My biggest recommendation and prediction for 2015 is to stay focused on all the other available advertising channels. We all spend a lot time and money in Google AdWords, but big things are in the works for other platforms.
What makes 2015 different from 2014? All the bigger changes that happened in 2014 are going to eventually trickle down and create change for us – the account manager, PPCer or digital marketer. Mozilla chose Yahoo as its default search engine for Firefox, LinkedIn acquired Bizo and there are “Offers” on Twitter. Big things are in the works, which is going to make 2015 extra exciting for that non-Google budget.
Firefox Hits It Off with Yahoo, Which Means Great Things For Bing Ads
By now, we have all heard the buzz about Firefox choosing Yahoo over Google. After a ten-year relationship with Google, Yahoo has now become the default search engine for Firefox. If you have not changed your default browser in Firefox, the change is already upon us. A search in Firefox is going to show us Yahoo Search results.
It’s logical to assume that we are going to see a boost in traffic in Yahoo Search with Firefox’s change when roughly 18% of the population in November used Firefox.
Where then do we advertise our Yahoo ads? Bing Ads! If impression volume and clicks start changing, new Yahoo traffic might be the cause. If we do start to see a boost in traffic, this increase will mean changes to performance and budgeting.
Be ready to spend more in Bing in 2015.
LinkedIn and Bizo Finally Might Make Some Moves
LinkedIn first made their announcement that they would be acquiring Bizo back in July of this year. Bizo is a marketing platform for B2B marketers that uses data and targeting to help make advertising decisions. Let’s just say that LinkedIn advertisers got excited. There were predictions of more extensive audiences, better targeting of those audiences, audience analytics and even, the potential for automation. There were tales of retargeting on and off LinkedIn. How cool would it be to have sponsored updates for website visitors?
However, it’s been several months and nothing has happened. The potential is definitely there in LinkedIn and it’s a pretty safe prediction to say that Bizo and LinkedIn should bring exciting new changes sometime in 2015.
Twitter Offers Is Officially a Thing and Facebook May Not Be Far Behind
Twitter has been openly trying to bring direct purchases to their platform for months. In September, they began testing a button that allows purchases directly from Twitter. Direct purchases on Twitter will cut the steps in the conversion funnel. Card information and shipping will be stored on Twitter after it is entered once. It’s only available to a limited audience at present, but those numbers should continue to grow.
We can hope for access to this feature in 2015, but until then, Twitter has also begun testing “Offers” as an alternative option. “Offers” are ads that attach a promotion to a credit or debit card. For example, there is an offer for 15% off that can be claimed on Twitter. The Twitter user adds their card information and the promotion will be linked to their card. It will be redeemed when they use their card to make a purchase in-store or online. Here is what an offer will look like:
Now, why not just move forward with the “buy” buttons that we want?
- They’re still testing.
- They want good results.
- They are preparing.
By saving credit and debit card information at the present, they are getting a larger pool of people that can purchase on Twitter by just clicking that “buy” button in even fewer clicks. “Offers” and “buy” buttons are the first steps to creating a purchasing culture on Twitter.
There is plenty to be said about what Twitter has already done and will probably expand in 2015. Rumors have been going around that Facebook has also been playing around with adding a “buy” button onto their ads for direct purchases. If executed, direct purchases on Twitter and Facebook are going to be a huge change and potential budgeting shift for ecommerce accounts.
In The Meantime
These changes can and probably will impact traffic, budgeting and performance next year. For now, we should just keep doing what we’re doing. Keeping watch on Bing Ads traffic and a lookout for updates from the other platforms is all we can do as we wait for exciting new changes in 2015.
How do you feel about my 2015 predictions? Leave your comments below!
