Search ads used to form a major component of ad spending among major marketing and advertising agencies, and the data from the start of the year suggested a year of immense growth for this sector, In spite of the fact that this is the case, the third quarter of 2022 has seen quite a poor performance from the search ad sector, with growth rates entering the negatives for three months straight.
The start of this decline was seen in July when the top 11 ad agencies spent 3% less on search ads than they did in the previous month. August saw a further decline of 6%, and September was the worst month of all with a 12% decline. That comes up to a total decrease of 20% in a single quarter with all things having been considered and taken into account, and it does not bode well for the future of search engine based advertising.
With all of that having been said and now out of the way, it is important to note that other forms of advertising have also seen a declining rate of growth. However, they still saw some growth instead of entering the negatives, and that suggests that other platforms as well as retail based advertising might become more valuable in the coming months than might have been the case otherwise.
Advertisers are increasingly working directly with retailers to drive sales because of the fact that this is the sort of thing that could potentially end up showing the ads to the buyers while they are in the midst of shopping for products. It must be mentioned that Apple’s hamstringing of third party tracking might have contributed to the decline of search ads, and if the current trend persists we might see a vastly altered marketing landscape in 2023.
One thing to note here is that niches that don’t align themselves with the point of sale usually prefer search ads more than POS aligned counterparts. The numbers are 5% for the former and -16% for the latter, and these groups are helping to cement the shift for the next fiscal year.
Read next: Google Topics Now Used By 71% of Marketers for Targeted Ads
The start of this decline was seen in July when the top 11 ad agencies spent 3% less on search ads than they did in the previous month. August saw a further decline of 6%, and September was the worst month of all with a 12% decline. That comes up to a total decrease of 20% in a single quarter with all things having been considered and taken into account, and it does not bode well for the future of search engine based advertising.
With all of that having been said and now out of the way, it is important to note that other forms of advertising have also seen a declining rate of growth. However, they still saw some growth instead of entering the negatives, and that suggests that other platforms as well as retail based advertising might become more valuable in the coming months than might have been the case otherwise.
Advertisers are increasingly working directly with retailers to drive sales because of the fact that this is the sort of thing that could potentially end up showing the ads to the buyers while they are in the midst of shopping for products. It must be mentioned that Apple’s hamstringing of third party tracking might have contributed to the decline of search ads, and if the current trend persists we might see a vastly altered marketing landscape in 2023.
One thing to note here is that niches that don’t align themselves with the point of sale usually prefer search ads more than POS aligned counterparts. The numbers are 5% for the former and -16% for the latter, and these groups are helping to cement the shift for the next fiscal year.
Read next: Google Topics Now Used By 71% of Marketers for Targeted Ads
