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Search Ads Losing Ground to PMax and Shopping, Smarter Ecommerce Report Reveals

June 25, 2024 at 12:46:28 PM

TL;DR Paid search advertisers are shifting their spending from Search campaigns to PMax and Shopping. Search's share of ad spend has dropped from 39% to 21%, with a quarterly decline rate of -0.85%. PMax and Shopping are gaining traction, though PMax's growth has plateaued recently. Google may need to introduce new features to boost PMax adoption, as many advertisers find it challenging to control and optimize.

Search Ads Losing Ground to PMax and Shopping, Smarter Ecommerce Report Reveals

Paid search advertisers are increasingly shifting their budgets from Search campaigns to PMax and Shopping ads. Analysis of over €2 billion in ad spend reveals:

Key Trends

Search Campaigns:
- Declined from 39% to 21% share of ad spend.
- Average quarterly growth rate: -0.85%, or -3.8% year-over-year.
PMax and Shopping Ads:
- Growing prominence, indicating high demand for product listing ads.
- PMax's growth has plateaued against Shopping in recent quarters, suggesting strong loyalty to Shopping ads.

Challenges and Insights

PMax saw a resurgence after Google introduced brand controls and search term reporting.
Future adoption of PMax may require Google to offer additional feature concessions.
According to "The State of PPC 2024":
- Two-thirds of respondents find lack of control in PMax a challenge.
- More than half struggle with improving performance in PMax.

These insights suggest a dynamic shift in paid search advertising, with a growing preference for product listing ads and ongoing challenges in optimizing PMax performance.