The End of PPC and Paid Search? Not Quite…

So after and short break for coffee, biscuits and bag printing – no really, we designed our own Android characters and had them printed onto linen bags – it was back to the business at hand, the future of Paid Search. Phil Miles, Google’s Director of Media Buying Solutions for the UK and Ireland,
stepped onto the stage to talk about targeted marketing.

Because you can never have enough Android bags!

Phil opened his slot with quite a bold statement which pretty much said it’s possible that investment in contextual targeting could exceed investment in search by 2020. The suggestion was all based on the way tracking internet users via cookies has become more sophisticated in recent years. His suggestion relied heavily on the collection and interpretation of data; in this case, Audience Signals.

Will contextual targeting become bigger than search?

We’ve always been able to remarket to, or target an audience based on certain parameters, but the information we have, and will have access to in future, enables us to go even further. By harnessing audience signals across search and display it is possible to deliver targeted advertising quickly and accurately from one central point. The process was broken down into three stages:

Collect Audience Signals
Segment Your Audiences
Engage With Them

Have You Thought About Mobile?

The presentation took a familiar, but nevertheless informative turn next, with Google’s UK Mobile Product & Solutions Strategist, Mary Burris, detailing the ‘Multiscreen’ phenomenon that has seen many households now using more than one screen at any given time to access entertainment, information, products and services…and a whole lot more! Mary’s presentation was filled with compelling stats:

Smartphone usage has gone from 30% in 2011 to 64% in 2013
65% of online consumers start a purchase on a phone and continue on a tablet or desktop PC
24% of store visitors find a store location online

Let’s Make Movies

Next up was Hamish Nicklin, Head of YouTube and Creative Agency Sales. Hamish talked about the perception and the reality of YouTube right now, making an interesting comparison between electricity and the internet. Just as electricity led to products like the light-bulb, television and washing machines, so too will the internet be the trigger that leads to…well who knows where?

This Time Next Year You’ll All Be Wearing Them

The day ended with a glimpse at where Google is heading and it certainly had the WOW factor. Some of it was familiar, some not so familiar but it certainly ensured the day ended on a high; handwriting recognition for search, indoor street view, the World Wonders Project (if you haven’t seen it you’re in for a treat), Google Shopping Express, self driving cars and, of course, Google Glass. The question on everyone’s lips when it was all over was, “Where can I get a pair of those?”