New Features for PPC Ads in 2024

Google Ads recently unveiled a host of updates to help marketers stay abreast of new features for PPC ads in 2024 and leverage AI for guest acquisition. Independent boutique hotels won’t need to allocate as many resources to marketing, thanks to new time-saving features for creating, measuring, testing, and deploying ads. Combining trends in search engine optimization and best practices for paid search creates opportunities to capture valuable real estate on search engine results pages (SERPs), as well as economically boost brand visibility and bookings. 

What Are Some New Features for PPC Ads in 2024?

If you’re ready to step up your PPC strategy, we’ve highlighted some of the tools and tactics changing hospitality marketing in 2024.

1. Enhanced AI and Automation  

Google Ads trends for 2024 are centered around AI-powered tools that optimize campaigns and generate data. When small business advertisers lean on technology to create custom reports and automate tasks, they can target customers more effectively. Leaving AI to watch for trends in Google Ads performance leads to smarter PPC bidding strategies without adding to your workload. The improved decision-making and intuitive campaign adjustments ensure the hotel’s cost-per-click marketing is beneficial and cost-effective. 

2. Increased Brand Visibility

Ads will be easier to create thanks to AI, and branding will begin showing up in more places. Google Ads recently improved its Web to App Connect feature; this update allows Google Hotel Ads to route potential guests from the SERPs directly to any page on the hotel’s app to showcase the brand or amenities. Search ads will also earn more prominent placement in the AI Overview section. This connects people researching travel or destinations with your hotel before they scroll to see other options. Property Promotion Ads, once reserved for the desktop version of Google Maps, will expand to Android and iPhone apps in 2024.

3. Visually Interactive Ad Formats

Using immersive ad formats is a Google Ads trend you can expect to see plenty of in 2024. Many static marketing assets will be replaced by short videos, animated images, and other campaigns with interactive features to improve guest engagement and sell your brand. Though some creative templates have been available for a while, Google AI has simplified the setup to streamline ad creation across channels. Hoteliers can use interactive ad formats to share a 360-degree room tour or virtual poolside views directly in the search results. Short ads on YouTube are rolling out virtual stickers, landing page links, and options for people to like the ads to help marketers improve interaction and engagement opportunities.

4. Creation of Advertising Assets

Creating visually engaging ads requires resources and time that some hoteliers may not have. Companies with limited assets for running Google Ads will appreciate this year’s generative AI solutions. The platform’s chatbot offers a conversational experience to collaboratively create marketing text and images, and marketers who use this feature are more likely to achieve ‘Good’ or ‘Excellent’ ad strength. Performance Max and Demand Gen platforms also offer industry-specific performance data to give ad creators tailored recommendations for hospitality or travel ads. These Google tools don’t ignore the importance of brand strategy; an upcoming feature will allow marketers to feed brand guidelines, colors, and fonts to generative AI tools to create visual assets matching any company’s look and feel.

5. Profit Optimization in Performance Max Campaigns

Google’s latest updates to Performance Max Campaigns may cause any hotelier to rethink their PPC bidding strategy. The new profit optimization goals within PMAX allow advertisers to focus on their return on investment (ROI) rather than only revenue. Revenue management strategies, like upselling add-on services to guests, continue to do wonders for a hotel’s budget, and optimizing PPC ads for profits will enhance the effects of selling expensive packages or services. As more hoteliers take advantage of this new feature, expect PPC goals to trend from revenue to profits in 2024.

6. First-Party Data Management

Data factors into any hotelier’s PPC strategy. Google Ads’ Data Manager functions will be moved out of beta testing and made widely available in 2024. This evens the playing field for small businesses without custom data-management programs. Now any marketer can access organized analytics for ad targeting and personalization to use their budget to increase bookings with qualified leads.

Google Marketing Live 2024

If you aren’t familiar with Google Marketing Live, this annual event showcases all the latest tech and trends for PPC advertisers—and 2024 did not disappoint. If you want to see all the advances and trends for PPC ads for 2024, catch a recap of Google Ads’ Marketing Live event. While AI was a clear focal point, the presentation highlighted many innovations within three categories: Creative, Media, and Measurement. Hoteliers should prepare to adjust their PPC strategy to take advantage of these tools that streamline marketing efforts and reduce inefficiencies. Paid ads were already one of the most profitable marketing channels for hotels, but thanks to these improvements, you can accomplish more with fewer resources. 

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If the ongoing evolution of PPC advertising has left your marketing team in the dust, reach out to TravelBoom to get your paid media back on track. Hiring a digital marketing company with in-depth Google Ads experience can be just what you need to maintain effective, competitive campaigns in 2024 and beyond. Contact us for an evaluation of your website and marketing strategies today.