Just like the website trends from Majo and social media trends from Trista last month, we’re seeing Google Ad trends for 2021 as well. Let’s highlight interesting trends and challenges in the upcoming year.

After Google implemented new data privacy policies, advertisers cannot target certain demographics for housing and credit ads. We will see access to keyword and search query data become more limited in 2021. Google now limits the availability of search data. This includes query information in its Search Terms report. You’ll only be able to see data for terms “searched for by a significant number of users”. Filtering negative keywords, optimization tasks, and keeping campaigns as efficient as possible will all become more difficult in 2021.

In an alternative to sending someone off to a landing page, In-Ad Lead Capture can embed a lead capture form in an ad that displays after a user expresses interest. You can configure fields and form information directly in the ads manager. For search, In-Ad Lead Capture only works in mobile and is available to clients with a minimum of $50K in spend per year.

Discovery Ads are a way to show an ad to individuals matching user trends as opposed to a targeted ad where a user searched for or went to a related site. With Discovery Ads, you can showcase more than one image in an ad, similar to Facebook’s Carousel Ads.

Also similar to Facebook’s Carousel Ads are Gallery Ads. Initially launched in summer 2019 as a beta, Gallery Ads show in mobile search with the ability to enhance or zoom the ad. Each image will have its own text along with a static headline and URL. Advertisers pay when a user engages with the ad image through clicks, taps, or swipes on the images.

A great way to capture engagement from a user audience is In-Ad Countdowns. This ad feature puts countdowns in your ad’s text, alerting users to special events or offers that are only available for a limited time. In the eCommerce space, In-Ad Countdowns can compel people to click through and shop for seasonal sales or other sales that are closing soon. It can also be used for special events like webinars or concerts where tickets need to be purchased before a deadline.

Hopefully identifying these changes to the Google Ads platform will keep you prepared as we move into 2021. Staying aware of ad platform changes keeps our marketing campaigns up to date and ready to face the new year with all the tools at our disposal!

https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/6193743?hl=en
https://www.disruptiveadvertising.com/google-ads/discovery-ads/
https://instapage.com/blog/google-lead-form-extensions