Industry Insights

This year, in 2025, Google made a major change by placing Shopping ads directly into AI Overviews at the top of search results. These ads now show up when people search for products with buying intent. The update, now live on desktop in the U.S., is expected to roll out globally soon. This gives advertisers a new chance to get seen, but also means more competition for top placements. It’s a clear signal that Google is moving away from old-school keyword-based ads. Conversational search creates new ad opportunities Another big update is AI Mode, a new feature that lets people ask multi-step questions and follow-ups. While still in testing, it shows ads pulled from Shopping and Performance Max campaigns. This helps brands reach people who are still exploring options, not just ready to buy. If you’re a Google Ads expert for hire or looking to hire a PPC consultant, this opens the door to more targeted mid-funnel ad strategies. Google’s new creative tools save time and money To help advertisers keep up with demand, Google added AI tools that create product videos and lifestyle images. These features, now part of Merchant Center, allow brands to quickly produce high-quality visuals without needing a full creative team. There are controls in place to protect branding, but companies should still review AI-generated content for accuracy and tone. Performance Max and AI Max lead full-funnel strategy Google now encourages advertisers to use a combination of campaigns, Performance Max, AI Max, and Demand Gen. Together, this “Power Pair” strategy covers every step of the customer journey. AI helps find audiences, automate bidding, and loosen ROAS limits to boost conversions. Still, transparency remains an issue, especially for businesses managing multiple campaigns without full control over placements. Automation helps, but human oversight matters While AI tools offer speed and scale, marketers still need to stay sharp. Tracking conversions, impression share, and click-through rates is more important than ever. Tools like virtual try-on and AI checkout improve user experience, but manual reviews and a strong strategy will separate average results from great ones. Whether you’re a Google Ads freelancer or part of a PPC agency, staying hands-on is still key to successful Google Ads management.

The Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity is a yearly event held in Cannes, France. It brings together people who work in advertising, marketing, and creative fields. First started in 1954, the festival gives awards to the best work in advertising and branding. Recently, Meta introduced major updates to its Advantage+ advertising platform. The changes are built to help brands, especially small businesses, improve their online ads on Facebook and Instagram. The new features allow advertisers to turn still images into short videos, create branded highlights, and keep a consistent look across all ads. This makes it easier to build professional campaigns without needing large budgets or teams. Stronger call-to-action options and virtual try-on Meta also launched Creative Stickers, custom visual buttons that guide users to take action, such as buying or signing up. Another new feature, Virtual Try-On, lets users see how clothes might look on different types of models. This helps shoppers make better choices and gives brands a way to increase confidence before a purchase. For small brands offering PPC services for B2B or products, these tools may help ads stand out and connect more with buyers. Reported gains in ad performance Advertisers using the updated platform say they’ve seen a 22% increase in return on ad spend. Meta’s data shows that changes made to the backend have helped improve conversion rates by up to 5%. These improvements are especially useful for companies looking for the best ROI PPC agency or for those who manage ads for multiple clients. Better results from less effort make Advantage+ more appealing to agencies and in-house teams alike. Voice interaction features for better engagement Another update includes Business Voice, which lets ads respond to voice commands. This is aimed at making ad experiences smoother and more natural. It also opens new ways for businesses to connect with customers without needing extra staff. A bigger push into small business advertising Meta’s updates are part of a larger effort to support smaller advertisers. The company wants to make it easier for them to create better campaigns, measure results, and grow through tools like Advantage+. With many small businesses depending on digital ads for lead generation with Google Ads, these updates offer a more affordable and faster way to compete with bigger brands.

A bizarre, fast-cut commercial that aired during the NBA Finals is sparking serious conversations in the advertising world, not just for its strange visuals, but for how it was made. Created entirely with AI in just three days for $2,000, the ad promoted prediction platform Kalshi and marked one of the first times a national TV spot was produced almost entirely by generative technology. How AI cuts costs Filmmaker PJ Accetturo used Google’s Veo 3, a new text-to-video generator, to create the footage. From a man in a pink crop top shouting basketball predictions to a farmer floating in a pool of eggs, the ad leaned into chaotic imagery to reflect Kalshi’s theme: betting on an unpredictable world. Instead of hiring a full production crew, Accetturo worked alone using a script co-written with Gemini and ChatGPT, then ran 300–400 prompt generations to land on 15 usable clips. Kalshi said it originally considered traditional production but found quotes in the six- to seven-figure range. That’s where AI made the difference—not just in cost, but in speed. The 8-second scene limits of Veo 3 encouraged a montage format, keeping the ad high-energy and on-theme. While the process saved time and money, Accetturo emphasized that effective AI output still depends on skilled creative choices. AI and advertising This experiment highlights a turning point for digital marketing. With tools like Veo 3 becoming more accessible, PPC agency and in-house teams offering Google Ads management are likely to adopt AI workflows to meet demand for faster, cheaper, and more engaging ad content. The future of advertising is shifting toward agile, small teams able to produce viral campaigns quickly. But even as AI streamlines production, taste, originality, and humor will remain the defining edge in making ads people want to watch.

Google Ads is introducing new features aimed at helping advertisers get more value from their video budgets. With updates to both video reach and video views campaigns, brands now have smarter tools to maximize visibility across YouTube formats like Shorts, in-feed videos, bumper ads, and skippable in-stream placements. For businesses looking to boost awareness, the platform now offers three strategic options: efficient reach, non-skippable reach, and target frequency. Efficient reach uses bumper and skippable ads to reach the widest audience at the lowest cost. Smarter video views strategy Non-skippable formats guarantee that viewers see the full message, while target frequency ensures repeated exposure to the same audience over time. All options are designed to work seamlessly within a single campaign setup, saving time and budget. Another major update centers on video views campaigns. These will now rely exclusively on multi-format video ads and a target cost-per-view (CPV) bidding strategy. Advertisers simply set their average CPV, and Google’s AI does the rest—optimizing placement and format to get the most views possible. This streamlined system can result in up to 40% more views for the same budget. Optimizing for mobile delivery To help ads perform better on mobile, Google Ads now uses AI to automatically generate vertical versions of horizontal videos, tailoring content for Shorts and other mobile-first placements. This feature is on by default but can be switched off. With these changes, advertisers are encouraged to use both horizontal and vertical videos in multiple aspect ratios and resolutions to cover all available inventory. For brands aiming to scale video impact or marketers looking for expert help, hiring a Google Ads expert for hire or tapping into Google Ads management services could make all the difference in campaign performance and ROI.

As digital competition intensifies, businesses running Google Ads in 2025 are focusing more than ever on performance metrics that directly impact campaign success. A benchmark report released not long ago by WordStream by LocaliQ highlights trends across major industries, offering valuable guidance for anyone serious about lead generation with Google Ads. Click-through rates (CTR) have risen significantly, averaging 6.66% across industries, compared to just 1.35% in 2015. The Arts & Entertainment sector leads with a 13.10% CTR, while Dental Services sees the lowest at 5.44%. While a high CTR shows strong ad appeal, it doesn’t always mean conversions, making it just one part of a bigger picture. Ad costs and conversions Cost per click (CPC) averaged $5.26. Legal services topped the list with an $8.58 CPC, while Arts & Entertainment saw the lowest at $1.60. A high CPC may be justified if it brings in quality leads, but businesses must still monitor spend closely to maintain profitability. Conversion rates (CVR) averaged 7.52%. Automotive campaigns stood out with a 14.67% CVR, while Finance and Furniture sectors lagged behind. Low conversion rates can often be improved with better landing pages, simplified user flows, and more relevant targeting. Lead costs and strategy Cost per lead (CPL) came in at an average of $70.11, peaking in the legal sector at $131.63 and dropping to around $28.50 in automotive services. Although CPL varies, the return on investment can still be worthwhile when targeting the right audience. $113k day on Google this is a realistic representation of Google and Youtube Ads at scale on Google if you're a non-influencer ecom brand you're not going to see a 10x return at scale or these ridiculous numbers that some gurus show you we're seeing a 2-3x ROAS on most days… pic.twitter.com/APOAiXYTP7 — Nate.Google (@Nate_Google_) June 10, 2025 For brands aiming to maximize impact, choosing the best ROI PPC agency can make all the difference. Success in 2025 hinges on aligning campaigns with the buyer journey, improving mobile and offline tracking, and constantly refining strategy. Benchmarks serve as reference points, but real results depend on tailored, ongoing optimization.