Advertising spending at Google is growing in spite of AI technologies

Despite strong adoption of AI-powered innovations, the advertising market on Google continues to grow. Although overall spending growth has slowed, Shopping Ads, Search Ads and PMax campaigns continue to be stable and price per click is increasing.

Google ad spending patterns

In Q3 of this year, ad spending on Google search ads was 11% higher than last year. This is a testament to the resilience of the market despite the heavy use of new features with artificial intelligence. Although the growth rate is 14% higher than in Q2, the number of clicks is still stable. But CPC growth was 8%, down 4% from last quarter.

How to reduce your ad spend on Google Ads, read here.

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Shopping Ads

Shopping ads continue to be one of the most effective tools in the market, with spending on them increasing by 16% in Q3 of this year. There was a 6% increase in click volume, this exceeded past performance. But the growth in price-per-click in shopping campaigns has gotten a little slower. This could be an indication that the budget is now being used more effectively.

Competition in the marketplace

Shopping ads are still led by Amazon with a 58% share. Compared to last quarter, this figure has decreased by 5%. Walmart came in second place with a 22% share. Temu gave up its position. Large retailers are still interested in online advertising.

PMax and change

Many brands are using PMax in their advertising strategies. Their usage rate in Q3 among shopping advertisers was one percent higher than last quarter at 92%. Non-shopping campaigns now account for 29% of all spending at PMax. This is a testament to the increased interest in different ad formats.

What is the impact of Google AI innovations?

In the past years, many advertisers were concerned about Google's introduction of artificial intelligence. But now the situation has changed. Mobile CTR for non-branded keywords dropped slightly, but by early fall it was back to past levels. Shopping ads on mobile are showing positive results: between mid-spring and early fall, CTR increased by 14%.

The result: stability in times of change

Although Google ad spend has started to grow more slowly, PMax campaigns and shopping ads are still stable and effective. Large retailers still hold the palm in this area. The impact of innovation from Google AI is already much smaller than in the beginning. In a changing market, shopping ads and mobile devices continue to perform the best.