• Marketing Land
  • Sections
    • CMO
    • Social
    • SEM
    • SEO
    • Analytics
    • Display
    • Retail
    • MarTech
    • Resources
    • More
    • Home
  • Marketing Land
  • CMO
  • Social
  • SEM
  • SEO
  • Analytics
  • Display
  • Retail
  • MarTech
  • Resources
  • More
  • SUBSCRIBE

Marketing Land

Marketing Land
  • CMO
  • Social
  • SEM
  • SEO
  • Analytics
  • Display
  • Retail
  • MarTech
  • Resources
  • More
  • Home
  • Newsletters
  • Home
SEM

Studies Show Google Enhanced Campaigns Fuel AdWords CPC Rise

One of the first reactions many advertisers had to Google’s enhanced campaigns announcement in February was that CPCs would rise — more advertisers would enter mobile auctions, pushing mobile CPCs up, and tablet CPCs would rise as a result of being tethered to desktop bids. Early reports from Adobe and iProspect seem to show the […]

Ginny Marvin on June 19, 2013 at 10:23 am
  • More

google-adwords-square-logoOne of the first reactions many advertisers had to Google’s enhanced campaigns announcement in February was that CPCs would rise — more advertisers would enter mobile auctions, pushing mobile CPCs up, and tablet CPCs would rise as a result of being tethered to desktop bids.

Early reports from Adobe and iProspect seem to show the higher CPC theory bearing out.

Adobe found CPCs rose 6 percent across devices in the past three months. Based on last quarter’s performance, Adobe now predicts Google CPCs will start rising for the first time in two years.

iProspect also reported CPC increases. The agency started to see CPCs rise across the board beginning in mid-April. By mid-May tablet CPCs were 12 percent higher than the baseline of the previous months, desktop CPCs rose by 14 percent and smartphone CPCs increased 9 percent.

Both companies conclude that enhanced campaign migrations are contributing to the increases seen this year–beyond the typical seasonality upswing the two companies see in the spring. And, both expect to see CPCs continue to rise as more competition enters tablet and mobile auctions.

Google’s slumping year-over-year CPCs of the past two years has primarily been blamed on the lower CPCs for mobile and tablet traffic. In Q4 2012, Google reported CPCs were down roughly 6% compared to Q4 2011, and off 4% from the prior year in Q1 of this year.

Underlying much of the skepticism about enhanced campaigns is a belief that higher CPCs was Google’s ultimate goal. Why else eliminate tablet and granular smartphone targeting where CPCs have been lowest, the thinking goes. These reports and predictions of further increases–in addition to Adobe’s test of Google’s mobile bid adjustments in which the company determined Google’s recommendations are often too high–will likely stoke that skepticism.

Google says enhanced campaigns are designed to set the foundation for a multi-device driven world, simplify account structures, and give advertisers more tools to target users with ads that are relevant to their intent and context. iProspect is among those that have embraced enhanced campaigns for these reasons. The agency was an early adopter and worked closely with Google to migrate all of their clients’ campaigns by mid-June. Jeremy Hull, Associate Director of Paid Search at iProspect, says the CPC increases aren’t triggered by a single account’s migration, but when that advertiser’s competitive set as a whole migrates.

In response to our story on the Adobe report, a Google spokesperson said, “There have been many speculative reports, but it’s far too early for any of them to be reliable. Advertisers will choose their bids and adjust their spend based on the value they see in their campaigns.”

The volume of spend encompassed in both reports–$100 million through Adobe, $6 million through iProspect–lends weight to their CPC findings and predictions, however. The true test will come later this summer after the switch is flipped and all campaigns begin targeting tablets, and advertisers either embrace and optimize for smartphone auctions or opt-out of mobile altogether.


Opinions expressed in this article are those of the guest author and not necessarily Marketing Land. Staff authors are listed here.



About The Author

Ginny Marvin
Ginny Marvin is Third Door Media’s Editor-in-Chief, running the day to day editorial operations across all publications and overseeing paid media coverage. Ginny Marvin writes about paid digital advertising and analytics news and trends for Search Engine Land, Marketing Land and MarTech Today. With more than 15 years of marketing experience, Ginny has held both in-house and agency management positions. She can be found on Twitter as @ginnymarvin.

Related Topics

Channel: SEMGoogleGoogle: Business IssuesGoogle: MobileInternet Marketing Industry: StatsMobile Marketing

We're listening.

Have something to say about this article? Share it with us on Facebook, Twitter or our LinkedIn Group.

Get the daily newsletter digital marketers rely on.
See terms.

ATTEND OUR EVENTS

MarTech 2021: March 16-17

MarTech 2021: Sept. 14-15

MarTech 2020: Watch On-Demand

×

Attend MarTech - Click Here


Learn More About Our MarTech Events

April 13, 2021: SMX Create

May 18-19, 2021: SMX London

June 8-9, 2021: SMX Paris

June 15-16, 2021: SMX Advanced

June 21-22, 2021: SMX Advanced Europe

August 17, 2021: SMX Convert

November 9-10, 2021: SMX Next

December 14, 2021: SMX Code

Available On-Demand: SMX

Available On-Demand: SMX Report

×


Learn More About Our SMX Events

White Papers

  • The Six Principles of Building a Memorable Customer Experience
  • 5 Reasons Agencies Adopt Marketing Automation
  • How to Land Higher-Paying Clients: A 7-Step Framework to Grow Your Agency
  • B2B Marketing Trends Shaping 2021
  • State of Email Marketing 2021 Report
See More Whitepapers

Webinars

  • Crawl Your Way Towards Better Search Results With Dynamic Rendering
  • The AI Revolution Is Coming to Every Stage of Your Buyer’s Journey
  • The Fundamentals of Link Building for E-Commerce & Affiliate Sites in 2021
See More Webinars

Research Reports

  • Local Marketing Solutions for Multi-Location Businesses
  • Enterprise Digital Asset Management Platforms
  • Identity Resolution Platforms
  • Customer Data Platforms
  • B2B Marketing Automation Platforms
  • Call Analytics Platforms
See More Research

Attend SMX For Only $99

h
Receive daily marketing news & analysis.

Channels

  • MarTech
  • CMO
  • Social
  • SEM
  • SEO
  • Mobile
  • Analytics
  • Retail
  • Display

Our Events

  • MarTech
  • SMX

Resources

  • White Papers
  • Research
  • Webinars

About

  • About Us
  • Contact
  • Privacy
  • Marketing Opportunities
  • Staff

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Newsletters
  • RSS
  • Youtube

© 2021 Third Door Media, Inc. All rights reserved.