by Michelle Fondacaro
In a world of changing technology and more mobile devices, the potential for consumers to view ads has never been so great. People not only have the luxury of using a range of devices, they are finding more time to sit in front of them. And with Google offering cheaper prices for companies to run ads on mobile products, it seems like a great way to generate ad revenue, or at the least strengthen branding, right?
Analysts expected Google’s paid clicks over the third quarter to increase by 22% year-over-year, but instead they rose by only 17% year-over-year. This means that people haven’t been clicking on Google Ads as much as they once were.
Why is search advertising becoming less popular?
Business Insider Australia reported three reasons why search advertising is growing at a slower pace.
1. Google search is a great money-making business on the Web however the Web is slowly becoming irrelevantWith access to our mobiles 24/7 we are not firing up our desktops as much. Plus, the convenience of apps means we don’t need to connect to the internet through the mobile web. This has caused Google search to take a hit along with the companies who advertise through it.
2. People go straight to the source to search for products to buy
Humans are forever looking for ways to take shortcuts. Why go through a middle man when you can go straight to the source. We live in a world of efficiency with no time to waste!
3. Google is behind when it comes to the best money-making business on mobile – monetizing streams
Yes, Google sells mobile ads, but it doesn’t own a stream to sell ads against. Twitter and Facebook are part of the trend to sell ads against ‘streams’ through their mobile apps.
Are consumers oblivious to online ads?
Another factor, which should be taken into consideration by companies when placing ads online is that although people are face-planted on their devices 24/7, they may be ignoring ads.
Statistics from a survey reported through Marketing Charts, showed that consumers are more likely to ignore online ads compared to more traditional forms of advertising. The study found that online ads were ignored by 82% of the respondents, while TV ads 37%, radio ads 36% and newspaper ads 35%.
With search advertising growing at a slower pace and consumers becoming desensitized to online ads, businesses need the DNA of their ads to be stronger than ever. Online ads need to evolve, adapt and change to increase survival rates.
Waking up ad fatigue
Ad fatigue is when consumers are overwhelmed by the repetition and amount of ads they view, and therefore they stop responding. When the click-through rate (CTR) and Quality Score drops, it usually means ad fatigue has hit.Here are four tips companies can use to wake up their ads!
1. Seasonality & product changes
Adapt ads to the current season so consumers can directly relate it to their needs and change ads to correspond with stock rotations.
2. Never be a copycat
Copying text and messages from even successful campaigns will never give the same impact. People get bored seeing something that’s been done before.
3. Evolving consumer needs
Consumers not only change the ways they search for products, they change what they are searching for. They respond to ads that speak to them, not advertise at them.
4. Changing ad platforms
Google allows online advertisers to target consumers based on many factors including device, destination and audience. So an ad should be adjusted depending on which audience it will target.
Technology and human behaviour will continue to change and possibly result in a further decline in search advertising. However the potential for businesses to generate revenue or strengthen branding through Google ads is not lost. With brilliant original ads that can evolve and survive change, companies won’t be spending money to be ignored.
To learn more about the impact of search engines, download our free ebook below.
