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.
Upcoming enhancements to the Bing Partner Program
By Steve Sirich | Dec 3, 2018
Beginning in January 2019, the Bing Partner Program will move to a calendar cycle running from January to December. They will also be updating requirements and benefit offerings by implementing a tiered status for new and current partners relating to education, marketing, engagement, and Bing Ads spend, from January 1 to December 31. Changes will apply to all agencies, channel partners and technology partners that participate in the Bing Partner Program.
It’s Time to Retest Your Page Speed [Google’s Latest Update]
By Ryan Engley on December 3rd, 2018
In early November, Google announced the latest version of PageSpeed Insights (v.5). The updated tool now focuses on user experience, giving marketers an advantage to enhance conversion optimization. You can now get faster in ways that translate into higher engagement and conversion rates. The Lighthouse engine is now behind PageSpeed Insights, which adds user-centric performance metrics with it, two of which are very important to your landing pages: First Meaningful Paint (FMP) and Time to Interactive (TTI). Ryan Engley shares a real-life case study showing how the new features save seconds of time equates into tens of thousands of dollars for a client.
Top 10 PPC Trends to Jump on in 2019
By Guest Author | Dec 4, 2018
WordStream and Search Engine Journal have joined forces to give us the top 10 PPC Trends for 2019 from 28 industry experts. This article is a shortened excerpt from their free ebook download, which you can easily download for the full version. Topics included are:
- Audiences, Not Keywords
- Automation + Human Intelligence
- Amazon & Advertising Alternatives
- Account Management & The Role of PPC Marketers
- Attribution & Cross-Channel Advertising Experiences
- Ad Messaging
- Video Ads
- Remarketing
- Brand Building
- More New Ad Types, Extensions & Features
What is Contextual Targeting? A Comprehensive Guide
by Chandal Nolasco Da Silva | Dec 5, 2018
Take a deep dive into what contextual targeting is, how to get started with it in your advertising campaigns, and great examples of how it works. Contextual targeting moves beyond keywords and allows for you to integrate behavioral triggers and native advertising that works within the context of the platform you’re advertising on. Learn how to use behavioral tracking to retarget customers and users, and take a closer look at native advertising with engaging content.
Limiting Customer Match was a Move Google Probably Needed to Make
By Andy Taylor | Dec 5, 2018
Google recently updated its Customer Match policy to be available to advertisers fitting the following criteria:
- A good history of policy compliance.
- A good payment history.
- At least 90 days history in Google Ads.
- More than USD 50,000 (or other currency equivalents) total lifetime spend.
- Advertisers looking to begin using Customer Match targeting must now go through Google account managers to request access.
These new guidelines appear to be Google’s answer to shutting out bad actors who were abusing the honor system and safeguarding the use of personally identifiable information (PII) in marketing.
Google Introduces 4 New Tools for Responsive Search Ads
By Matt Southern | Dec 5, 2018
Google has been in the process of rolling out a series of updates to responsive search ads which include both more languages (see article for specifics) and new reporting tools. New reporting and feedback tools to responsive search ads feature auto-generated suggestions, real-time feedback, ad strength in ‘Status’ column, and ability to import details from other ads.
Google’s New Ad Position Metrics: Rethinking Average Position
By Kelsey Hadaller | Dec 6, 2018
You may want to adjust the way you’re currently measuring ad position in light of Google’s four recent rollouts to search ad position metrics. Kelsey Hadaller gives an excellent explanation to the new definitions for Impression (Absolute Top) %, Impression (Top) %, Search (Absolute Top) Impression Share, and Search (Top) Impression Share. The new ad position metrics are more exact in showing the position on the page related to ads and organic posts, while the Average Position can be misleading if you aren’t also taking Impression Share into consideration.
4 Ways Brands Can Advertise on Amazon
By Robyn Johnson | Dec 6, 2018
Amazon has grown to be the third largest advertising platform in recent years. For this reason, advertisers have begun looking at Amazon as a major platform for marketing directly to consumers. Robyn Johnson shares great reasons for why you may consider advertising your brand on Amazon. She further explains which type of products perform well within Amazon advertising: sponsored products, sponsored brand programs, product display ads, and Amazon’s Demand-Site Platform (DSP) for bigger brand’s awareness building.
Majority of Publishers See Much Lower Facebook Traffic Now vs. Last Year [POLL]
By Angel Niñofranco | Dec 7, 2018
The Search Engine Journal reports significant drops in their organic Facebook traffic this year, compared to last, following the “friends and family” algorithm that was launched earlier this year. Which is no surprise, everyone has felt a similar loss as Facebook has all but killed organic reach for businesses. They share results from their Twitter audience #SEJSurveySays poll question, “How Do You Describe Your Current Traffic from Facebook Compared to This Time Last Year?” And a whopping 37% reported their Facebook traffic as “much lower.” They do try to make lemonade by suggesting some workarounds for dwindling organic Facebook traffic: prioritize engagement, stay updated on Facebook algorithm changes, rethink your overall strategy to include other traffic sources, and maybe make SEO a higher priority.
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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