A successful paid media strategy is a lot like a good recipe: tweak ingredients as needed, but miss a key one and the entire result is affected…

This article outlines six essential components for a winning paid media strategy this year. These elements include:

1. Benchmark review and adjustment
2. Prioritizing a first-party data approach
3. Staying current with advanced tracking technology
4. Exploring and testing various paid media channels
5. Embracing and managing automation effectively
6. Becoming proficient in responsive search ads

The 6 essentials of a robust paid media strategy

The past few years have been turbulent, with 2020 marking the start of constant unpredictability and 2021 bringing significant shifts. While 2022 remains uncertain, current marketing trends highlight six key ingredients for success.

1. Review & reset benchmarks

Regular benchmark reviews and goal setting are crucial, but it’s time to go beyond routine campaign performance analysis and adopt a broader perspective. As previously mentioned, 2020 ushered in an era of seemingly endless “unprecedented times,” with normalcy still out of reach. While a “new normal” has emerged and advertisers have adapted, many businesses have experienced shifts in customer behavior.

Image source New variants introduce further uncertainty. Will 2022 bring unique challenges, mirror 2021, or resemble pre-COVID times? The lack of clear predictions necessitates leveraging available data and frequent reassessments. This year, advertisers must identify solid, consistent patterns. Comparing initial assumptions with 2020 and 2021 observations, while incorporating external insights, is key to anticipating future trends.

How to implement this

• Conduct quarterly reviews. Weekly PPC reporting remains essential. However, dedicate time each quarter to analyze overall performance trends and pinpoint areas for improvement, leveraging strengths, and eliminating ineffective strategies.
• Visualize your data. Tools like Google Data Studio can significantly enhance performance understanding and facilitate actionable insights. Google Data Studio offers pre-made templates to explore, with additional options available in our free Google Ads tools roundup.
• Use benchmarks. Besides comparing against internal benchmarks, assess performance against industry standards to ensure competitiveness.

Our latest search advertising benchmarks are available for reference.

2. Prioritize a first-party data approach

With the imminent elimination of third-party cookies across browsers, significant tracking and targeting changes are inevitable. Consequently, first-party data has become incredibly valuable.

How to implement this

To effectively gather more first-party data from your audience, consider these strategies:

• Create valuable lead magnets. Offer compelling incentives like free guides, tools, or consultations on your website to encourage relevant visitors to provide their information through forms.
• Leverage lead form ads. Explore platforms like Facebook lead ads or Google lead form extensions. Customize questions to gather specific information from your audience.
• Develop a robust content strategy. Useful content not only fuels various lead magnets (guides, webinars, checklists, etc.) but also positions you as a trusted resource. Trust encourages audience members to share more information.

3. Stay informed about advanced tracking technologies

Similar to tracking changes, investing in tracking technology is critical. Choose solutions that provide crucial data for refining ad strategies and evaluating effectiveness while prioritizing prospect privacy. Facebook announced a multi-year initiative focused on privacy-enhancing technologies (PETs), collaborating with organizations like the Partnership for Responsible Addressable Media (PRAM), the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), and the World Federation of Advertisers (WFA). Private lift measurement, currently being tested, is one such technology slated for release this year. [_

_](https://about.fb.com/news/2021/08/privacy-enhancing-technologies-and-ads/) Image source Facebook emphasizes industry collaboration and the need for shared standards for these technologies to be truly effective. It has open-sourced its private computation framework, enabling any developer to build privacy-centric measurement tools. A unified set of standards, rather than disparate tracking mechanisms and standards across devices, browsers, and ad platforms, is undeniably beneficial. The complexities multiply when considering variations across these areas, along with different geographical regulations. Facebook is not alone in its efforts. Google’s Topics API and Microsoft’s Parakeet demonstrate similar initiatives.

Image source We can expect more companies to engage in such testing. The future of this landscape promises to be interesting.

How to implement this

Staying informed about these developments is key, unless you’re a Facebook or Google Developer. However, you can leverage existing tools.

• Utilize the Facebook Conversions API: With the diminishing power of the Facebook Pixel, adopting the Facebook CAPI is crucial for minimizing reporting discrepancies.
• Import your offline conversions: Google’s OCI helper tool guides you through integrating offline conversion data into Google Ads to identify similar, high-quality leads. It even creates a customized implementation plan with a progress dashboard.
• Set up Google Ads enhanced conversions: This Google feature allows for cross-device conversion tracking without relying on cookies. Implement it manually through Google Tag Manager, sitewide tagging, or via API. Explore our detailed coverage to understand its workings.

4. Explore and test various paid media channels

The events of 2020 and 2021 caused fluctuations in platform performance, with some exceeding or falling short of benchmarks. Advertisers who proactively test multiple channels are best positioned to adapt and thrive in such scenarios. Conversely, advertisers reliant on a single platform or with most resources concentrated on one channel may struggle with agility. Underperformance on their primary platform limits their ability to quickly shift investments elsewhere without prior testing and data.

Similarly, capitalizing on a suddenly high-performing platform becomes challenging without understanding which targeting options yield the best results. For instance, when advertisers reduced budgets in response to COVID-19 in 2020, those who maintained their presence benefited from significantly lower CPMs due to increased social media usage (learn how to combat rising CPMs here). Advertisers without prior social presence experience faced difficulties deciding whether to reallocate budget or remain on existing channels due to the lack of a benchmark.

A diversified media mix enhances adaptability and resilience, even amidst significant market changes.

How to implement this

Building a robust cross-channel marketing strategy involves:

• Continuous testing of new marketing channels. While extensive investment isn’t always necessary, understanding their relevance to your business, identifying high-performing offers, and establishing benchmarks are crucial for informed decision-making when adjustments are required.
• Employing a mix of paid and organic strategies. Our comprehensive list of the 19 best marketing strategies for 2022 provides ample guidance.
• Avoiding promoting the same offer across all channels. This common cross-channel marketing mistake can be avoided by tailoring offers to specific channels based on performance data.

5. Effectively manage and embrace automation

Similar to tracking changes, there’s a clear push towards increased automation in advertising. This is evident in the introduction of Performance Max, the ongoing emphasis on automated bidding, and the trend of auto-applied account changes by platforms like Google and Bing. Unless advertisers opt out, these platforms will automatically implement updates.

Furthermore, Google Partner standards now require premier partners to achieve a minimum 70% optimization score. This metric, while well-intentioned, primarily reflects the adoption of Google’s (often self-serving) recommendations. Initially planned for 2020, this change was postponed due to COVID-19 and is now set for implementation in 2022.

How to implement this

• Test. When applied strategically, automated bidding strategies and Performance Max campaigns can be effective. Allow time for testing and optimization, as immediate success isn’t guaranteed.
• Become an automation advocate. Overcoming the perception of automation as a power struggle and the lack of transparency hindering trust requires effort. Identify areas where automation excels and leverage it to free up resources for tasks requiring manual management.
• Educate yourself. Familiarize yourself with Google Ads automation features. Our resource on the pros and cons of each Google automated bidding strategy can help.
• Explore AI. Automation, machine learning, and AI go hand-in-hand. Discover practical examples of AI in marketing to identify starting points.

Embracing automation often requires less time than manual implementation and can yield better results in many cases. It’s not about man versus machine, but rather man and machine working together!

6. Become proficient in responsive search ads (RSAs)

Finally, prioritize RSAs in your Google Ads strategy. While advertisers can still use existing expanded text ads (ETAs), including pausing and reactivating them, creating new ETAs will be impossible after June 2022. Google’s preference for RSAs over ETAs in auctions throughout 2021 foreshadowed the announcement that RSAs would become the sole option for new ads. This aligns with the broader trend of increased automation, particularly from Google. While some advertisers have expressed concerns about RSA performance, making the transition is unavoidable. Focusing on crafting and optimizing RSAs is crucial for maximizing effectiveness.

See our full responsive search ad cheat sheet here.

How to implement this:

The first step is simple: start creating RSAs! Utilize our responsive search ad guide and follow these tips:

• Establish RSA benchmarks now: Typically, RSAs have higher click-through rates than ETAs, but conversion rates vary. Activate RSAs in every ad group to set realistic performance expectations post-June.
• Diversify your copy: Each headline and description should be unique to provide Google with ample options for mixing and matching. Aim for at least two headlines with keywords and three without.
• Don’t abandon ETAs! Existing ETAs will continue running after June 30, 2022, but editing them will no longer be possible. Therefore, focus on testing and creating effective ETAs now, allowing for pausing and reactivating as needed in the future.

Discover additional ways to prepare for the end of ETAs in our comprehensive guide.

Future-proof your paid media strategy

These paid media trends shouldn’t come as a surprise if you’ve been paying attention. However, staying adaptable is key, as surprises seem to be a recurring theme. Let’s recap the six crucial elements of a successful paid media strategy:

1. Review and adjust benchmarks
2. Prioritize a first-party data approach
3. Stay informed about advanced tracking technology
4. Explore and test various paid media channels.
5. Embrace and manage automation effectively
6. Become proficient in responsive search ads Need assistance? Explore our digital marketing solutions!