Since most browsers are removing cookies, search engine marketing will undergo significant changes in the coming years, especially in terms of how campaign outcomes will be calculated. Google has released the Privacy Sandbox tool to provide a new approach to the advertising industry.
Campaigns focused on artificial intelligence, segmentations based on groups and cohort groupings, speech campaigns for related advertising, and video advertisement for online channels or tv are, on the other side, the major winning themes in SEM for 2021.
Though it seems that a semblance of normalcy will return in the months ahead, there’s little justification for believing SEM would ever return to business as usual. The COVID-19 pandemic, but most importantly, altered every part of consumer behavior. Top search engines have also launched new technologies that focus on search intent, automation, and machine learning.
Some SEM trends of 2021 are:
Privacy Sandbox
Privacy Sandbox began as a Google experiment at the same time that it was revealed that from 2022 onwards, Chrome would no longer cover third-party cookies. Google has stated that this will be achieved gradually to allow the advertising industry enough time to adjust to the new realities.
The initiative is being hailed as a way to cut down on mistracking while still encouraging ad targeting inside Google’s Chrome browser. The marketing and advertisement industry is still interested in market trends, but it is also skeptical in this case, particularly if it turns out to be a means for Google to expand its monopoly.
Youtube Advertising
Many updates to YouTube’s promotional offerings have been made in 2021, making it more valuable to search engine advertisers. New metrics, such as engaged-view conversions (EVCs) and view-through conversions, have recently been launched by Google Ads to help with content management on YouTube (VTCs). They also introduced audio advertisements for YouTube, which were created to associate advertisers with people who listen to music on the platform.
Another function they’re now using to accelerate mass penetration for ads in particular environments is advanced personalized targeting. Large marketers are now using YouTube’s scope and related content to achieve their market objectives.
Voice Search
Text queries are gradually becoming obsolete. Voice search is becoming increasingly popular among today’s consumers. This transition is accompanied by a shift to longer, more complex keywords. Speech searchers are no longer constrained by the need to write or tap short phrases; instead, they ask their requests as questions.
People will take advantage of the most recent voice search patterns in both organic and paid search campaigns. Page development that includes long-tail, question-oriented keywords would support all initiatives.
Goodbye to Third party cookies
This is potentially the SEM theme that most advertisers would miss the most in the coming year – at least because the 3rd-party cookie ‘party’ is still going on. By 2022, Google will most likely announce new proposals to ban the use of third-party cookies in its Chrome browser, similar to what it did in 2020.
In most audience-driven promotions, third-party cookies are used (i.e. more than 50 percent of clicks for the savvy advertisers). This is a challenging case. Advertisers and agencies must collaborate to create long-term data plans that protect privacy while also identifying innovative opportunities to target important audiences.
Podcast Optimization
Podcast optimization will be the next way to sell content and build a reputation online as podcasts grow in popularity around the world. Marketers will face a new challenge in optimizing the podcast transcript with a particular set of keywords.
Distributing podcast content and adapting it for various platforms in order to rank in Spotify, iTunes, and other search engines would be a difficult task.
In conclusion, these are the general SEM trends of 2021. There might be other SEM trends based on different regions and localities. The laws of a nation also affect SEM trends. If you are from London and are looking to market your brand in a specific region like China, you should search more about China SEM in London. China SEM in London will help you find a digital marketing agency that can handle your brand.
China SEM in London will also help you know about people who have the experience and knowledge of SEM in your locality, so you can network with them.