This past year has seen shifts and advancements in the search landscape. Google released a flurry of changes, including a clear pivot to responsive search ads. And every PPC professional has had to get more comfortable with more machine learning and less transparency. 

It was a year of big news at Adthena, too. Adthena Local View took PPC by storm, winning multiple industry awards. And we launched a number of powerful new tools like Investment Intel, our free Industry Benchmark tool, the popular Share of Search calculator, and more.

So, what can search marketers expect for 2022? We asked our analysts to sift through the facts and the hype to identify some trends to watch for 2022 and what they mean for you.

1. ETAs are out; RSAs are in.

We know for sure that Google will sunset expanded text ads at the end of June, which means you will no longer be able to create new ETAs or edit existing ones. One way to prep for this change is to begin repurposing content from your high-performing ETAs into RSAs and use Adthena to concentrate on ad strength. Read more about this upcoming change and how to get ready.

2. Google shopping ads will be everywhere.

Already, shopping ads are running across the Google Network, including Display, YouTube, Gmail, images, and search partner sites. We see them becoming more shoppable with integrated shopping carts on YouTube and opportunities to influence more stages of the buying cycle. With more smart bidding on the horizon, our clients are telling us they expect to rely more on Adthena to help optimize their shopping feeds.

3. Google adopts cross-platform targeting.

For 2022, we predict you’ll be seeing an uptick in smart, highly automated campaigns across the entire Google network across activities and channels. It remains to be seen if this is the ideal way to optimize. Facebook already enables advertisers to optimize by objective across platforms and placements within platforms. We anticipate that machine learning will increasingly be applied similarly to target ads across the Google network. In fact, Google is so bullish on its targeting that we believe they may eliminate some search term reports in 2022.

4. Performance Max gets a boost.

Given what we’re hearing from Adthena customers, we expect more marketers to use Adthena to track and optimize their Performance Max campaigns. Adthena overcomes a few of the gaps in Performance Max visibility by surfacing opportunities to shift budgets, capture detailed search query data, monitor auto-generated ad creative, and more. Read more on this dual strategy here.

5. Search in the metaverse?

The evolution from ordinary internet to the metaverse is the topic of the moment, with reactions ranging from excitement to ridicule to doomsday panic. The trend in Google searches related to “metaverse” over the past 12 months speaks volumes:

Metalocalypse chatter notwithstanding, it’s certain that digital experiences beyond gaming and entertainment will evolve to become more 3D, VR-driven, and immersive in 2022 and beyond. What’s also certain is that big tech will want to monetize these experiences, creating opportunities for marketers to implement AR, VR, and 3D experiences into their marketing plans and, just as important, explore visual search.

Rest assured, Adthena will help you stay ahead of all these trends and reach your PPC goals in the new year, and we’ll be launching new tools to help you thrive.

There’s never been a better time to put the power of competitive search intelligence behind your search strategy. Book a demo now to get started.