Search Engine Land

<div><img width="800" height="450" src="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2023/02/Shutterstock_2065638467-800x450.jpg" class="attachment-large size-large wp-post-image" alt="" style="margin-bottom: 15px;" decoding="async" fetchpriority="high" srcset="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2023/02/Shutterstock_2065638467-800x450.jpg 800w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2023/02/Shutterstock_2065638467-600x338.jpg 600w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2023/02/Shutterstock_2065638467-200x113.jpg 200w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2023/02/Shutterstock_2065638467-768x432.jpg 768w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2023/02/Shutterstock_2065638467-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2023/02/Shutterstock_2065638467-150x84.jpg 150w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2023/02/Shutterstock_2065638467.jpg 1920w" sizes="(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px" /></div>Meta's data restrictions aim to enhance privacy but may complicate ad targeting and potentially pause ads with highly targeted UTMs.

<div><img width="800" height="450" src="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2023/02/Shutterstock_2065638467-800x450.jpg" class="attachment-large size-large wp-post-image" alt="" style="margin-bottom: 15px;" decoding="async" srcset="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2023/02/Shutterstock_2065638467-800x450.jpg 800w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2023/02/Shutterstock_2065638467-600x338.jpg 600w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2023/02/Shutterstock_2065638467-200x113.jpg 200w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2023/02/Shutterstock_2065638467-768x432.jpg 768w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2023/02/Shutterstock_2065638467-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2023/02/Shutterstock_2065638467-150x84.jpg 150w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2023/02/Shutterstock_2065638467.jpg 1920w" sizes="(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px" /></div>
<p>Meta is implementing new data restrictions in its Business Tools, which could potentially affect how businesses target ads and measure performance.</p>



<p><strong>Why we care. </strong>This move reflects Meta&#8217;s ongoing commitment to privacy, but could complicate ad targeting and reporting for you.</p>



<p><strong>Key changes.</strong></p>



<ul>
<li>Automatic restriction of certain URL parts and custom parameters.</li>



<li>Potential pausing of ads using highly targeted UTMs.</li>



<li>Altered monitoring in Events Manager.</li>
</ul>



<p><strong>Impact on businesses.</strong></p>



<ul>
<li>Custom audiences may need adjustments.</li>



<li>Some ad sets could be paused.</li>



<li>Reduced visibility in Events Manager.</li>
</ul>



<p><strong>First seen.</strong> Meta communicated this update to advertisers this week. PPC expert <a href="https://searchengineland.com/author/navah-hopkins">Navah Hopkins</a> of Optmyzr shared the email she received on <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/posts/navahhopkins_really-important-update-on-meta-ads-not-activity-7238993907093499904-iZWa/?utm_source=share&amp;utm_medium=member_ios">LinkedIn</a>:</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img decoding="async" width="517" height="600" src="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/1725910639970-517x600.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-446440" style="width:847px;height:auto" srcset="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/1725910639970-517x600.jpeg 517w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/1725910639970-291x338.jpeg 291w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/1725910639970-97x113.jpeg 97w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/1725910639970.jpeg 606w" sizes="(max-width: 517px) 100vw, 517px" /></figure>



<p>Hopkins commented about the importance of this update: </p>



<ul>
<li>&#8220;This is a critical reminder that Meta is taking privacy very seriously and our ability to report and target based on seeing/clicking ads is no longer a guaranteed state.&#8221;</li>
</ul>



<p><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/claudesprenger/">Claude Sprenger</a> Managing Partner @ Hutter Consult AG, is not surprised by this update and gave some advice on what the effect could be: </p>



<ul>
<li>&#8220;Sounds worse than it is. Meta already started restricting this data 12 months ago. Concrete effects &#8211; Target groups based on specific URL paths grow more slowly and can no longer be created retroactively. Target groups that combine URL paths and another rule (example: device) are no longer functional and can no longer be used in campaigns.&#8221;</li>
</ul>



<p><strong>What&#8217;s next.</strong></p>



<ul>
<li>Businesses should review and potentially adjust custom audiences.</li>



<li>Prepare for possible compromises on UTM parameters.</li>



<li>Keep stakeholders informed about potential reporting changes.</li>
</ul>


Meta is implementing new data restrictions in its Business Tools, which could potentially affect how businesses target ads and measure performance.
Why we care. This move reflects Meta’s ongoing commitment to privacy, but could complicate ad targeting and reporting for you.
Key changes.
Automatic restriction of certain URL parts and custom parameters.
Potential pausing of ads using highly targeted UTMs.
Altered monitoring in Events Manager.
Impact on businesses.
Custom audiences may need adjustments.
Some ad sets could be paused.
Reduced visibility in Events Manager.
First seen. Meta communicated this update to advertisers this week. PPC expert Navah Hopkins of Optmyzr shared the email she received on LinkedIn:




Hopkins commented about the importance of this update: 
“This is a critical reminder that Meta is taking privacy very seriously and our ability to report and target based on seeing/clicking ads is no longer a guaranteed state.”
Claude Sprenger Managing Partner @ Hutter Consult AG, is not surprised by this update and gave some advice on what the effect could be: 
“Sounds worse than it is. Meta already started restricting this data 12 months ago. Concrete effects – Target groups based on specific URL paths grow more slowly and can no longer be created retroactively. Target groups that combine URL paths and another rule (example: device) are no longer functional and can no longer be used in campaigns.”
What’s next.
Businesses should review and potentially adjust custom audiences.
Prepare for possible compromises on UTM parameters.
Keep stakeholders informed about potential reporting changes.

Meta's data restrictions aim to enhance privacy but may complicate ad targeting and potentially pause ads with highly targeted UTMs.

Meta to restrict data in Business Tools, impacting ad targeting

<div><img width="800" height="450" src="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2017/06/eu-european-union-ss-1920-800x450.jpg" class="attachment-large size-large wp-post-image" alt="Flags of the European Union" style="margin-bottom: 15px;" decoding="async" srcset="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2017/06/eu-european-union-ss-1920-800x450.jpg 800w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2017/06/eu-european-union-ss-1920-600x338.jpg 600w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2017/06/eu-european-union-ss-1920-200x113.jpg 200w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2017/06/eu-european-union-ss-1920-768x432.jpg 768w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2017/06/eu-european-union-ss-1920-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2017/06/eu-european-union-ss-1920-150x84.jpg 150w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2017/06/eu-european-union-ss-1920.jpg 1920w" sizes="(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px" /></div>The record $2.7 billion fine against Google was for favoring its own price-comparison service in search results.

<div><img width="800" height="450" src="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2017/06/eu-european-union-ss-1920-800x450.jpg" class="attachment-large size-large wp-post-image" alt="Flags of the European Union" style="margin-bottom: 15px;" decoding="async" srcset="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2017/06/eu-european-union-ss-1920-800x450.jpg 800w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2017/06/eu-european-union-ss-1920-600x338.jpg 600w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2017/06/eu-european-union-ss-1920-200x113.jpg 200w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2017/06/eu-european-union-ss-1920-768x432.jpg 768w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2017/06/eu-european-union-ss-1920-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2017/06/eu-european-union-ss-1920-150x84.jpg 150w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2017/06/eu-european-union-ss-1920.jpg 1920w" sizes="(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px" /></div>
<p>The European Union&#8217;s highest court has confirmed a record $2.7 billion (€2.4 billion) fine against Google for anti-competitive practices related to its Shopping service.</p>



<p><strong>Details.</strong> The fine, initially <a href="https://searchengineland.com/eu-slaps-google-2-7-billion-antitrust-fine-277912">imposed in 2017</a>, was <a href="https://uk.news.yahoo.com/google-loses-2-4bn-eu-082317806.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">upheld</a> by the EU Court of Justice today.</p>



<ul>
<li>Google was accused of favoring its own price-comparison service in search results, disadvantaging competitors.</li>



<li><a href="https://searchengineland.com/report-google-appeal-2-7-billion-eu-fine-282313">Google appealed the case</a> to help circumvent potential similar fines and demands for change around other types of “vertical search” results such as maps/local, travel and other categories.</li>



<li>The court ruled that Google&#8217;s conduct was &#8220;discriminatory&#8221; and fell outside the scope of fair competition.</li>
</ul>



<p><strong>Why we care. </strong>While Google has already made changes to comply with the 2017 decision, this ruling could lead to further adjustments in how Google shares data, algorithm transparency and more, impacting how advertisers strategize and spend their budgets.</p>



<p><strong>What they&#8217;re saying:</strong></p>



<ul>
<li>Google: &#8220;We are disappointed with the decision&#8230; This judgment relates to a very specific set of facts.&#8221; They then continued with noting that they had made changes to comply with the European Commissions decision in 2017.</li>



<li>BEUC (European Consumer Organization): &#8220;The Court has confirmed that Google cannot unfairly deny European consumers access to full and unbiased online information.&#8221;</li>
</ul>


The European Union’s highest court has confirmed a record $2.7 billion (€2.4 billion) fine against Google for anti-competitive practices related to its Shopping service.
Details. The fine, initially imposed in 2017, was upheld by the EU Court of Justice today.
Google was accused of favoring its own price-comparison service in search results, disadvantaging competitors.
Google appealed the case to help circumvent potential similar fines and demands for change around other types of “vertical search” results such as maps/local, travel and other categories.
The court ruled that Google’s conduct was “discriminatory” and fell outside the scope of fair competition.
Why we care. While Google has already made changes to comply with the 2017 decision, this ruling could lead to further adjustments in how Google shares data, algorithm transparency and more, impacting how advertisers strategize and spend their budgets.
What they’re saying:
Google: “We are disappointed with the decision… This judgment relates to a very specific set of facts.” They then continued with noting that they had made changes to comply with the European Commissions decision in 2017.
BEUC (European Consumer Organization): “The Court has confirmed that Google cannot unfairly deny European consumers access to full and unbiased online information.”

The record $2.7 billion fine against Google was for favoring its own price-comparison service in search results.

EU’s top court upholds $2.7 billion fine against Google

<div><img width="800" height="450" src="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2023/10/shutterstock_2065351997-800x450.jpg" class="attachment-large size-large wp-post-image" alt="Google Ads (Credit: Shutterstock)" style="margin-bottom: 15px;" decoding="async" srcset="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2023/10/shutterstock_2065351997-800x450.jpg 800w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2023/10/shutterstock_2065351997-600x338.jpg 600w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2023/10/shutterstock_2065351997-200x113.jpg 200w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2023/10/shutterstock_2065351997-768x432.jpg 768w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2023/10/shutterstock_2065351997-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2023/10/shutterstock_2065351997-150x84.jpg 150w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2023/10/shutterstock_2065351997.jpg 1920w" sizes="(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px" /></div>Google's new ID verification requirement for lawyers using LSAs aims to combat fraud but may pose challenges for some businesses.

<div><img width="800" height="450" src="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2023/10/shutterstock_2065351997-800x450.jpg" class="attachment-large size-large wp-post-image" alt="Google Ads (Credit: Shutterstock)" style="margin-bottom: 15px;" decoding="async" srcset="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2023/10/shutterstock_2065351997-800x450.jpg 800w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2023/10/shutterstock_2065351997-600x338.jpg 600w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2023/10/shutterstock_2065351997-200x113.jpg 200w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2023/10/shutterstock_2065351997-768x432.jpg 768w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2023/10/shutterstock_2065351997-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2023/10/shutterstock_2065351997-150x84.jpg 150w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2023/10/shutterstock_2065351997.jpg 1920w" sizes="(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px" /></div>
<p>Google is implementing new identity verification requirements for lawyers using Local Services Ads.</p>



<p><strong>Why we care. </strong>This change aims to protect both businesses and consumers from impersonation and fraud in legal service advertisements. However, this could be an extra hurdle that some businesses may not be willing to prioritize.</p>



<p><strong>Key details</strong>.</p>



<ul>
<li><strong>Deadline:</strong> Nov. 15.</li>



<li><strong>Who&#8217;s affected:</strong> Law firms and practices using Local Services Ads.</li>



<li><strong>New requirement:</strong> Identity checks for business owners, senior partners and featured professionals.</li>
</ul>



<p><strong>How it works</strong>.</p>



<ul>
<li>Evident, Google&#8217;s partner, will email lawyers on Sept. 16.</li>



<li>Lawyers have 30 days to complete the identity verification.</li>



<li>Verified identities will be cross-checked with professional license information.</li>
</ul>



<p><strong>What&#8217;s next.</strong></p>



<ul>
<li>Business owners must update email addresses for all featured professionals by Sept. 16.</li>



<li>Each professional needs a unique email address for individual case generation.</li>
</ul>



<p><strong>First seen. </strong>This communication from Google started this week. Anthony Higman, founder and CEO of ADSQUIRE, shared the letter he received from Google on <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/posts/anthony-higman-a3656a46_welp-just-got-about-100-emails-for-google-activity-7239018320518156288-gnHA/?utm_source=share&amp;utm_medium=member_ios">LinkedIn</a>:</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img decoding="async" width="364" height="600" src="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/1725916460906-364x600.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-446437" style="width:840px;height:auto" srcset="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/1725916460906-364x600.jpeg 364w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/1725916460906-205x338.jpeg 205w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/1725916460906-69x113.jpeg 69w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/1725916460906.jpeg 454w" sizes="(max-width: 364px) 100vw, 364px" /></figure>



<p><strong>Bottom line.</strong> Failure to complete verification by the deadline could result in ads being suspended, potentially impacting law firms&#8217; online visibility and client acquisition.</p>


Google is implementing new identity verification requirements for lawyers using Local Services Ads.
Why we care. This change aims to protect both businesses and consumers from impersonation and fraud in legal service advertisements. However, this could be an extra hurdle that some businesses may not be willing to prioritize.
Key details.
Deadline: Nov. 15.
Who’s affected: Law firms and practices using Local Services Ads.
New requirement: Identity checks for business owners, senior partners and featured professionals.
How it works.
Evident, Google’s partner, will email lawyers on Sept. 16.
Lawyers have 30 days to complete the identity verification.
Verified identities will be cross-checked with professional license information.
What’s next.
Business owners must update email addresses for all featured professionals by Sept. 16.
Each professional needs a unique email address for individual case generation.
First seen. This communication from Google started this week. Anthony Higman, founder and CEO of ADSQUIRE, shared the letter he received from Google on LinkedIn:




Bottom line. Failure to complete verification by the deadline could result in ads being suspended, potentially impacting law firms’ online visibility and client acquisition.

Google's new ID verification requirement for lawyers using LSAs aims to combat fraud but may pose challenges for some businesses.

Google tightens verification for lawyers in Local Services Ads

<div><img width="800" height="450" src="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2022/07/Shutterstock_2020736465-800x450.jpg" class="attachment-large size-large wp-post-image" alt="" style="margin-bottom: 15px;" decoding="async" srcset="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2022/07/Shutterstock_2020736465-800x450.jpg 800w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2022/07/Shutterstock_2020736465-600x338.jpg 600w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2022/07/Shutterstock_2020736465-200x113.jpg 200w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2022/07/Shutterstock_2020736465-768x432.jpg 768w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2022/07/Shutterstock_2020736465-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2022/07/Shutterstock_2020736465-150x84.jpg 150w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2022/07/Shutterstock_2020736465.jpg 1920w" sizes="(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px" /></div>Google is defending its ad tech dominance, but are their claims of market competition, low fees and benefits for businesses misleading?

<div><img width="800" height="450" src="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2022/07/Shutterstock_2020736465-800x450.jpg" class="attachment-large size-large wp-post-image" alt="" style="margin-bottom: 15px;" decoding="async" srcset="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2022/07/Shutterstock_2020736465-800x450.jpg 800w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2022/07/Shutterstock_2020736465-600x338.jpg 600w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2022/07/Shutterstock_2020736465-200x113.jpg 200w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2022/07/Shutterstock_2020736465-768x432.jpg 768w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2022/07/Shutterstock_2020736465-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2022/07/Shutterstock_2020736465-150x84.jpg 150w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2022/07/Shutterstock_2020736465.jpg 1920w" sizes="(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px" /></div>
<p>With <a href="https://searchengineland.com/google-us-antitrust-jury-trial-september-437225">Google&#8217;s antitrust jury</a> trial underway, Google claimed the U.S. Department of Justice has a &#8220;narrow view&#8221; of the ad tech market and that advertisers and publishers have many alternatives. However, the evidence suggests otherwise.</p>



<p><strong>Google&#8217;s misleading claim of &#8220;hundreds of competitors.&#8221;</strong></p>



<ul>
<li>While many ad tech providers exist, Google dominates key market segments such as ad exchanges, ad networks and demand-side <a href="https://searchengineland.com/library/platforms">platforms</a>. </li>



<li>Though Google has competitors in the most basic sense of the word (i.e., there are other players in search), the gap between their share of the market and the second largest (Microsoft) is vast and has been for many years. </li>
</ul>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" width="800" height="398" src="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/Screenshot-2024-09-09-at-16.35.34-800x398.png" alt="" class="wp-image-446430" srcset="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/Screenshot-2024-09-09-at-16.35.34-800x398.png 800w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/Screenshot-2024-09-09-at-16.35.34-600x299.png 600w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/Screenshot-2024-09-09-at-16.35.34-200x100.png 200w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/Screenshot-2024-09-09-at-16.35.34-768x382.png 768w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/Screenshot-2024-09-09-at-16.35.34-1536x765.png 1536w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/Screenshot-2024-09-09-at-16.35.34.png 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px" /></figure>



<p><strong>Advertisers and publishers don&#8217;t truly have free choice</strong>.</p>



<ul>
<li>Research shows the <a href="https://www.emarketer.com/content/google-is-top-destination-ad-spend-genai-era">majority of digital ad spend flows through Google&#8217;s ad tech stack</a>, limiting choices.</li>
</ul>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" width="710" height="600" src="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/Screenshot-2024-09-10-at-14.30.10-710x600.png" alt="" class="wp-image-446433" srcset="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/Screenshot-2024-09-10-at-14.30.10-710x600.png 710w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/Screenshot-2024-09-10-at-14.30.10-400x338.png 400w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/Screenshot-2024-09-10-at-14.30.10-134x113.png 134w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/Screenshot-2024-09-10-at-14.30.10-768x649.png 768w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/Screenshot-2024-09-10-at-14.30.10.png 1202w" sizes="(max-width: 710px) 100vw, 710px" /></figure>



<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelkingphilly/">Michael King</a> of IPullRank presented in a recent <a href="https://searchengineland.com/smx">SMX</a> conference how it would take 17 years to collect the data Google get in 13 months.</li>
</ul>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" width="2048" height="1155" src="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/Screenshot-2024-09-10-at-14.09.23.png" alt="" class="wp-image-446431" srcset="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/Screenshot-2024-09-10-at-14.09.23.png 2048w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/Screenshot-2024-09-10-at-14.09.23-600x338.png 600w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/Screenshot-2024-09-10-at-14.09.23-800x451.png 800w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/Screenshot-2024-09-10-at-14.09.23-200x113.png 200w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/Screenshot-2024-09-10-at-14.09.23-768x433.png 768w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/Screenshot-2024-09-10-at-14.09.23-1536x867.png 1536w" sizes="(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px" /></figure>



<p><strong>Buying online ads isn&#8217;t cheap</strong>.</p>



<ul>
<li>Several reports this year have shown that advertising costs increased:
<ul>
<li><a href="https://searchengineland.com/google-search-ads-cpc-spend-436959">Google search CPCs up 9%, pushing ad spend up 17%</a> &#8211; leading to brands looking to diversify their ad spend.&nbsp;</li>



<li><a href="https://searchengineland.com/report-google-search-cpc-up-13-yoy-ad-spend-growth-slowing-439860">Report: Google Search CPC up 13% YoY; ad spend growth slowing</a> &#8211; where retail alone saw a 5 yr 50% increase in CPC</li>



<li><a href="https://searchengineland.com/search-advertising-benchmarks-2024-440415">Search ad costs rise, conversion rates decline again in 2024</a> &#8211; where CPCc increased across 60% of industries</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>



<p>I asked some experts to discuss <a href="https://blog.google/outreach-initiatives/public-policy/google-ad-tech-sept-2024/">this blog post</a> in which Google argued that:</p>



<ul>
<li>There are several other ad tech companies that compete in the space.</li>



<li>Ad buyers mix and match tools with rivals; therefore, they don&#8217;t get all the fees.</li>



<li>Their fees are lower than the industry average.</li>



<li>Small businesses will be hurt the most by this case.</li>
</ul>



<p><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/robertallenbrady/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Robert Brady</a> founder of Righteous Marketing, said Google is presenting a masterclass of painting oneself in a positive light:</p>



<ul>
<li>&#8220;The only statement I specifically disagree with is in the second to last paragraph where Google says &#8216;The ability to buy online ads cheaply and simply&#8230;&#8217; Most searches with commercial intent (the ones SMBs want to put their ad on) are not cheap and Google Ads is not a simple platform anymore.</li>



<li>&#8220;What Google doesn&#8217;t say is much more salient. They fail to mention their utter dominance of search, which is where you get search intent data. </li>



<li>&#8220;That advantage, having 80%+ of the internet&#8217;s search intent data, is what puts every other piece of Google&#8217;s ads tools at a significant advantage against even large competitors like Microsoft. And as long as Google can leverage that search intent data in all their other products, they&#8217;ll own this industry.&#8221;</li>
</ul>



<p>However <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/digitalsamiam/">Sam Tomlinson</a>, EVP and Director of Digital Strategy of Warschawski, pointed out several issues with the DOJ&#8217;s case:</p>



<ul>
<li><strong>He claims this to be an issue with market definition:</strong> &#8220;Honestly, Google is right on their market definition point. The relevant market should be digital advertising , not some ridiculous thing like &#8220;Non-product text based ads&#8221; &#8212; it would be absurd to say that Amazon has a monopoly on &#8220;eCommerce consumer retail&#8221; </li>



<li><strong>He doesn&#8217;t believe it is possible to assess what Google&#8217;s fees are:</strong> &#8220;[It&#8217;s] very difficult to assess Google&#8217;s fees vs. those charged by others due to the sheer volume of points in the value chain where fees can be added, often in non-transparent ways.&#8221;</li>



<li><strong>He thinks SMBs will lose if the DOJ wins SMBs: </strong>&#8220;End result to SMBs? Probably right,  to be honest. That&#8217;s not what the &#8216;Google = evil&#8217; people want to think, but the reality is that breakups would come with massive incremental costs that would be passed onto advertisers.&#8221;</li>
</ul>



<p>Tomlinson said he thinks the system will get healthier if the DOJ wins, but that it will be a painful process:</p>



<ul>
<li>&#8220;Long run, we&#8217;ll probably get a healthier, more transparent ecosystem, but the short term pain to advertisers (and by extension, publishers) is going to be brutal.&#8221;</li>
</ul>



<p><strong>Between the lines.</strong> Google portrays itself as an enabler of the free and open internet, but the DOJ argues its ad tech dominance does the opposite – it limits choice, increases costs and harms publishers.</p>



<p><strong>What&#8217;s next. </strong>The trial will test whether Google&#8217;s defiant claims hold up against the DOJ&#8217;s evidence of anticompetitive practices. A positive outcome for the DOJ, as Tomlinson noted, could reshape the digital advertising landscape.</p>


With Google’s antitrust jury trial underway, Google claimed the U.S. Department of Justice has a “narrow view” of the ad tech market and that advertisers and publishers have many alternatives. However, the evidence suggests otherwise.
Google’s misleading claim of “hundreds of competitors.”
While many ad tech providers exist, Google dominates key market segments such as ad exchanges, ad networks and demand-side platforms. 
Though Google has competitors in the most basic sense of the word (i.e., there are other players in search), the gap between their share of the market and the second largest (Microsoft) is vast and has been for many years. 




Advertisers and publishers don’t truly have free choice.
Research shows the majority of digital ad spend flows through Google’s ad tech stack, limiting choices.





Michael King of IPullRank presented in a recent SMX conference how it would take 17 years to collect the data Google get in 13 months.




Buying online ads isn’t cheap.
Several reports this year have shown that advertising costs increased:

Google search CPCs up 9%, pushing ad spend up 17% – leading to brands looking to diversify their ad spend. 
Report: Google Search CPC up 13% YoY; ad spend growth slowing – where retail alone saw a 5 yr 50% increase in CPC
Search ad costs rise, conversion rates decline again in 2024 – where CPCc increased across 60% of industries
I asked some experts to discuss this blog post in which Google argued that:
There are several other ad tech companies that compete in the space.
Ad buyers mix and match tools with rivals; therefore, they don’t get all the fees.
Their fees are lower than the industry average.
Small businesses will be hurt the most by this case.
Robert Brady founder of Righteous Marketing, said Google is presenting a masterclass of painting oneself in a positive light:
“The only statement I specifically disagree with is in the second to last paragraph where Google says ‘The ability to buy online ads cheaply and simply…’ Most searches with commercial intent (the ones SMBs want to put their ad on) are not cheap and Google Ads is not a simple platform anymore.
“What Google doesn’t say is much more salient. They fail to mention their utter dominance of search, which is where you get search intent data. 
“That advantage, having 80%+ of the internet’s search intent data, is what puts every other piece of Google’s ads tools at a significant advantage against even large competitors like Microsoft. And as long as Google can leverage that search intent data in all their other products, they’ll own this industry.”
However Sam Tomlinson, EVP and Director of Digital Strategy of Warschawski, pointed out several issues with the DOJ’s case:
He claims this to be an issue with market definition: “Honestly, Google is right on their market definition point. The relevant market should be digital advertising , not some ridiculous thing like “Non-product text based ads” — it would be absurd to say that Amazon has a monopoly on “eCommerce consumer retail” 
He doesn’t believe it is possible to assess what Google’s fees are: “[It’s] very difficult to assess Google’s fees vs. those charged by others due to the sheer volume of points in the value chain where fees can be added, often in non-transparent ways.”
He thinks SMBs will lose if the DOJ wins SMBs: “End result to SMBs? Probably right,  to be honest. That’s not what the ‘Google = evil’ people want to think, but the reality is that breakups would come with massive incremental costs that would be passed onto advertisers.”
Tomlinson said he thinks the system will get healthier if the DOJ wins, but that it will be a painful process:
“Long run, we’ll probably get a healthier, more transparent ecosystem, but the short term pain to advertisers (and by extension, publishers) is going to be brutal.”
Between the lines. Google portrays itself as an enabler of the free and open internet, but the DOJ argues its ad tech dominance does the opposite – it limits choice, increases costs and harms publishers.
What’s next. The trial will test whether Google’s defiant claims hold up against the DOJ’s evidence of anticompetitive practices. A positive outcome for the DOJ, as Tomlinson noted, could reshape the digital advertising landscape.

Google is defending its ad tech dominance, but are their claims of market competition, low fees and benefits for businesses misleading?

Google vs. DOJ: Why Google’s ‘hundreds of competitors’ claim doesn’t add up

<div><img width="800" height="450" src="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/How-to-do-PPC-competitor-analysis-800x450.png" class="attachment-large size-large wp-post-image" alt="How to do PPC competitor analysis" style="margin-bottom: 15px;" decoding="async" srcset="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/How-to-do-PPC-competitor-analysis-800x450.png 800w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/How-to-do-PPC-competitor-analysis-600x338.png 600w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/How-to-do-PPC-competitor-analysis-200x113.png 200w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/How-to-do-PPC-competitor-analysis-768x432.png 768w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/How-to-do-PPC-competitor-analysis-1536x864.png 1536w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/How-to-do-PPC-competitor-analysis.png 1920w" sizes="(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px" /></div>Monitor your PPC competitors, analyze their ad strategies and leverage insights to optimize your campaigns and post-click experiences.

<div><img width="800" height="450" src="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/How-to-do-PPC-competitor-analysis-800x450.png" class="attachment-large size-large wp-post-image" alt="How to do PPC competitor analysis" style="margin-bottom: 15px;" decoding="async" srcset="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/How-to-do-PPC-competitor-analysis-800x450.png 800w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/How-to-do-PPC-competitor-analysis-600x338.png 600w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/How-to-do-PPC-competitor-analysis-200x113.png 200w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/How-to-do-PPC-competitor-analysis-768x432.png 768w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/How-to-do-PPC-competitor-analysis-1536x864.png 1536w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/How-to-do-PPC-competitor-analysis.png 1920w" sizes="(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px" /></div>
<p>Knowing what is going on with your <a href="https://searchengineland.com/guide/what-is-paid-search">PPC</a> efforts is as important as knowing what your competitors are doing.</p>



<p>Monitoring your competitors&#8217; activities can help you capitalize on their weaknesses, draw inspiration from their strengths and identify missed opportunities.</p>



<p>Rather than copying their actions, you collect information and insights to run more effective and efficient PPC campaigns.<strong> </strong></p>



<p>Here is some guidance on how you can conduct your own PPC competitor analysis. </p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-1-check-out-the-google-ads-transparency-center">1. Check out the Google Ads Transparency Center</h2>



<p>The Google Ads Transparency Center is a free and easy-to-use tool that allows you to search for a company and see what ads it has been running. (Only ads from verified advertisers are available in the Transparency Center.)</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><img decoding="async" width="1600" height="876" src="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/An-example-of-a-search-for-ASOS.com-via-the-Google-Ads-Transparency-Center.png" alt="

An example of a search for ASOS.com via the Google Ads Transparency Center
" class="wp-image-446368" srcset="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/An-example-of-a-search-for-ASOS.com-via-the-Google-Ads-Transparency-Center.png 1600w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/An-example-of-a-search-for-ASOS.com-via-the-Google-Ads-Transparency-Center-600x329.png 600w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/An-example-of-a-search-for-ASOS.com-via-the-Google-Ads-Transparency-Center-800x438.png 800w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/An-example-of-a-search-for-ASOS.com-via-the-Google-Ads-Transparency-Center-200x110.png 200w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/An-example-of-a-search-for-ASOS.com-via-the-Google-Ads-Transparency-Center-768x420.png 768w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/An-example-of-a-search-for-ASOS.com-via-the-Google-Ads-Transparency-Center-1536x841.png 1536w" sizes="(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption"><em>Above: An example of a search for ASOS.com via the Google Ads Transparency Center</em></figcaption></figure>



<p>Covering Search, Shopping, YouTube and more, it offers filters including date range, location and ad type so you can hone in on your competitors&#8217; activities. It can even tell you when the last time a particular ad was shown.&nbsp;</p>



<p>This information is valuable as it allows you to read and see the type of copy and creatives your competitor uses, allowing you to get a better picture of their ad strategy. </p>



<p>It is particularly useful when analyzing their display ads, which can be tricky to catch in the wild.</p>



<p><strong><em>Dig deeper: </em></strong><a href="https://searchengineland.com/benchmark-ppc-competitors-guide-438641"><strong><em>How to benchmark PPC competitors: The definitive guide</em></strong></a></p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-2-roleplay-a-potential-customer">2. Roleplay a potential customer</h2>



<p>While breaking PPC etiquette, clicking on an ad and exploring your competitors&#8217; offerings from the perspective of a potential customer is a great way to see what kind of experience they are offering.</p>



<p>By taking the steps of a potential customer (i.e., making a search, seeing an ad, clicking on an ad, seeing the landing page, reading through their page content, etc.), you can take note of several important information, including:</p>



<ul>
<li>What ad copy are they using? Is it relevant to the search term?</li>



<li>What landing page are they using? Is it PPC-specific or just their homepage?&nbsp;</li>



<li>What first impressions does the landing page give?</li>



<li>How easy is their website to navigate?</li>



<li>Is their CTA clear? What do they want PPC traffic to do?&nbsp;</li>
</ul>



<p>This insight is useful for optimizing your campaigns and shaping your <a href="https://searchengineland.com/ppc-landing-pages-post-click-experience-440297">post-click strategy</a>, ensuring that your PPC traffic is given the best experience possible once they are on your site.</p>



<p>We often focus on getting a click and not enough on what we can do to turn that visit into a conversion.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Look at what your competitor is doing with their post-click experience and see if there are any opportunities for you to improve yours.</p>



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<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-3-review-your-auction-insights">3. Review your Auction Insights</h2>



<p>Inside Google Ads, you’ll find a very helpful report called <a href="https://searchengineland.com/auction-insights-ppc-competitor-analysis-435184">Auction Insights</a> under the <em>Insights and Reports</em> section.</p>



<p>This report enables you to compare your performance to that of your auction competitors, offering you the type of campaign performance information that your competitors won’t openly discuss.&nbsp;</p>


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-full"><img decoding="async" width="1600" height="733" src="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/A-screenshot-of-the-Auction-Insights-report-in-Google-Ads-.png" alt="A screenshot of the Auction Insights report in Google Ads " class="wp-image-446369" srcset="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/A-screenshot-of-the-Auction-Insights-report-in-Google-Ads-.png 1600w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/A-screenshot-of-the-Auction-Insights-report-in-Google-Ads--600x275.png 600w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/A-screenshot-of-the-Auction-Insights-report-in-Google-Ads--800x367.png 800w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/A-screenshot-of-the-Auction-Insights-report-in-Google-Ads--200x92.png 200w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/A-screenshot-of-the-Auction-Insights-report-in-Google-Ads--768x352.png 768w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/A-screenshot-of-the-Auction-Insights-report-in-Google-Ads--1536x704.png 1536w" sizes="(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption"><em><em>Above: A screenshot of the Auction Insights report in Google Ads&nbsp;</em></em></figcaption></figure></div>


<p>The metrics you will see in this report will depend on the type of campaign you are running, but the three that are universally applicable are:</p>



<ul>
<li><a href="https://searchengineland.com/impression-share-ppc-performance-395509">Impression share</a>.</li>



<li>Overlap rate.</li>



<li>Outranking share.</li>
</ul>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-impression-share-is">Impression share (IS)</h3>



<ul>
<li>This refers to the number of Impressions you received divided by the estimated amount of impressions you were eligible to receive.</li>



<li>A low impression share could indicate issues with approval statuses and <a href="https://searchengineland.com/quality-score-ppc-394513">quality scores</a>, but it could also mean that your targeting options have restricted your reach.</li>



<li>Look through your statuses to ensure you’ve not got any unaddressed disapprovals and double-check that you’ve not implemented any unnecessary targeting restrictions.</li>
</ul>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-overlap-rate">Overlap rate</h3>



<ul>
<li>This details how frequently your competitors&#8217; ads were shown on the same results page as your own ads.</li>



<li>This is an interesting metric as it allows you to gauge how often your target audience is seeing ads from both you and your competitor during the same search.</li>



<li>Are you often being shown alongside your competitor? If so, what can you do to ensure that your ads stand out the most?</li>
</ul>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-outranking-share">Outranking share</h3>



<ul>
<li>This metric is the percentage of times that your ad ranked higher than other advertisers in the same auction.</li>



<li>If you’re seeing that your competitors are regularly outranking you, look at what you can do to improve your Ad Rank including your bid strategy and ad relevance.</li>
</ul>



<p>There is also a similar report in Microsoft Advertising, which offers the same metrics and can be found by selecting <em>Competition</em> within the <em>Campaigns</em> box.</p>


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-large"><img decoding="async" width="800" height="426" src="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/A-screenshot-of-the-Auction-Insights-report-in-Microsoft-Advertising-800x426.png" alt="A screenshot of the Auction Insights report in Microsoft Advertising" class="wp-image-446370" srcset="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/A-screenshot-of-the-Auction-Insights-report-in-Microsoft-Advertising-800x426.png 800w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/A-screenshot-of-the-Auction-Insights-report-in-Microsoft-Advertising-600x320.png 600w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/A-screenshot-of-the-Auction-Insights-report-in-Microsoft-Advertising-200x107.png 200w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/A-screenshot-of-the-Auction-Insights-report-in-Microsoft-Advertising-768x409.png 768w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/A-screenshot-of-the-Auction-Insights-report-in-Microsoft-Advertising-1536x818.png 1536w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/A-screenshot-of-the-Auction-Insights-report-in-Microsoft-Advertising.png 1600w" sizes="(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption"><em><em>Above: A screenshot of the Auction Insights report in Microsoft Advertising</em></em></figcaption></figure></div>


<p>Looking at both reports allows you to see if there are differences in competitors across the two <a href="https://searchengineland.com/library/platforms">platforms</a>.&nbsp;</p>



<p>For example, while one competitor might outperform you on Google Ads, you might have the upper hand on Microsoft Advertising.&nbsp;</p>



<p><strong><em>Dig deeper: </em></strong><a href="https://searchengineland.com/target-ppc-competitors-audience-439843"><strong><em>3 ways to target your PPC competitors’ audience</em></strong></a></p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-4-use-third-party-tools">4. Use third-party tools</h2>



<p>Many third-party tools are available that can provide further information about your competitors&#8217; PPC activities, including keyword data and budget estimations.<br><br>These can be a great way to add further details to your competitor analysis, particularly when performing keyword gap analysis.</p>



<p>However, remember that unless you’ve got an overly friendly competitor who will give you direct access to analysis of their performance data, you won’t see 100% accurate competitor data via a third-party tool.&nbsp;</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-analyzing-your-competitors-ppc-efforts">Analyzing your competitors’ PPC efforts</h2>



<p>Remember that when conducting competitor analysis, you are looking for inspiration and ideas; we are <strong>not</strong> looking to create a carbon copy of what your competitors are doing.</p>



<p>By analyzing their efforts, we can spot missed opportunities and areas of improvement that we can implement into our own work, allowing us to run better PPC campaigns.</p>



<p><strong><em>Dig deeper: </em></strong><a href="https://searchengineland.com/ppc-using-branded-competitor-keywords-435561"><strong><em>When to use branded and competitor keywords in PPC</em></strong></a></p>

Knowing what is going on with your PPC efforts is as important as knowing what your competitors are doing.
Monitoring your competitors’ activities can help you capitalize on their weaknesses, draw inspiration from their strengths and identify missed opportunities.
Rather than copying their actions, you collect information and insights to run more effective and efficient PPC campaigns. 
Here is some guidance on how you can conduct your own PPC competitor analysis. 
1. Check out the Google Ads Transparency Center
The Google Ads Transparency Center is a free and easy-to-use tool that allows you to search for a company and see what ads it has been running. (Only ads from verified advertisers are available in the Transparency Center.)
Above: An example of a search for ASOS.com via the Google Ads Transparency Center



Covering Search, Shopping, YouTube and more, it offers filters including date range, location and ad type so you can hone in on your competitors’ activities. It can even tell you when the last time a particular ad was shown. 
This information is valuable as it allows you to read and see the type of copy and creatives your competitor uses, allowing you to get a better picture of their ad strategy. 
It is particularly useful when analyzing their display ads, which can be tricky to catch in the wild.
Dig deeper: How to benchmark PPC competitors: The definitive guide
2. Roleplay a potential customer
While breaking PPC etiquette, clicking on an ad and exploring your competitors’ offerings from the perspective of a potential customer is a great way to see what kind of experience they are offering.
By taking the steps of a potential customer (i.e., making a search, seeing an ad, clicking on an ad, seeing the landing page, reading through their page content, etc.), you can take note of several important information, including:
What ad copy are they using? Is it relevant to the search term?
What landing page are they using? Is it PPC-specific or just their homepage? 
What first impressions does the landing page give?
How easy is their website to navigate?
Is their CTA clear? What do they want PPC traffic to do? 
This insight is useful for optimizing your campaigns and shaping your post-click strategy, ensuring that your PPC traffic is given the best experience possible once they are on your site.
We often focus on getting a click and not enough on what we can do to turn that visit into a conversion. 
Look at what your competitor is doing with their post-click experience and see if there are any opportunities for you to improve yours.

					
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3. Review your Auction Insights
Inside Google Ads, you’ll find a very helpful report called Auction Insights under the Insights and Reports section.
This report enables you to compare your performance to that of your auction competitors, offering you the type of campaign performance information that your competitors won’t openly discuss. 
Above: A screenshot of the Auction Insights report in Google Ads 
The metrics you will see in this report will depend on the type of campaign you are running, but the three that are universally applicable are:
Impression share.
Overlap rate.
Outranking share.
Impression share (IS)
This refers to the number of Impressions you received divided by the estimated amount of impressions you were eligible to receive.
A low impression share could indicate issues with approval statuses and quality scores, but it could also mean that your targeting options have restricted your reach.
Look through your statuses to ensure you’ve not got any unaddressed disapprovals and double-check that you’ve not implemented any unnecessary targeting restrictions.
Overlap rate
This details how frequently your competitors’ ads were shown on the same results page as your own ads.
This is an interesting metric as it allows you to gauge how often your target audience is seeing ads from both you and your competitor during the same search.
Are you often being shown alongside your competitor? If so, what can you do to ensure that your ads stand out the most?
Outranking share
This metric is the percentage of times that your ad ranked higher than other advertisers in the same auction.
If you’re seeing that your competitors are regularly outranking you, look at what you can do to improve your Ad Rank including your bid strategy and ad relevance.
There is also a similar report in Microsoft Advertising, which offers the same metrics and can be found by selecting Competition within the Campaigns box.
Above: A screenshot of the Auction Insights report in Microsoft Advertising
Looking at both reports allows you to see if there are differences in competitors across the two platforms. 
For example, while one competitor might outperform you on Google Ads, you might have the upper hand on Microsoft Advertising. 
Dig deeper: 3 ways to target your PPC competitors’ audience
4. Use third-party tools
Many third-party tools are available that can provide further information about your competitors’ PPC activities, including keyword data and budget estimations.
These can be a great way to add further details to your competitor analysis, particularly when performing keyword gap analysis.
However, remember that unless you’ve got an overly friendly competitor who will give you direct access to analysis of their performance data, you won’t see 100% accurate competitor data via a third-party tool. 
Analyzing your competitors’ PPC efforts
Remember that when conducting competitor analysis, you are looking for inspiration and ideas; we are not looking to create a carbon copy of what your competitors are doing.
By analyzing their efforts, we can spot missed opportunities and areas of improvement that we can implement into our own work, allowing us to run better PPC campaigns.
Dig deeper: When to use branded and competitor keywords in PPC

Monitor your PPC competitors, analyze their ad strategies and leverage insights to optimize your campaigns and post-click experiences.

How to do PPC competitor analysis

<div><img width="800" height="450" src="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/Does-generative-AI-save-time-money-and-resources-in-SEO-800x450.png" class="attachment-large size-large wp-post-image" alt="Does generative AI save time, money and resources in SEO?" style="margin-bottom: 15px;" decoding="async" srcset="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/Does-generative-AI-save-time-money-and-resources-in-SEO-800x450.png 800w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/Does-generative-AI-save-time-money-and-resources-in-SEO-600x338.png 600w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/Does-generative-AI-save-time-money-and-resources-in-SEO-200x113.png 200w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/Does-generative-AI-save-time-money-and-resources-in-SEO-768x432.png 768w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/Does-generative-AI-save-time-money-and-resources-in-SEO-1536x864.png 1536w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/Does-generative-AI-save-time-money-and-resources-in-SEO.png 1920w" sizes="(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px" /></div>Explore AI's impact on SEO efficiency, cost-saving and resource management through these real-world use cases.

<div><img width="800" height="450" src="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/Does-generative-AI-save-time-money-and-resources-in-SEO-800x450.png" class="attachment-large size-large wp-post-image" alt="Does generative AI save time, money and resources in SEO?" style="margin-bottom: 15px;" decoding="async" srcset="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/Does-generative-AI-save-time-money-and-resources-in-SEO-800x450.png 800w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/Does-generative-AI-save-time-money-and-resources-in-SEO-600x338.png 600w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/Does-generative-AI-save-time-money-and-resources-in-SEO-200x113.png 200w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/Does-generative-AI-save-time-money-and-resources-in-SEO-768x432.png 768w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/Does-generative-AI-save-time-money-and-resources-in-SEO-1536x864.png 1536w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/Does-generative-AI-save-time-money-and-resources-in-SEO.png 1920w" sizes="(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px" /></div>
<p><a href="https://searchengineland.com/what-is-generative-ai-how-it-works-432402">Generative AI</a> is undeniably making its mark on the <a href="https://searchengineland.com/guide/what-is-seo">SEO</a> industry, but the real value lies in understanding how it affects the bottom line for SEOs and businesses.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Can these tools truly streamline workflows, save valuable time and optimize resources or do they still require significant human intervention to get things right?</p>



<p>Today, we’ll dig into whether AI is living up to its promise of saving time, money and resources in SEO.&nbsp;</p>



<p>We’ll explore how AI has transformed various SEO processes – from content creation to keyword research – and discuss the limitations that come with these advancements.&nbsp;</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-evaluating-ai-s-impact-on-time-money-and-resources">Evaluating AI&#8217;s impact on time, money and resources</h2>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-can-ai-save-time">Can AI save time?</h3>



<p>One of AI&#8217;s most immediate benefits in SEO is its ability to save time.&nbsp;</p>



<p>AI excels at automating repetitive, time-consuming tasks such as <a href="https://searchengineland.com/write-title-tags-seo-chatgpt-394793">generating titles</a> or meta descriptions, keyword clustering and even drafting content.&nbsp;</p>



<p>What might have taken hours or days of manual work can now be done in a fraction of the time with AI-powered tools.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-does-ai-save-money">Does AI save money?</h3>



<p>While AI tools often come with subscription costs, the return on investment typically comes through the time savings they provide, translating into indirect cost savings.&nbsp;</p>



<p>By automating tasks that used to require manual labor or expensive outsourcing, AI allows teams to accomplish more in less time.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-does-ai-conserve-resources">Does AI conserve resources?</h3>



<p>AI’s ability to streamline workflows and automate tasks helps SEO teams do more with fewer resources.&nbsp;</p>



<p>In scenarios where SEO teams might be small or stretched thin, AI can take over repetitive work, allowing people to be focused on higher-level, more strategic tasks.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-use-case-1-content-creation-efficiency">Use case 1: Content creation efficiency</h2>



<p>Writing content from scratch can be labor-intensive, but AI brings efficiency by automating repetitive tasks and providing a solid starting point for content creation.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Editing AI-generated content is faster than writing from scratch and still allows for personalization, enabling content writers to infuse their unique voice and style into the work.&nbsp;</p>



<p>While AI can produce drafts quickly, a human editor is 100% necessary to ensure that the content meets Google&#8217;s <a href="https://searchengineland.com/google-e-e-a-t-guide-seo-394191">E-E-A-T</a> standards – experience, expertise, authoritativeness and trustworthiness – and that it maintains high quality.&nbsp;</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-titles-and-descriptions">Titles and descriptions</h3>



<p>Generating titles and meta descriptions for thousands of URLs manually is daunting, but AI tools like BulkGPT make this process far more efficient.&nbsp;</p>



<p>By feeding a list of URLs into the tool along with your prompt, SEOs can quickly produce optimized titles and meta descriptions at scale. This automation drastically reduces the time spent on such tasks from days to hours.</p>



<p>Using BulkGPT, you can reduce the time spent writing page titles and meta descriptions by more than 70%.&nbsp;</p>



<p>For example, creating titles and descriptions for 1,000 URLs, even at one minute per page, would have taken you 12+ hours before.&nbsp;</p>



<p>With the streamlined, AI-powered workflow, this may take you only four hours.&nbsp;</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-content-briefs">Content briefs</h3>



<p>Developing detailed content briefs that align with SEO strategies is critical but was previously tedious.&nbsp;</p>



<p>AI tools like ChatGPT and Gemini simplify the process by generating structured briefs based on keyword inputs and desired topics.&nbsp;</p>



<p>These tools provide a framework for content creators, ensuring that their content is on target from the start.</p>



<p>With AI-generated content briefs, SEO professionals save hours in the planning stage, giving them more time to focus on refining the content or developing new strategies.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-article-outlines-and-complete-articles">Article outlines and complete articles</h3>



<p>When it comes to generating full-length articles, AI tools like ChatGPT and Gemini provide substantial support by quickly drafting content based on input prompts or keywords.</p>



<p>These tools offer a strong foundation for content writers, helping to streamline the writing process.</p>



<p>While ChatGPT and Gemini excel at content generation, they perform best when given clear direction and broken into manageable tasks.</p>



<p>Instead of generating an entire article in one go, it’s more effective to begin by having the tool generate a well-structured outline. Then generate content one section at a time and provide feedback along the way.</p>



<p>This allows you to guide the tools to match your voice and intent better. This iterative approach often results in higher-quality content that requires less extensive revisions later.</p>


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-full"><img decoding="async" width="1233" height="1116" src="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/ChatGPT-Article-outlines.png" alt="ChatGPT - Article outlines" class="wp-image-446380" srcset="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/ChatGPT-Article-outlines.png 1233w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/ChatGPT-Article-outlines-373x338.png 373w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/ChatGPT-Article-outlines-663x600.png 663w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/ChatGPT-Article-outlines-125x113.png 125w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/ChatGPT-Article-outlines-768x695.png 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1233px) 100vw, 1233px" /></figure></div>


<p>Even though AI significantly speeds up the drafting phase, human oversight is still essential to polishing and refining the content.</p>



<p>The shift from creation to editing allows writers to focus on perfecting the final product rather than getting bogged down in the initial draft.</p>



<p>This efficiency saves time and enables teams to produce more content in shorter time frames, all while maintaining a high standard of quality.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-use-case-2-keyword-research-and-clustering-automation">Use case 2: Keyword research and clustering automation</h2>



<p>Keyword research has traditionally required SEOs to:</p>



<ul>
<li>Manually gather keywords.</li>



<li>Analyze data by poring over massive spreadsheets.</li>



<li>Grouping them into meaningful clusters.&nbsp;</li>
</ul>



<p>Today, AI tools like Keyword Insights have revolutionized this process by automating keyword clustering and prioritization while delivering actionable insights faster.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-automating-keyword-clustering">Automating keyword clustering</h3>


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-full"><img decoding="async" width="1600" height="793" src="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/Keyword-Insights-Automating-keyword-clustering.png" alt="Keyword Insights - Automating keyword clustering" class="wp-image-446381" srcset="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/Keyword-Insights-Automating-keyword-clustering.png 1600w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/Keyword-Insights-Automating-keyword-clustering-600x297.png 600w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/Keyword-Insights-Automating-keyword-clustering-800x397.png 800w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/Keyword-Insights-Automating-keyword-clustering-200x99.png 200w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/Keyword-Insights-Automating-keyword-clustering-768x381.png 768w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/Keyword-Insights-Automating-keyword-clustering-1536x761.png 1536w" sizes="(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px" /></figure></div>


<p>Keyword Insights simplifies keyword clustering by analyzing large sets of keywords and organizing them by relevance and search intent.</p>



<p>You can import keywords from tools like Semrush, and the <a href="https://searchengineland.com/library/platforms">platform</a> uses AI to align them with your SEO goals.</p>



<p>It identifies valuable opportunities that manual clustering might miss and even evaluates your site&#8217;s current keyword rankings, providing a personalized difficulty score.</p>



<p>This helps SEO teams make more informed, data-driven decisions and save time, depending on their existing processes.</p>



<p>Moving from my cumbersome, spreadsheet-based analysis to this AI-streamlined workflow saved nearly 70% of the time spent on keyword research and cluster analysis.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-using-chatgpt-for-keyword-clustering">Using ChatGPT for keyword clustering</h3>



<p>While KeywordInsights.AI is the go-to tool for automating keyword clustering, ChatGPT can also assist with this task.&nbsp;</p>



<p>ChatGPT can provide basic keyword groupings based on intent and relevance by feeding it keyword lists and specific prompts.&nbsp;</p>



<p>It works well for smaller, simpler projects where clustering doesn’t require as much precision or prioritization.</p>



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<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-use-case-3-custom-gpts-for-specialized-seo-tasks">Use case 3: Custom GPTs for specialized SEO tasks</h2>



<p><a href="https://searchengineland.com/best-custom-gpts-seo-gpt-store-437684">Custom GPTs</a> can be a game-changer for handling specific, repeatable SEO tasks that are otherwise time-consuming.</p>



<p>By training a custom GPT, you can automate tasks like keyword clustering, creating detailed content briefs and identifying striking distance opportunities – all with a tailored, AI-powered assistant that thinks like you.</p>



<p>Instead of relying on generic AI models, a custom GPT learns your specific SEO workflow, preferences and nuances, making it more efficient and accurate for your unique needs.</p>


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-full"><img decoding="async" width="1600" height="823" src="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/Custom-GPT-Striking-distance-keyword-opportunity-analyzer.png" alt="Custom GPT - Striking distance keyword opportunity analyzer" class="wp-image-446382" srcset="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/Custom-GPT-Striking-distance-keyword-opportunity-analyzer.png 1600w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/Custom-GPT-Striking-distance-keyword-opportunity-analyzer-600x309.png 600w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/Custom-GPT-Striking-distance-keyword-opportunity-analyzer-800x412.png 800w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/Custom-GPT-Striking-distance-keyword-opportunity-analyzer-200x103.png 200w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/Custom-GPT-Striking-distance-keyword-opportunity-analyzer-768x395.png 768w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/Custom-GPT-Striking-distance-keyword-opportunity-analyzer-1536x790.png 1536w" sizes="(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px" /></figure></div>


<p>While the initial time investment in training a custom GPT can be substantial, the long-term benefits are undeniable.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Once trained, a custom GPT becomes part of your SEO team, handling tasks with your specific approach.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Over time, the more you refine and update the GPT, the more intuitive and valuable it becomes – continuously reducing the time and resources required to handle specific SEO tasks.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-use-case-4-streamline-your-workflow-with-comprehensive-ai-powered-tools">Use case 4: Streamline your workflow with comprehensive AI-powered tools</h2>



<p>Surfer leverages powerful AI-driven natural language processing (NLP) capabilities to streamline your SEO workflow from keyword clustering to content creation.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Surfer’s NLP helps analyze and understand the structure of top-ranking content and guides the SEO process with real-time insights.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Here are three key areas of your workflow that can be streamlined by the AI-powered Surfer:</p>



<ul>
<li><strong>Keyword Clustering</strong>: Starts with a single seed keyword and automatically generates keyword clusters based on search intent and relevance, saving significant time and improving accuracy. One click and you can launch any cluster in the Content Editor.</li>



<li><strong>Content Editor</strong>: Analyzes top-ranking content in real time, offering recommendations on keyword usage, headings and content length to optimize for search engines. As you write, it dynamically updates with real-time feedback to help your content align with the patterns of high-performing pages, improving its chances of ranking well.</li>



<li><strong>AI Writer</strong>: Generates SEO-friendly content drafts quickly, helping you scale content creation within a single workflow.</li>
</ul>



<p>Surfer’s natural language processing capabilities underpin these key features, driving smarter, more efficient SEO workflows.&nbsp;</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-ai-s-limitations-the-need-for-human-oversight">AI’s limitations: The need for human oversight</h2>



<p>While AI has advanced significantly, it is still prone to inaccuracies and hallucinations.&nbsp;</p>



<p>For example, early on, Gemini (previously Bard) would authoritatively provide page speed scores despite not having access to Lighthouse or give keyword search volume data without any access to Google Ad Planner.&nbsp;</p>



<p>It would even send inaccurate information about its own search ranking algorithms when asked for a list of core algorithm updates.</p>



<p>These errors highlight why human oversight remains essential in SEO workflows.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Editors must review AI-generated content to ensure accuracy, relevance, quality and that it fits the brand voice.&nbsp;</p>



<p>AI speeds up content creation, but human review is essential to catch mistakes and ensure quality.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Editing AI-generated content is faster than creating it from scratch, but human oversight is crucial for reliable results.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-ai-a-powerful-ally-for-seos">AI: A powerful ally for SEOs</h2>



<p>Ultimately, the best way to save time, money and resources in SEO is through efficiency – that’s where AI excels.&nbsp;</p>



<p>By leveraging AI to streamline tasks and enhance data analysis, SEO teams can optimize workflows, make smarter decisions and allocate resources where they matter most.&nbsp;</p>



<p>The key is balancing AI’s speed and efficiency with human oversight to ensure both quality and effectiveness.</p>

Generative AI is undeniably making its mark on the SEO industry, but the real value lies in understanding how it affects the bottom line for SEOs and businesses. 
Can these tools truly streamline workflows, save valuable time and optimize resources or do they still require significant human intervention to get things right?
Today, we’ll dig into whether AI is living up to its promise of saving time, money and resources in SEO. 
We’ll explore how AI has transformed various SEO processes – from content creation to keyword research – and discuss the limitations that come with these advancements. 
Evaluating AI’s impact on time, money and resources
Can AI save time?
One of AI’s most immediate benefits in SEO is its ability to save time. 
AI excels at automating repetitive, time-consuming tasks such as generating titles or meta descriptions, keyword clustering and even drafting content. 
What might have taken hours or days of manual work can now be done in a fraction of the time with AI-powered tools.
Does AI save money?
While AI tools often come with subscription costs, the return on investment typically comes through the time savings they provide, translating into indirect cost savings. 
By automating tasks that used to require manual labor or expensive outsourcing, AI allows teams to accomplish more in less time.
Does AI conserve resources?
AI’s ability to streamline workflows and automate tasks helps SEO teams do more with fewer resources. 
In scenarios where SEO teams might be small or stretched thin, AI can take over repetitive work, allowing people to be focused on higher-level, more strategic tasks.
Use case 1: Content creation efficiency
Writing content from scratch can be labor-intensive, but AI brings efficiency by automating repetitive tasks and providing a solid starting point for content creation. 
Editing AI-generated content is faster than writing from scratch and still allows for personalization, enabling content writers to infuse their unique voice and style into the work. 
While AI can produce drafts quickly, a human editor is 100% necessary to ensure that the content meets Google’s E-E-A-T standards – experience, expertise, authoritativeness and trustworthiness – and that it maintains high quality. 
Titles and descriptions
Generating titles and meta descriptions for thousands of URLs manually is daunting, but AI tools like BulkGPT make this process far more efficient. 
By feeding a list of URLs into the tool along with your prompt, SEOs can quickly produce optimized titles and meta descriptions at scale. This automation drastically reduces the time spent on such tasks from days to hours.
Using BulkGPT, you can reduce the time spent writing page titles and meta descriptions by more than 70%. 
For example, creating titles and descriptions for 1,000 URLs, even at one minute per page, would have taken you 12+ hours before. 
With the streamlined, AI-powered workflow, this may take you only four hours. 
Content briefs
Developing detailed content briefs that align with SEO strategies is critical but was previously tedious. 
AI tools like ChatGPT and Gemini simplify the process by generating structured briefs based on keyword inputs and desired topics. 
These tools provide a framework for content creators, ensuring that their content is on target from the start.
With AI-generated content briefs, SEO professionals save hours in the planning stage, giving them more time to focus on refining the content or developing new strategies.
Article outlines and complete articles
When it comes to generating full-length articles, AI tools like ChatGPT and Gemini provide substantial support by quickly drafting content based on input prompts or keywords.
These tools offer a strong foundation for content writers, helping to streamline the writing process.
While ChatGPT and Gemini excel at content generation, they perform best when given clear direction and broken into manageable tasks.
Instead of generating an entire article in one go, it’s more effective to begin by having the tool generate a well-structured outline. Then generate content one section at a time and provide feedback along the way.
This allows you to guide the tools to match your voice and intent better. This iterative approach often results in higher-quality content that requires less extensive revisions later.

Even though AI significantly speeds up the drafting phase, human oversight is still essential to polishing and refining the content.
The shift from creation to editing allows writers to focus on perfecting the final product rather than getting bogged down in the initial draft.
This efficiency saves time and enables teams to produce more content in shorter time frames, all while maintaining a high standard of quality.
Use case 2: Keyword research and clustering automation
Keyword research has traditionally required SEOs to:
Manually gather keywords.
Analyze data by poring over massive spreadsheets.
Grouping them into meaningful clusters. 
Today, AI tools like Keyword Insights have revolutionized this process by automating keyword clustering and prioritization while delivering actionable insights faster.
Automating keyword clustering

Keyword Insights simplifies keyword clustering by analyzing large sets of keywords and organizing them by relevance and search intent.
You can import keywords from tools like Semrush, and the platform uses AI to align them with your SEO goals.
It identifies valuable opportunities that manual clustering might miss and even evaluates your site’s current keyword rankings, providing a personalized difficulty score.
This helps SEO teams make more informed, data-driven decisions and save time, depending on their existing processes.
Moving from my cumbersome, spreadsheet-based analysis to this AI-streamlined workflow saved nearly 70% of the time spent on keyword research and cluster analysis.
Using ChatGPT for keyword clustering
While KeywordInsights.AI is the go-to tool for automating keyword clustering, ChatGPT can also assist with this task. 
ChatGPT can provide basic keyword groupings based on intent and relevance by feeding it keyword lists and specific prompts. 
It works well for smaller, simpler projects where clustering doesn’t require as much precision or prioritization.

					
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Use case 3: Custom GPTs for specialized SEO tasks
Custom GPTs can be a game-changer for handling specific, repeatable SEO tasks that are otherwise time-consuming.
By training a custom GPT, you can automate tasks like keyword clustering, creating detailed content briefs and identifying striking distance opportunities – all with a tailored, AI-powered assistant that thinks like you.
Instead of relying on generic AI models, a custom GPT learns your specific SEO workflow, preferences and nuances, making it more efficient and accurate for your unique needs.

While the initial time investment in training a custom GPT can be substantial, the long-term benefits are undeniable. 
Once trained, a custom GPT becomes part of your SEO team, handling tasks with your specific approach. 
Over time, the more you refine and update the GPT, the more intuitive and valuable it becomes – continuously reducing the time and resources required to handle specific SEO tasks.
Use case 4: Streamline your workflow with comprehensive AI-powered tools
Surfer leverages powerful AI-driven natural language processing (NLP) capabilities to streamline your SEO workflow from keyword clustering to content creation. 
Surfer’s NLP helps analyze and understand the structure of top-ranking content and guides the SEO process with real-time insights. 
Here are three key areas of your workflow that can be streamlined by the AI-powered Surfer:
Keyword Clustering: Starts with a single seed keyword and automatically generates keyword clusters based on search intent and relevance, saving significant time and improving accuracy. One click and you can launch any cluster in the Content Editor.
Content Editor: Analyzes top-ranking content in real time, offering recommendations on keyword usage, headings and content length to optimize for search engines. As you write, it dynamically updates with real-time feedback to help your content align with the patterns of high-performing pages, improving its chances of ranking well.
AI Writer: Generates SEO-friendly content drafts quickly, helping you scale content creation within a single workflow.
Surfer’s natural language processing capabilities underpin these key features, driving smarter, more efficient SEO workflows. 
AI’s limitations: The need for human oversight
While AI has advanced significantly, it is still prone to inaccuracies and hallucinations. 
For example, early on, Gemini (previously Bard) would authoritatively provide page speed scores despite not having access to Lighthouse or give keyword search volume data without any access to Google Ad Planner. 
It would even send inaccurate information about its own search ranking algorithms when asked for a list of core algorithm updates.
These errors highlight why human oversight remains essential in SEO workflows. 
Editors must review AI-generated content to ensure accuracy, relevance, quality and that it fits the brand voice. 
AI speeds up content creation, but human review is essential to catch mistakes and ensure quality. 
Editing AI-generated content is faster than creating it from scratch, but human oversight is crucial for reliable results.
AI: A powerful ally for SEOs
Ultimately, the best way to save time, money and resources in SEO is through efficiency – that’s where AI excels. 
By leveraging AI to streamline tasks and enhance data analysis, SEO teams can optimize workflows, make smarter decisions and allocate resources where they matter most. 
The key is balancing AI’s speed and efficiency with human oversight to ensure both quality and effectiveness.

Explore AI's impact on SEO efficiency, cost-saving and resource management through these real-world use cases.

Does generative AI save time, money and resources in SEO?

<div><img width="800" height="415" src="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/apple-visual-intelligence-camera-local-1725909323-800x415.jpg" class="attachment-large size-large wp-post-image" alt="" style="margin-bottom: 15px;" decoding="async" srcset="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/apple-visual-intelligence-camera-local-1725909323-800x415.jpg 800w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/apple-visual-intelligence-camera-local-1725909323-600x311.jpg 600w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/apple-visual-intelligence-camera-local-1725909323-200x104.jpg 200w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/apple-visual-intelligence-camera-local-1725909323-768x398.jpg 768w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/apple-visual-intelligence-camera-local-1725909323-1536x796.jpg 1536w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/apple-visual-intelligence-camera-local-1725909323-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px" /></div>Apple uses Google, OpenAI and other search providers for the search results.

<div><img width="800" height="415" src="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/apple-visual-intelligence-camera-local-1725909323-800x415.jpg" class="attachment-large size-large wp-post-image" alt="" style="margin-bottom: 15px;" decoding="async" srcset="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/apple-visual-intelligence-camera-local-1725909323-800x415.jpg 800w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/apple-visual-intelligence-camera-local-1725909323-600x311.jpg 600w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/apple-visual-intelligence-camera-local-1725909323-200x104.jpg 200w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/apple-visual-intelligence-camera-local-1725909323-768x398.jpg 768w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/apple-visual-intelligence-camera-local-1725909323-1536x796.jpg 1536w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/apple-visual-intelligence-camera-local-1725909323-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px" /></div>
<p>Apple demonstrated a new search experience with Apple Intelligence named Apple Visual Intelligence. It looks and feels like Google Lens but it uses the native iPhone camera and is built into Apple Intelligence directly.</p>



<p>Plus, it seems to use third-party search providers, like Google, OpenAI&#8217;s ChatGPT and Yelp for its search results &#8211; depending on the type of query.</p>



<p><strong>What it looks like. </strong>Here are some screenshots I <a href="https://www.seroundtable.com/apple-visual-intelligence-38036.html">grabbed</a> from the Apple event from yesterday, if you want to watch it, it starts at about the 57-minute mark in <a href="https://www.youtube.com/live/uarNiSl_uh4?feature=shared&amp;t=3449">this video</a>:</p>



<p>Looking to buy a bike you saw on your walk; it says &#8220;Searching with Google&#8230;&#8221; after you snap a photo of it:</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><a href="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/apple-visual-intelligence-camera-google-shopping-1725909323-scaled.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img decoding="async" width="2048" height="1055" src="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/apple-visual-intelligence-camera-google-shopping-1725909323-scaled.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-446423" srcset="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/apple-visual-intelligence-camera-google-shopping-1725909323-scaled.jpg 2048w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/apple-visual-intelligence-camera-google-shopping-1725909323-600x309.jpg 600w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/apple-visual-intelligence-camera-google-shopping-1725909323-800x412.jpg 800w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/apple-visual-intelligence-camera-google-shopping-1725909323-200x103.jpg 200w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/apple-visual-intelligence-camera-google-shopping-1725909323-768x396.jpg 768w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/apple-visual-intelligence-camera-google-shopping-1725909323-1536x791.jpg 1536w" sizes="(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px" /></a></figure>



<p>Although, the example provided of the search results look somewhat &#8220;doctored&#8221;:</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><a href="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/apple-visual-intelligence-camera-google-shopping-2-1725909323-scaled.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img decoding="async" width="2048" height="1053" src="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/apple-visual-intelligence-camera-google-shopping-2-1725909323-scaled.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-446424" srcset="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/apple-visual-intelligence-camera-google-shopping-2-1725909323-scaled.jpg 2048w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/apple-visual-intelligence-camera-google-shopping-2-1725909323-600x309.jpg 600w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/apple-visual-intelligence-camera-google-shopping-2-1725909323-800x411.jpg 800w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/apple-visual-intelligence-camera-google-shopping-2-1725909323-200x103.jpg 200w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/apple-visual-intelligence-camera-google-shopping-2-1725909323-768x395.jpg 768w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/apple-visual-intelligence-camera-google-shopping-2-1725909323-1536x790.jpg 1536w" sizes="(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px" /></a></figure>



<p>Here is an example of a local search result when someone wants more details on a restaurant they came across while walking. This seems to pull up the local search results in Apple Maps, which I believe is powered by Yelp and OpenTable.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><a href="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/apple-visual-intelligence-camera-local-1725909323-1-scaled.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img decoding="async" width="2048" height="1061" src="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/apple-visual-intelligence-camera-local-1725909323-1-scaled.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-446425" srcset="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/apple-visual-intelligence-camera-local-1725909323-1-scaled.jpg 2048w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/apple-visual-intelligence-camera-local-1725909323-1-600x311.jpg 600w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/apple-visual-intelligence-camera-local-1725909323-1-800x415.jpg 800w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/apple-visual-intelligence-camera-local-1725909323-1-200x104.jpg 200w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/apple-visual-intelligence-camera-local-1725909323-1-768x398.jpg 768w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/apple-visual-intelligence-camera-local-1725909323-1-1536x796.jpg 1536w" sizes="(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px" /></a></figure>



<p>Here is a close up showing OpenTable options in Apple Maps:</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><a href="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/apple-visual-intelligence-camera-local2-1725909323-scaled.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img decoding="async" width="2048" height="1063" src="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/apple-visual-intelligence-camera-local2-1725909323-scaled.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-446427" srcset="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/apple-visual-intelligence-camera-local2-1725909323-scaled.jpg 2048w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/apple-visual-intelligence-camera-local2-1725909323-600x311.jpg 600w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/apple-visual-intelligence-camera-local2-1725909323-800x415.jpg 800w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/apple-visual-intelligence-camera-local2-1725909323-200x104.jpg 200w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/apple-visual-intelligence-camera-local2-1725909323-768x398.jpg 768w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/apple-visual-intelligence-camera-local2-1725909323-1536x797.jpg 1536w" sizes="(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px" /></a></figure>



<p>Then here is an example of taking a photo of a homework assignment, where it uses OpenAI&#8217;s ChatGPT for help:</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><a href="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/apple-visual-intelligence-camera-chatgpt-1725909323-scaled.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img decoding="async" width="2048" height="1072" src="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/apple-visual-intelligence-camera-chatgpt-1725909323-scaled.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-446428" srcset="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/apple-visual-intelligence-camera-chatgpt-1725909323-scaled.jpg 2048w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/apple-visual-intelligence-camera-chatgpt-1725909323-600x314.jpg 600w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/apple-visual-intelligence-camera-chatgpt-1725909323-800x419.jpg 800w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/apple-visual-intelligence-camera-chatgpt-1725909323-200x105.jpg 200w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/apple-visual-intelligence-camera-chatgpt-1725909323-768x402.jpg 768w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/apple-visual-intelligence-camera-chatgpt-1725909323-1536x804.jpg 1536w" sizes="(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px" /></a></figure>



<p><strong>Why we care. </strong>Apple seems to be using AI as a tool rather than a foundation for its devices, where it integrates with Google, OpenAI and other search providers.  There is obviously underlining AI and machine learning that is taking place on the Apple device, but the results seem to be coming from third-parties.</p>



<p>An early beta review from the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2024/09/09/iphone-16-apple-intelligence-ai-event-2024/">Washington Post</a> suggests it has a long way to go. Specifically it has issues with with hallucinations, marking spam emails as priority, and other problems.</p>


Apple demonstrated a new search experience with Apple Intelligence named Apple Visual Intelligence. It looks and feels like Google Lens but it uses the native iPhone camera and is built into Apple Intelligence directly.
Plus, it seems to use third-party search providers, like Google, OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Yelp for its search results – depending on the type of query.
What it looks like. Here are some screenshots I grabbed from the Apple event from yesterday, if you want to watch it, it starts at about the 57-minute mark in this video:
Looking to buy a bike you saw on your walk; it says “Searching with Google…” after you snap a photo of it:




Although, the example provided of the search results look somewhat “doctored”:




Here is an example of a local search result when someone wants more details on a restaurant they came across while walking. This seems to pull up the local search results in Apple Maps, which I believe is powered by Yelp and OpenTable.




Here is a close up showing OpenTable options in Apple Maps:




Then here is an example of taking a photo of a homework assignment, where it uses OpenAI’s ChatGPT for help:




Why we care. Apple seems to be using AI as a tool rather than a foundation for its devices, where it integrates with Google, OpenAI and other search providers.  There is obviously underlining AI and machine learning that is taking place on the Apple device, but the results seem to be coming from third-parties.
An early beta review from the Washington Post suggests it has a long way to go. Specifically it has issues with with hallucinations, marking spam emails as priority, and other problems.

Apple uses Google, OpenAI and other search providers for the search results.

Apple Visual Intelligence – search using your iPhone camera

<div><img width="800" height="450" src="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/Google-is-hiding-search-data-from-advertisers-and-profiting-800x450.png" class="attachment-large size-large wp-post-image" alt="Google is hiding search data from advertisers and profiting" style="margin-bottom: 15px;" decoding="async" srcset="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/Google-is-hiding-search-data-from-advertisers-and-profiting-800x450.png 800w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/Google-is-hiding-search-data-from-advertisers-and-profiting-600x338.png 600w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/Google-is-hiding-search-data-from-advertisers-and-profiting-200x113.png 200w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/Google-is-hiding-search-data-from-advertisers-and-profiting-768x432.png 768w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/Google-is-hiding-search-data-from-advertisers-and-profiting-1536x864.png 1536w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/Google-is-hiding-search-data-from-advertisers-and-profiting.png 1920w" sizes="(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px" /></div>Here’s how it affects your ad campaigns and what you can do to optimize performance despite limited visibility.


<div><img width="800" height="450" src="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/Google-is-hiding-search-data-from-advertisers-and-profiting-800x450.png" class="attachment-large size-large wp-post-image" alt="Google is hiding search data from advertisers and profiting" style="margin-bottom: 15px;" decoding="async" srcset="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/Google-is-hiding-search-data-from-advertisers-and-profiting-800x450.png 800w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/Google-is-hiding-search-data-from-advertisers-and-profiting-600x338.png 600w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/Google-is-hiding-search-data-from-advertisers-and-profiting-200x113.png 200w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/Google-is-hiding-search-data-from-advertisers-and-profiting-768x432.png 768w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/Google-is-hiding-search-data-from-advertisers-and-profiting-1536x864.png 1536w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/Google-is-hiding-search-data-from-advertisers-and-profiting.png 1920w" sizes="(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px" /></div>
<p>Did you know that 20% to 80% of your search term data in <a href="https://searchengineland.com/google-ads-account-set-up-390184">Google Ads</a> is hidden?&nbsp;</p>



<p>We’ve run the numbers and found that advertisers are missing much of the search data that could improve their ad performance.</p>



<p>This article explains why Google might be doing this and what advertisers can do to recover more search data.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-are-search-terms-and-why-are-they-important">What are search terms and why are they important?</h2>



<p>Search terms are the actual searches that Google users type into the search bar.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Companies that advertise on Google can select keywords for which their ads should appear via Google Ads.</p>



<p>Keywords are advertiser-selected terms that help determine which search terms will be targeted.</p>



<p>Keywords have <a href="https://searchengineland.com/guide/ppc/keywords-research-and-match-types">different match types</a>, including broad, phrase and exact. Broad is the loosest match type, while <a href="https://searchengineland.com/exact-match-keyword-type-ppc-relavance-438453">exact</a> is the most specific.</p>



<p>Google’s <a href="https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/7478529?hl=en-AU#:~:text=This%20means%20that%20a%20phrase,keywords%2C%20plus%20additional%20related%20searches." target="_blank" rel="noopener">help page</a> explains this best and the following graphic clarifies how this works.</p>


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-full"><img decoding="async" width="674" height="321" src="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/Google-Ads-keyword-match-types.png" alt="Google Ads keyword match types" class="wp-image-446375" srcset="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/Google-Ads-keyword-match-types.png 674w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/Google-Ads-keyword-match-types-600x286.png 600w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/Google-Ads-keyword-match-types-200x95.png 200w" sizes="(max-width: 674px) 100vw, 674px" /></figure></div>


<p>Once an advertiser has defined the keyword they wish to target, they can see after the fact which search terms they ended up appearing for via the search terms report.&nbsp;</p>



<p>The problem is that, in many cases, most of the search term data is being hidden.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-we-reviewed">What we reviewed</h2>



<p>We analyzed our Google Ads accounts at the keyword level, examining spends and clicks for individual keywords versus search terms. Then, we compiled all the data for comparison.</p>



<p>The screenshot below shows blurred keywords with match types, costs and clicks. We then matched up the search terms generated by these keywords and also presented the cost and clicks for all the associated search terms.&nbsp;</p>



<p>The second-to-last column takes the search term clicks and divides them into the keyword clicks to show how many search term clicks are not presented in the data compared to the number of keyword clicks Google told us there were.&nbsp;</p>



<p>The same operation is performed in the last column, but this time with spen. We can see what percentage of search term cost is hidden compared to what Google charged us for.</p>


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-full"><img decoding="async" width="512" height="362" src="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/Google-Ads-search-term-data-analysis.png" alt="Google Ads search term data analysis" class="wp-image-446376" srcset="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/Google-Ads-search-term-data-analysis.png 512w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/Google-Ads-search-term-data-analysis-478x338.png 478w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/Google-Ads-search-term-data-analysis-160x113.png 160w" sizes="(max-width: 512px) 100vw, 512px" /></figure></div>


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			<p class="text-center mb-0" style="font-size: .75rem;"><a class="nl-terms" href="https://searchengineland.com/termsofuse" target="_blank" aria-label="opens in a new tab">See terms.</a></p>
		</div>
	</div>
</div>




<hr class="wp-block-separator has-text-color has-cyan-bluish-gray-color has-css-opacity has-cyan-bluish-gray-background-color has-background"/>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-findings">Key findings</h2>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-there-is-a-wide-range-of-hidden-spend-on-different-keywords">There is a wide range of hidden spend on different keywords</h3>



<p>In the above screenshot, we sorted the “% of search term spend hidden” in ascending order.&nbsp;</p>



<p>You can see that for many keywords, a large percentage of search term spend is hidden, as high as 85%.&nbsp;</p>



<p>In the case of the top keyword, Google charged the advertiser $2,086 for this particular keyword but only presented $304 worth of search term data. This is a large amount of hidden data.&nbsp;</p>



<p>This spread is wide and the keyword at the bottom only missed 10% of search term spend.&nbsp;</p>



<p>There doesn’t appear to be a correlation between how much was spent and how much was hidden.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Some keywords had high spends and a high percentage of hidden keywords, others had high spends and low percentages of hidden keywords and vice versa.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-phrase-vs-exact-match">Phrase vs. exact match</h3>



<p>The screenshot above shows a key difference in hidden search term data for phrase and exact match keywords.&nbsp;</p>



<p>All search terms with the lowest hidden clicks spend are derived from exact match keywords.&nbsp;</p>



<p>The table below shows the totals for phrase versus exact match keywords. Hidden data for exact terms is in the teens, while for phrase match keywords, it&#8217;s around 50%.</p>


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-full"><img decoding="async" width="733" height="126" src="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/Phrase-match-vs.-exact-match-comparison.png" alt="Phrase match vs. exact match comparison" class="wp-image-446377" srcset="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/Phrase-match-vs.-exact-match-comparison.png 733w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/Phrase-match-vs.-exact-match-comparison-600x103.png 600w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/Phrase-match-vs.-exact-match-comparison-200x34.png 200w" sizes="(max-width: 733px) 100vw, 733px" /></figure></div>


<p>These results make sense because phrase match keywords allow for many different types of search terms, whereas exact match does not.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Exact match keywords should exactly match the search term. However, Google still allows close variations.&nbsp;</p>



<p>I would argue that all hidden clicks are close variations that Google is not showing. </p>



<p>In other words, we could argue that exact match close variations are at least 13% of all search terms on exact match keywords.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-total-hidden-search-term-data-sits-at-40">Total hidden search term data sits at 40%</h3>



<p>Looking at the above table again, when we add up all the data, the total percentage of hidden search term clicks and spend are both around 40%.&nbsp;</p>



<p>It’s fair to say that, on average, 40% of all search term data is hidden from advertisers, which is a lot!&nbsp;</p>



<p>When I surveyed several of my colleagues, most mentioned that the range of hidden search terms was between 20% and 80%, in general.&nbsp;</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-is-google-hiding-search-term-data">Why is Google hiding search term data?</h2>



<p>Google <a href="https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/2472708#zippy=" target="_blank" rel="noopener">has mentioned</a> that they only include search term data that has “been used by a significant number of people and have triggered impressions and clicks.”</p>



<p>However, it’s apparent that they are excluding quite a significant amount of search term data. </p>



<p>The argument that this is a form of privacy does not hold because all search data is anonymous to advertisers and not connected with user accounts.</p>



<p>Data obfuscation has been an ongoing Google trend over the years. Keyword data has been removed from GA4 and replaced with (not set) in Google <a href="https://searchengineland.com/library/analytics-channel">Analytics</a>.</p>



<p>Google is also pushing its <a href="https://searchengineland.com/the-performance-max-playbook-best-practices-and-emerging-tactics-for-2024-439585">Performance Max</a> product on advertisers, including no search terms at all!&nbsp;</p>



<p>Many predict that search term data might become a thing of the past entirely.</p>



<p>It’s likely a short-term revenue-increasing decision. The less data advertisers can see, the less they can limit their advertising spend.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Essentially, Google is forcing low-quality inventory on advertisers by giving them no choice to review it, so we are left buying it.&nbsp;</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-can-you-do">What can you do?</h2>



<p>Switching to exact match keywords is the best option right now.</p>



<p>This limits hidden search terms to under 20%, much lower than with phrase match keywords. This means less than 20% of your budget goes to low-quality search terms, and you have visibility over the rest.</p>



<p>We also recommend running a similar analysis to the above and monitoring your spend on hidden search term data.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Lastly, it&#8217;s a good idea to run experiments by pausing keywords with high hidden search terms. We&#8217;ve tried this and found excellent results.</p>



<p>Similarly, you can run experiments using only exact match keywords in your campaigns. As long as the volume does not drop too far, it might be worth it.</p>

Did you know that 20% to 80% of your search term data in Google Ads is hidden? 
We’ve run the numbers and found that advertisers are missing much of the search data that could improve their ad performance.
This article explains why Google might be doing this and what advertisers can do to recover more search data.
What are search terms and why are they important?
Search terms are the actual searches that Google users type into the search bar. 
Companies that advertise on Google can select keywords for which their ads should appear via Google Ads.
Keywords are advertiser-selected terms that help determine which search terms will be targeted.
Keywords have different match types, including broad, phrase and exact. Broad is the loosest match type, while exact is the most specific.
Google’s help page explains this best and the following graphic clarifies how this works.

Once an advertiser has defined the keyword they wish to target, they can see after the fact which search terms they ended up appearing for via the search terms report. 
The problem is that, in many cases, most of the search term data is being hidden.
What we reviewed
We analyzed our Google Ads accounts at the keyword level, examining spends and clicks for individual keywords versus search terms. Then, we compiled all the data for comparison.
The screenshot below shows blurred keywords with match types, costs and clicks. We then matched up the search terms generated by these keywords and also presented the cost and clicks for all the associated search terms. 
The second-to-last column takes the search term clicks and divides them into the keyword clicks to show how many search term clicks are not presented in the data compared to the number of keyword clicks Google told us there were. 
The same operation is performed in the last column, but this time with spen. We can see what percentage of search term cost is hidden compared to what Google charged us for.


					
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See terms.
Key findings
There is a wide range of hidden spend on different keywords
In the above screenshot, we sorted the “% of search term spend hidden” in ascending order. 
You can see that for many keywords, a large percentage of search term spend is hidden, as high as 85%. 
In the case of the top keyword, Google charged the advertiser $2,086 for this particular keyword but only presented $304 worth of search term data. This is a large amount of hidden data. 
This spread is wide and the keyword at the bottom only missed 10% of search term spend. 
There doesn’t appear to be a correlation between how much was spent and how much was hidden. 
Some keywords had high spends and a high percentage of hidden keywords, others had high spends and low percentages of hidden keywords and vice versa.
Phrase vs. exact match
The screenshot above shows a key difference in hidden search term data for phrase and exact match keywords. 
All search terms with the lowest hidden clicks spend are derived from exact match keywords. 
The table below shows the totals for phrase versus exact match keywords. Hidden data for exact terms is in the teens, while for phrase match keywords, it’s around 50%.

These results make sense because phrase match keywords allow for many different types of search terms, whereas exact match does not. 
Exact match keywords should exactly match the search term. However, Google still allows close variations. 
I would argue that all hidden clicks are close variations that Google is not showing. 
In other words, we could argue that exact match close variations are at least 13% of all search terms on exact match keywords.
Total hidden search term data sits at 40%
Looking at the above table again, when we add up all the data, the total percentage of hidden search term clicks and spend are both around 40%. 
It’s fair to say that, on average, 40% of all search term data is hidden from advertisers, which is a lot! 
When I surveyed several of my colleagues, most mentioned that the range of hidden search terms was between 20% and 80%, in general. 
Why is Google hiding search term data?
Google has mentioned that they only include search term data that has “been used by a significant number of people and have triggered impressions and clicks.”
However, it’s apparent that they are excluding quite a significant amount of search term data. 
The argument that this is a form of privacy does not hold because all search data is anonymous to advertisers and not connected with user accounts.
Data obfuscation has been an ongoing Google trend over the years. Keyword data has been removed from GA4 and replaced with (not set) in Google Analytics.
Google is also pushing its Performance Max product on advertisers, including no search terms at all! 
Many predict that search term data might become a thing of the past entirely.
It’s likely a short-term revenue-increasing decision. The less data advertisers can see, the less they can limit their advertising spend. 
Essentially, Google is forcing low-quality inventory on advertisers by giving them no choice to review it, so we are left buying it. 
What can you do?
Switching to exact match keywords is the best option right now.
This limits hidden search terms to under 20%, much lower than with phrase match keywords. This means less than 20% of your budget goes to low-quality search terms, and you have visibility over the rest.
We also recommend running a similar analysis to the above and monitoring your spend on hidden search term data. 
Lastly, it’s a good idea to run experiments by pausing keywords with high hidden search terms. We’ve tried this and found excellent results.
Similarly, you can run experiments using only exact match keywords in your campaigns. As long as the volume does not drop too far, it might be worth it.

Here’s how it affects your ad campaigns and what you can do to optimize performance despite limited visibility.

Google is hiding search data from advertisers and profiting

<div><img width="800" height="450" src="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/Fluencey-20240910-Article_1920x1080-800x450.png" class="attachment-large size-large wp-post-image" alt="" style="margin-bottom: 15px;" decoding="async" srcset="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/Fluencey-20240910-Article_1920x1080-800x450.png 800w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/Fluencey-20240910-Article_1920x1080-600x338.png 600w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/Fluencey-20240910-Article_1920x1080-200x113.png 200w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/Fluencey-20240910-Article_1920x1080-768x432.png 768w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/Fluencey-20240910-Article_1920x1080-1536x864.png 1536w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/Fluencey-20240910-Article_1920x1080.png 1920w" sizes="(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px" /></div>How to improve performance and efficiency.

<div><img width="800" height="450" src="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/Fluencey-20240910-Article_1920x1080-800x450.png" class="attachment-large size-large wp-post-image" alt="" style="margin-bottom: 15px;" decoding="async" srcset="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/Fluencey-20240910-Article_1920x1080-800x450.png 800w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/Fluencey-20240910-Article_1920x1080-600x338.png 600w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/Fluencey-20240910-Article_1920x1080-200x113.png 200w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/Fluencey-20240910-Article_1920x1080-768x432.png 768w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/Fluencey-20240910-Article_1920x1080-1536x864.png 1536w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/Fluencey-20240910-Article_1920x1080.png 1920w" sizes="(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px" /></div><div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-large"><img decoding="async" width="800" height="450" src="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/Fluencey-20240910-Article_1920x1080-800x450.png" alt="" class="wp-image-446324" srcset="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/Fluencey-20240910-Article_1920x1080-800x450.png 800w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/Fluencey-20240910-Article_1920x1080-600x338.png 600w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/Fluencey-20240910-Article_1920x1080-200x113.png 200w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/Fluencey-20240910-Article_1920x1080-768x432.png 768w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/Fluencey-20240910-Article_1920x1080-1536x864.png 1536w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/Fluencey-20240910-Article_1920x1080.png 1920w" sizes="(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px" /></figure></div>


<p>Today’s advertisers face a daunting operational challenge: scaling customized, local advertising campaigns across a growing number of channels. Overall digital ad spend continues to grow, and new channels, financial media and retail media networks are emerging.&nbsp;</p>



<p>As the space gets more complex, both in-house and agency ad teams are stretched thin, trying to do more with the same — or less — people and budget. We call this operational pinch point <a href="https://www.fluency.inc/blog/the-cost-of-manual-work-for-agencies-part-1" target="_blank" rel="noopener sponsored nofollow">“the crisis of capacity” for ad ops teams.</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>



<p>These problems compound exponentially for localized advertising campaigns. Unique custom data points, like colloquial phrases or nested geographies, increase the number of campaign variables. If you’re managing these with manual tasks, you’re also increasing your likelihood of branding and compliance errors.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>



<p>These challenges have made automation an essential operational solution. Automation has changed the paradigm for local advertising execution and management. The question is, <em>how</em> best can automation be applied? Which processes should we automate to scale up localized campaigns profitably? The following strategies offer a helpful starting place.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-new-media-mix">The new media mix</h2>



<p>The marketing funnel now requires a locally targeted, multichannel and data-powered media mix. More brands are shifting their budgets towards programmatic and emerging media types (CTV, audio ads, etc.) to engage hyperlocal audiences more effectively.</p>



<p>At <a href="https://www.fluency.inc/" target="_blank" rel="noopener sponsored nofollow">Fluency</a>, we’re forecasting a 350% increase in spending on <a href="https://searchengineland.com/library/platforms/amazon">Amazon</a> and other demand-side <a href="https://searchengineland.com/library/platforms">platforms</a> (DSPs) by 2027. This significant shift highlights advertisers’ desire to get in front of key local audiences on media channels <a href="https://www.emarketer.com/content/us-time-spent-with-media-h2-2024-update?jid=123878%20&amp;sid=33902060" target="_blank" rel="noopener sponsored nofollow">where people spend the majority of their time</a>.</p>



<p>The challenge for ad teams lies in managing this complexity. Traditionally, advertisers have taken two paths when trying to scale their efforts.&nbsp;</p>



<p>One approach is to hire more staff. If each team member maxes out at handling 20-30 different accounts, the only way to add capacity is by hiring more employees. This approach doesn’t improve your margins, though: even the most tenured and experienced employees have a workload threshold that they can’t overcome by sheer force alone. And when you push people over that threshold? You’ll combat high employee turnover and burnout.&nbsp;</p>



<p>The other path that advertisers have taken to scale is what we like to refer to as “Frankentech.” Building custom tech to address siloed problems is resource-draining. Plus, in-house solutions rarely add the capacity you truly need, particularly if you look at your workflows comprehensively. Piling on non-interoperable third-party solutions makes your tech stack look like a house of cards instead of a strong foundation for workflow efficiency.&nbsp;</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-overcoming-the-crisis-of-capacity">Overcoming the &#8216;crisis of capacity&#8217;</h2>



<p>If advertisers want to succeed, they must think about ad ops holistically. While automation has existed in the advertising space for years, many organizations deploy it in a limited fashion–such as using automation tools within each individual publisher. </p>



<p>However, to achieve true scalability in advertising, a more comprehensive automation approach is necessary. This means systematically automating the most resource-intensive workstreams, including budgeting, launching campaigns, campaign management and reporting.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Let’s take a closer look at how automation can alleviate the pains of these workflows.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-automating-budgeting-and-pacing-for-improved-margins">Automating budgeting and pacing for improved margins</h3>



<p>Budgeting is a critical component of digital advertising — and shockingly labor-intensive. Automating budget allocation, pacing and adjustments can significantly reduce the manual effort required and ensure optimal spend.&nbsp;</p>



<p>For example, teams can establish rules and workflows to dynamically (and automatically!) adjust bids and reallocate budgets based on real-time performance data. We’ve seen customers improve their spend from 95% to 98%, all while avoiding overspend.&nbsp;</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-expediting-campaign-launches-for-scale">Expediting campaign launches for scale</h3>



<p>Launching campaigns at scale is a daunting task, especially for multi-location advertisers. Ensuring you have the right local data funnel to the right ad sets using manual workflows is draining.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Automation can expedite localized campaign building and launching through pre-set configurations. Manual adjustments and tweaks give way to scalable, automated workflows to launch large-scale campaigns.  </p>



<p>For example, when <a href="https://www.fluency.inc/case-studies/click-here-digital" target="_blank" rel="noopener sponsored nofollow">a real estate marketing agency</a> started launching campaigns with automation, they decreased the time to build and launch campaigns from a couple of hours to 10 minutes or less.&nbsp;</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-efficient-campaign-management-for-optimal-performance">Efficient campaign management for optimal performance</h3>



<p>Managing campaigns across multiple channels requires constant monitoring and optimization. If there’s one thing that tanks efficiency, it’s having to babysit every campaign.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>



<p>Automated management systems can provide real-time alerts and proactive notifications. This gives strategists the ability to actually <em>strategize</em>. You can stay on top of zero spend or serving alerts, budget reallocation recommendations, and disapproved ad extensions without constantly keeping a pulse on operations.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Best of all, both you and your clients are confident that every campaign is on track and performing optimally.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-comprehensive-stress-free-reporting">Comprehensive, stress-free reporting</h3>



<p>Generating insightful reports is essential for evaluating campaign performance, providing feedback to clients, and making data-informed decisions. But the work that goes into building reports (which is more like updating a multiple-page deck every month with new data) drains your time and energy.&nbsp;</p>



<p><a href="https://www.fluency.inc/blog/fluency-releases-new-reporting-budget-management-and-automation-features" target="_blank" rel="noopener sponsored nofollow">Reporting</a> is one of the most fruitful places for automation. Automatically generate unified, customizable dashboards that provide a holistic view of performance across all channels. You can keep clients informed about the effectiveness of their campaigns and use data to make informed decisions.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-automate-labor-intensive-workstreams-to-activate-data-at-scale">Automate labor-intensive workstreams to activate data at scale</h2>



<p>The four workflows mentioned above are excellent jumping-off points for automation. These processes are all data-heavy and labor-intensive. They also have a lot of repeatable steps that are practically begging to be rule-ified.&nbsp;</p>



<p>A <a href="https://www.fluency.inc/platform" target="_blank" rel="noopener sponsored nofollow">Digital Advertising Operating System (DAOS)</a>, like Fluency, can help you solve the challenges of both scale and performance while safely incorporating emerging technologies like automation and AI. With a DAOS, you can:</p>



<ul>
<li><strong>Optimize multichannel efforts:</strong> Efficiently manage complex marketing campaigns across channels for faster insights and better decision-making.</li>



<li><strong>Activate real-time, dynamic updates:</strong> Automate changes across your portfolio to ensure your messaging is always informed and dynamically responsive.</li>



<li><strong>Strategize proactively:</strong> Leverage AI-driven suggestions to optimize ad performance and boost conversions.</li>
</ul>



<p>These benefits trickle up to the ultimate goal: you save <em>tremendous</em> amounts of time across a variety of workflows. This frees up your capacity to deliver outstanding performance results across the board.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>



<p>Both in-house ad teams and agencies have used a DAOS to holistically transform manual workflows into a well-oiled automation machine.&nbsp; As just one example, Dealer.com, part of Cox Automotive and the largest advertising agency in the automotive sector, wanted to expand its successful multi-channel strategy to a new advertising unit: Amazon Sponsored Display. With Amazon’s audience data, there was potential to enhance their data-driven localized advertising services for thousands of individual automotive manufacturers, regional groups, and local franchise dealers.&nbsp;</p>



<p>However, the company’s existing solutions lacked the flexibility and efficiency required to scale to Amazon Sponsored Display. Launching and optimizing every account required significant overhead that would be difficult to recoup under their manual-task-heavy workflows. Dealer.com wanted their teams to focus on strategy and client relationships, not task work.</p>



<p>The teams at Dealer.com leveraged Fluency’s direct API integration with Amazon Amazon Sponsored Display to automate the creation and management of over 1,100 locally targeted campaigns. This enables Dealer.com to make real-time, automated campaign adjustments and large-scale deployment directly from one central hub.&nbsp;</p>



<p>These new automated workflows reduced Dealer.com’s campaign setup time from 60-90 minutes per account to just 5 minutes <em>in total</em>. The team saved 1,300 hours simply by automating campaign setup!&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>



<p>Once launched, their Amazon Sponsored Display campaign delivered fantastic results. Dealer.com achieved a CPM (cost-per-thousand) impression on Amazon that was 65% cheaper than other channels.</p>



<p>Most importantly, utilizing a DAOS (like Fluency) <a href="http://dealer.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener sponsored nofollow">enabled Dealer.com</a> teams to seamlessly integrate localized Amazon campaigns into their broader media mix (including paid search, display channels, and YouTube) without compounding effort.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-fueling-the-hyperlocal-future">Fueling the hyperlocal future</h2>



<p>The anticipated growth of new media channels offers forward-thinking advertisers a strategic edge. But if you’re going to ride these growing trends, you’ll need automation to scale effectively without burning out your valuable team members or your margins.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>



<p>Automating key ad ops workstreams will enable you to deliver highly targeted and relevant ads at pivotal moments in the customer journey. It’s the fastest, easiest, and most comprehensive way to achieve profitable scale.</p>


Today’s advertisers face a daunting operational challenge: scaling customized, local advertising campaigns across a growing number of channels. Overall digital ad spend continues to grow, and new channels, financial media and retail media networks are emerging. 
As the space gets more complex, both in-house and agency ad teams are stretched thin, trying to do more with the same — or less — people and budget. We call this operational pinch point “the crisis of capacity” for ad ops teams.  
These problems compound exponentially for localized advertising campaigns. Unique custom data points, like colloquial phrases or nested geographies, increase the number of campaign variables. If you’re managing these with manual tasks, you’re also increasing your likelihood of branding and compliance errors.  
These challenges have made automation an essential operational solution. Automation has changed the paradigm for local advertising execution and management. The question is, how best can automation be applied? Which processes should we automate to scale up localized campaigns profitably? The following strategies offer a helpful starting place.
The new media mix
The marketing funnel now requires a locally targeted, multichannel and data-powered media mix. More brands are shifting their budgets towards programmatic and emerging media types (CTV, audio ads, etc.) to engage hyperlocal audiences more effectively.
At Fluency, we’re forecasting a 350% increase in spending on Amazon and other demand-side platforms (DSPs) by 2027. This significant shift highlights advertisers’ desire to get in front of key local audiences on media channels where people spend the majority of their time.
The challenge for ad teams lies in managing this complexity. Traditionally, advertisers have taken two paths when trying to scale their efforts. 
One approach is to hire more staff. If each team member maxes out at handling 20-30 different accounts, the only way to add capacity is by hiring more employees. This approach doesn’t improve your margins, though: even the most tenured and experienced employees have a workload threshold that they can’t overcome by sheer force alone. And when you push people over that threshold? You’ll combat high employee turnover and burnout. 
The other path that advertisers have taken to scale is what we like to refer to as “Frankentech.” Building custom tech to address siloed problems is resource-draining. Plus, in-house solutions rarely add the capacity you truly need, particularly if you look at your workflows comprehensively. Piling on non-interoperable third-party solutions makes your tech stack look like a house of cards instead of a strong foundation for workflow efficiency. 
Overcoming the ‘crisis of capacity’
If advertisers want to succeed, they must think about ad ops holistically. While automation has existed in the advertising space for years, many organizations deploy it in a limited fashion–such as using automation tools within each individual publisher. 
However, to achieve true scalability in advertising, a more comprehensive automation approach is necessary. This means systematically automating the most resource-intensive workstreams, including budgeting, launching campaigns, campaign management and reporting. 
Let’s take a closer look at how automation can alleviate the pains of these workflows.  
Automating budgeting and pacing for improved margins
Budgeting is a critical component of digital advertising — and shockingly labor-intensive. Automating budget allocation, pacing and adjustments can significantly reduce the manual effort required and ensure optimal spend. 
For example, teams can establish rules and workflows to dynamically (and automatically!) adjust bids and reallocate budgets based on real-time performance data. We’ve seen customers improve their spend from 95% to 98%, all while avoiding overspend. 
Expediting campaign launches for scale
Launching campaigns at scale is a daunting task, especially for multi-location advertisers. Ensuring you have the right local data funnel to the right ad sets using manual workflows is draining. 
Automation can expedite localized campaign building and launching through pre-set configurations. Manual adjustments and tweaks give way to scalable, automated workflows to launch large-scale campaigns.  
For example, when a real estate marketing agency started launching campaigns with automation, they decreased the time to build and launch campaigns from a couple of hours to 10 minutes or less. 
Efficient campaign management for optimal performance
Managing campaigns across multiple channels requires constant monitoring and optimization. If there’s one thing that tanks efficiency, it’s having to babysit every campaign.  
Automated management systems can provide real-time alerts and proactive notifications. This gives strategists the ability to actually strategize. You can stay on top of zero spend or serving alerts, budget reallocation recommendations, and disapproved ad extensions without constantly keeping a pulse on operations. 
Best of all, both you and your clients are confident that every campaign is on track and performing optimally.
Comprehensive, stress-free reporting
Generating insightful reports is essential for evaluating campaign performance, providing feedback to clients, and making data-informed decisions. But the work that goes into building reports (which is more like updating a multiple-page deck every month with new data) drains your time and energy. 
Reporting is one of the most fruitful places for automation. Automatically generate unified, customizable dashboards that provide a holistic view of performance across all channels. You can keep clients informed about the effectiveness of their campaigns and use data to make informed decisions.
Automate labor-intensive workstreams to activate data at scale
The four workflows mentioned above are excellent jumping-off points for automation. These processes are all data-heavy and labor-intensive. They also have a lot of repeatable steps that are practically begging to be rule-ified. 
A Digital Advertising Operating System (DAOS), like Fluency, can help you solve the challenges of both scale and performance while safely incorporating emerging technologies like automation and AI. With a DAOS, you can:
Optimize multichannel efforts: Efficiently manage complex marketing campaigns across channels for faster insights and better decision-making.
Activate real-time, dynamic updates: Automate changes across your portfolio to ensure your messaging is always informed and dynamically responsive.
Strategize proactively: Leverage AI-driven suggestions to optimize ad performance and boost conversions.
These benefits trickle up to the ultimate goal: you save tremendous amounts of time across a variety of workflows. This frees up your capacity to deliver outstanding performance results across the board.  
Both in-house ad teams and agencies have used a DAOS to holistically transform manual workflows into a well-oiled automation machine.  As just one example, Dealer.com, part of Cox Automotive and the largest advertising agency in the automotive sector, wanted to expand its successful multi-channel strategy to a new advertising unit: Amazon Sponsored Display. With Amazon’s audience data, there was potential to enhance their data-driven localized advertising services for thousands of individual automotive manufacturers, regional groups, and local franchise dealers. 
However, the company’s existing solutions lacked the flexibility and efficiency required to scale to Amazon Sponsored Display. Launching and optimizing every account required significant overhead that would be difficult to recoup under their manual-task-heavy workflows. Dealer.com wanted their teams to focus on strategy and client relationships, not task work.
The teams at Dealer.com leveraged Fluency’s direct API integration with Amazon Amazon Sponsored Display to automate the creation and management of over 1,100 locally targeted campaigns. This enables Dealer.com to make real-time, automated campaign adjustments and large-scale deployment directly from one central hub. 
These new automated workflows reduced Dealer.com’s campaign setup time from 60-90 minutes per account to just 5 minutes in total. The team saved 1,300 hours simply by automating campaign setup!  
Once launched, their Amazon Sponsored Display campaign delivered fantastic results. Dealer.com achieved a CPM (cost-per-thousand) impression on Amazon that was 65% cheaper than other channels.
Most importantly, utilizing a DAOS (like Fluency) enabled Dealer.com teams to seamlessly integrate localized Amazon campaigns into their broader media mix (including paid search, display channels, and YouTube) without compounding effort.
Fueling the hyperlocal future
The anticipated growth of new media channels offers forward-thinking advertisers a strategic edge. But if you’re going to ride these growing trends, you’ll need automation to scale effectively without burning out your valuable team members or your margins.  
Automating key ad ops workstreams will enable you to deliver highly targeted and relevant ads at pivotal moments in the customer journey. It’s the fastest, easiest, and most comprehensive way to achieve profitable scale.

How to improve performance and efficiency.

Scaling local advertising with automation in the new media landscape by Fluency

<div><img width="800" height="450" src="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/The-future-of-AI-in-content-marketing-Key-trends-and-7-expert-predictions-800x450.png" class="attachment-large size-large wp-post-image" alt="The future of AI in content marketing: Key trends and 7 expert predictions" style="margin-bottom: 15px;" decoding="async" srcset="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/The-future-of-AI-in-content-marketing-Key-trends-and-7-expert-predictions-800x450.png 800w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/The-future-of-AI-in-content-marketing-Key-trends-and-7-expert-predictions-600x338.png 600w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/The-future-of-AI-in-content-marketing-Key-trends-and-7-expert-predictions-200x113.png 200w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/The-future-of-AI-in-content-marketing-Key-trends-and-7-expert-predictions-768x432.png 768w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/The-future-of-AI-in-content-marketing-Key-trends-and-7-expert-predictions-1536x864.png 1536w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/The-future-of-AI-in-content-marketing-Key-trends-and-7-expert-predictions.png 1920w" sizes="(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px" /></div>Stay ahead in content marketing by exploring AI trends and expert predictions that reveal how technology is reshaping audience engagement.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is changing the game in many industries and content marketing is no different.
As we dive deeper into the digital age, AI’s influence on how we create, share and optimize content is only growing.
This article will examine some of the key trends shaping the future of AI in content marketing and expert predictions on how these technologies are set to transform the way brands connect with their audiences.
Marketing AI is already here
The future of content marketing is here, and it’s powered by AI.
Marketing AI is most prominent in a new technology known as content intelligence. 
Content intelligence platforms use machine learning algorithms to:
Analyze massive datasets of content.
Provide insights that can be used to improve all aspects of content marketing. 
This data-driven approach to content marketing helps businesses create more effective campaigns.
Here are some more ways that AI is now used in content marketing:
Generative AI for content marketing
Creating engaging and informative content is essential for any successful marketing strategy. 
However, producing high-quality content consistently can be time-consuming and resource-intensive. 
This is where generative AI tools like ChatGPT are revolutionizing the content creation process.
Marketers can use AI to generate:
Blog posts.
Social media updates.
Website copy.
Email marketing campaigns.
This allows marketing teams to scale their content production efforts and free up time to focus on more strategic initiatives.
Hyper-personalized marketing
Consumers today expect personalized experiences. They are more likely to engage with brands that offer content and offers relevant to their interests and needs.
AI can analyze vast amounts of customer data to identify patterns and preferences. This data can then be used to create highly personalized marketing campaigns that deliver the right message to the right person at the right time.
Amazon is a leading example of effective hyper-personalization. If you search for cat litter and click on a product, Amazon will automatically show a “Frequently Bought Together” section related to that search.

Predictive analytics for data-driven decisions
AI-driven predictive analytics lets you move beyond past data (e.g., website activity, purchase history and engagement) to predict outcomes, which is valuable for making informed decisions on inventory, marketing budgets and product development.
Again, Amazon is the perfect example of leveraging predictive analytics to help customers easily find what they’re looking for.

Enhanced customer experience
AI is allowing customers to experience brands in some cool ways. 
Take AI-powered chatbots, for example. These smart assistants offer personalized and efficient customer support 24/7. 
Whether you have a question at midnight or need help early in the morning, chatbots provide real-time answers tailored just for you.
Here’s how Dollar Shave Club uses AI to handle customer queries:

But it doesn’t stop there. AI is also shaking things up with interactive content. Imagine getting content that feels like it was made just for you – because it was!
AI can create dynamic, personalized experiences that keep you engaged and connected with the brand.
Plus, AI is super helpful in gathering feedback and insights. It can spot trends and determine what people want by analyzing customer interactions. 
This means companies can keep improving their products and services, making sure they’re always meeting your needs.
In short, AI is making customer experiences more personal, efficient and engaging, helping brands build stronger relationships with their audiences.
Voice search optimization
With the rise of virtual assistants like Siri, Alexa and Google Assistant, more and more people are using their voices to search for information. 
One of the main ways AI is helping is by analyzing voice search patterns. Unlike traditional text searches, voice searches are usually more conversational and natural-sounding. 
AI tools analyze these patterns to show what questions people ask and the language they use. This lets you adjust your content to fit natural speech, improving your chances of appearing in voice search results.
AI is also great at helping with SEO for voice search. It can suggest long-tail keywords and phrases commonly used in voice queries and even help optimize website structure and metadata to be more voice-search friendly.
By using AI to fine-tune your content and SEO strategies, you can ensure content is easily discoverable by voice search users.
Augmented reality
With augmented reality (AR), we can deliver immersive experiences. 
For example, customers can see how furniture looks in their homes or try on clothes virtually, helping them make confident decisions and boosting sales and satisfaction.
For example, the “#TakeATaste Now” campaign allowed consumers to grab a bottle of Coca-Cola Zero Sugar straight from digital screens via AR and claim the real soda at a nearby Tesco store.

Another great thing about AR is how it enhances storytelling and brand engagement. You can use AR to bring your brands to life in unique and memorable ways.
For instance:
A cosmetics company might use AR to let customers try on different makeup looks virtually. 
Or a travel company might create an AR app that lets users explore destinations from their living rooms. 
These interactive experiences capture attention and create a deeper connection between the brand and its audience.

					
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7 expert predictions in marketing AI
What’s in store for the future of content marketing? Let me share with you seven predictions from the experts.
1. Media democratization
The barriers to entry for content creation have been steadily eroding for years.
Blogs challenged traditional media, self-publishing platforms disrupted the book industry, podcasts offered an alternative to radio and YouTube gave everyone a shot at video stardom. 
This democratization of media empowers individuals and smaller organizations to compete with established players in the content marketing landscape.
This shift is driven by several factors, including:
Lower production costs: Powerful yet affordable software and equipment have made high-quality content creation accessible to almost anyone.
Direct audience access: Social media and other online platforms allow creators to reach their target audiences directly, bypassing traditional gatekeepers.
Increased demand for niche content: As consumers grow tired of generic, mass-produced content, there’s a growing appetite for specialized and authentic voices.
This means embracing the power of user-generated content and influencer marketing and creating a strong brand voice across various platforms. 
It’s about building communities and fostering engagement rather than simply broadcasting messages.
2. Raising the bar in content generation
The rapid evolution of generative AI tools has injected the content marketing world with a potent mix of excitement and anxiety.
While many marketers are understandably wary of AI’s disruptive potential, its transformative impact on content creation is undeniable.
As AI-powered content generators become increasingly sophisticated, they are poised to establish a new benchmark for quality. 
This means content marketers will need to adapt their strategies to stand out in a landscape saturated with AI-generated content.
Simply churning out “good enough” content will no longer suffice. Instead, marketers must strive for excellence in every piece of content they produce.
Here’s how AI-generated content is raising the bar:
Increased content volume: AI can generate vast amounts of content quickly and efficiently, flooding the digital landscape. This means marketers must produce exceptional content to capture their audience’s attention.
Improved content quality: AI content generators constantly learn and improve, producing increasingly high-quality content often indistinguishable from human-written content. To compete, marketers need to create original, insightful and engaging content that provides real value to their target audience.
More personalized content: AI-driven hyper-personalization will continue to become a game-changer, moving far beyond the generic “recommended for you” suggestions. Imagine receiving emails that address you by name, recommend products based on your past purchases, and even offer exclusive discounts tailored to your shopping habits. This level of personalization fosters a stronger emotional connection with customers, leading to increased engagement, brand loyalty and higher conversion rates.
3. Generative AI will take over some SEO traffic
One of the biggest impacts of generative AI on content marketing is its potential to reshape how people search for information online. 
Instead of turning to a traditional search engine like Google and clicking through the SERP listing, users can get answers directly from AI chatbots like ChatGPT and Gemini. 
This shift in user behavior could lead to a decline in organic search traffic, impacting the effectiveness of traditional SEO strategies.
This change necessitates adapting content strategies for brands that rely heavily on organic search to drive traffic and leads. 
Creating high-quality content optimized for specific keywords will have less impact if users don’t click through from search engine results pages. 
However, this doesn’t mean that SEO is dead. Instead, it highlights the importance of a multi-faceted content marketing strategy that goes beyond simply targeting keywords.
Dig deeper: How AI will affect the future of search
4. AR/VR support in marketing
Tech-savvy millennials are driving the adoption of augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) technologies, revolutionizing customer experiences with immersive engagement that captivates.
AR enhances the real world by layering digital elements onto it, often through smartphone cameras. 
In contrast, VR creates fully immersive, interactive digital environments accessed through headsets, blocking out the physical world. 
This technology offers unprecedented opportunities for marketers to connect with their audience in new and exciting ways.
5. The rise of chatbots and social bots
AI-powered chatbots and social bots are transforming how brands connect with their audiences. 
Automating and enhancing customer interactions boost engagement and streamline marketing efforts. 
Chatbots provide 24/7 customer service, handling high volumes of queries with instant responses, issue resolution and personalized recommendations. 
In social media marketing, social bots automate tasks like responding to comments, tracking brand mentions, and monitoring conversations. 
This allows marketing teams to focus on strategy and creative content. These AI tools are essential for managing brand presence and improving customer interactions in the digital age.
6. Mobile content is king
As AI evolves, its ability to analyze user behavior on mobile devices will become even more sophisticated, allowing you to deliver hyper-personalized experiences in real time.
Imagine a world where a customer walking by a coffee shop receives a push notification for a discount on their favorite latte – all powered by AI analyzing their location data and past purchase behavior. 
The future of marketing is mobile and AI is the key to unlocking its full potential. 
7. Changing job roles in marketing
AI is going to shake up marketing jobs in some pretty interesting ways. 
As AI takes over routine tasks like crunching data, generating basic content and sorting customer segments, marketers will have more time to focus on the fun stuff – strategy, creativity and building relationships.
Marketers will work with AI, using its data-driven insights to brainstorm ideas, fine-tune campaigns and personalize customer experiences. This partnership between AI and human creativity is set to make our marketing efforts more innovative and effective.
While AI will do much of the heavy lifting, it will also open up new opportunities for us to think strategically, get creative and lead with ethics in the marketing world.
Dig deeper: Why AI can’t replace authentic client relationships
Embracing the future of marketing With AI
An O’Reilly survey revealed that 67% of marketing teams actively use AI, and 26% plan to incorporate it soon. This signifies a major shift in the marketing landscape, with AI tools poised to reshape job roles across the industry.
While some marketers fear AI might replace them, the reality is far more nuanced. 
AI is not here to eliminate jobs but to augment them, freeing marketers from repetitive tasks and empowering them to focus on strategic initiatives. 
This evolution will require marketers to adapt and acquire new skills to thrive in an AI-driven environment.

Stay ahead in content marketing by exploring AI trends and expert predictions that reveal how technology is reshaping audience engagement.

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