. We’ve included a couple of agency-specific goodies at the end,” writes Marty Weintraub. His predictions include:

1. Human marketers are needed
2. The in-house marketing team/vendor churn will continue
3. Brand equity rules
4. Marketing industry thought leadership ranges from genius to snake oil
5. Hiring and retaining great marketers means nurturing careers
6. Valueless products don’t have high lifetime value
7. A torturous client prospect will become an awful client if you sign them
8. RFPs are nearly a universal waste of time
9. Great agencies cost more. Mediocre agencies can fill a niche. Poor performance agencies must improve or find another line of work.

Google Ads: How to Set Up Account-level UTM Parameters

By Armando Roggio | Jan 3, 2022 | Practical Ecommerce

“UTM parameters can help marketers track the performance of Google Ads to individual campaigns, ad groups, and keywords. Unfortunately, manually creating tracking parameter strings takes time and is error-prone. Instead, automate the process,” explains Armando Roggio. He walks you through how to turn on the account-level Google Click Identifier, set up account-level UTM parameters, and use a script to create ad-group-level custom parameters.

LinkedIn Ads That Convert: 8 Small Changes to Skyrocket Your Results

By Anna Sonnenberg | Jan 4, 2022 | SocialMedia Examiner

Begin creating LinkedIn ads that work with these eight simple tips to craft ads that improve your results from Anna Sonnenberg:

1. Promote a Valuable Offer and Clarify Its Benefits
2. Show Social Proof
3. Use the Problem/Solution Formula in Your LinkedIn Ad Copy
4. Use Time-Sensitive Language
5. Place Emojis Strategically
6. Pay Attention to Character Count
7. Keep the CTA Focused on a Single Objective
8. Use the LinkedIn Carousel Ad Format to Incorporate Multiple Headlines

Google Ads: How To Improve Lead Quality Without Backend Data

By Justin Lugbill | Jan 5, 2022 | Search Engine Journal

“Integrating backend data into digital marketing initiatives is a gamechanger for performance. But what can you do when backend conversion data is unavailable or unreliable? How can marketers optimize lead quality and higher margins without explicit insight into which keywords and audiences have the most value?” writes Justin Lugbill. He walks you through some indirect ways in which you can optimize for lead quality in Google Ads, despite not having the ideal data passback with your digital advertising platforms.

5 Ways to Save Money on Your Facebook Ads

By Anna Sonnenberg | Jan 5, 2022 | SocialMedia Examiner

“You can analyze your Facebook ads efficiently and automate basic campaign maintenance. With all the time you save, you can focus on more strategic tasks instead—like doing audience research, writing more effective copy, and building better offers to create even more successful Facebook ad campaigns,” writes Anna Sonnenberg. To help you optimize your Facebook ad analysis to improve your overall performance, Sonnenberg recommends:

1. Set a Facebook Ad Account Monitoring Schedule
2. Track Essential Facebook Ad Metrics
3. Use Breakdowns to Reveal Important Facebook Ads Performance Trends
4. Create Rules to Automate Campaign Management in Facebook Ads Manager
5. Run Facebook Ads Experiments to Reveal Timely Results

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.

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