Q1 Paid Search Marketing Report

During this exciting time, many companies are grappling with the pandemic crisis. Merkle has prepared a comprehensive report covering many areas of digital marketing. Data analysis is one of the most important skills for every marketer. Paid search is one of the most popular methods of acquiring customers. Advertising spending on Google search in the first quarter of 2020 increased by 11% compared to the previous year. Let’s see what else changed at the turn of the first quarter.

The impact of COVID-19 on businesses is undeniable. We’re seeing a decline in monthly spending. In March, this figure fell to 4%, a significant 11% decrease compared to January. Budget cuts and corporate austerity measures certainly had a significant impact on the March figures.

The trend of mobile devices dominating desktop devices continues. The first quarter saw a slight decline compared to the last quarter of 2019. Phones continue to dominate the device hierarchy, recording a 26% increase in paid advertising spending. Tablets, which are increasingly considered unnecessary gadgets, hold the inglorious record. The decline from Q3 to Q1 has already reached 43%, and there’s no sign of this situation improving.

Spending on product ads is gaining popularity year over year. A prime example is Microsoft Ads (Bing Ads), which continues to see growth. Spending on this type of advertising may not be as impressive as last year’s peak (~55%), but we can be confident that we will see continued growth in the coming quarters. Despite the weaker performance, text ads are also on an upward trend, rising 16% in Q1.

The battle for customers between these two giants is in full swing. As the charts show, Microsoft Ads dominates desktop, with a 42% lead over Google. The reverse is true for mobile devices. Google generated 67% of paid clicks from mobile phones in Q1 2020. This represents a 5% increase compared to the previous year.