TPE #117: 13 PPC Predictions for 2025

Read time: 7 minutes

GM, Miles here with The PPC Edge.

The new year is right around the corner.

In today’s issue, I want to look at trends and predictions for the PPC world in 2025.

I’ve asked members of The PPC Hub for input as well.

Let’s not waste any time and dive right in!

13 PPC predictions to prepare for in 2025.

I don’t think any industry moved faster than PPC this year.

And I don’t expect it to slow down in 2025.

Here are 13 predictions for the PPC industry in 2025, from myself and members of The PPC Hub:

1. Google Ads Specialists who focus on the fundamentals are the ones who have success.
2. PPC Experts who look beyond Google Ads will have the most success.
3. “Hidden features” will continue to lead to wasted ad spend.
4. Keywordless Search will roll out.
5. Image Search will increase in popularity within pMax & Shopping.
6. Brands will focus more on attribution & incrementality (by Caterina Mariani).
7. Building a Central Data Hub leads to personalized campaigns, at scale.
8. AI will transform Google Shopping.
9. How users interact with Search will change.
10. More PPC Experts will embrace AI as the output becomes better.
11. Video will become more important.
12. More automated account structures.
13. AI Agents will transform the PPC industry.

Let’s break everything down below!

Prediction 1: Google Ads Specialists who focus on the fundamentals are the ones who have success.

It’s easy to get overwhelmed by our fast-changing industry. The key to success will be doing the fundamentals well, over and over.

While many Google Ads Specialists will continue to look for the next “advanced tactic” (AKA shiny objects), it’s those who focus on the fundamentals that will thrive.

Here’s a guide that explains it better and what fundamentals to focus on.

Prediction 2: PPC Experts who look beyond Google Ads will have the most success.

Simply “doing Google Ads” is no longer enough. You will get replaced by AI or someone using AI. The only way to future-proof yourself and stay relevant is by becoming a business partner for your clients.

And you do that by developing the skills necessary to evolve into a T-Shaped Google Ads Specialist.

The most successful PPCers will combine deep knowledge of Google Ads with broad knowledge of business skills to help their clients on a level that most can’t.

Here’s a guide that explains how to do just that.

I’m not the only one who thinks so…

Hester Geerdink, Freelance Google Ads Specialist, predicts that more automation will lead to more activities outside of Google Ads:

She continues: “With the embrace of AI, a lot is changing and even faster than before. Google will automate more and faster, which means that you will have to take more and more action yourself to maintain insight and control. I think scripts and tools will be more valuable than ever.

Furthermore, automation means that less time is spent in the Google Ads interface. Therefore, also look at other activities that are aligned with Google Ads.

For example, dive into Social Ads, CRO, Marketing Strategy, Conversion Tracking, or something completely different. Combining Google Ads services and an additional specialization will work well in 2025.

It is an adapt or die kind of situation. This rule has always applied, of course, but I have the feeling that it's importance is now quickly becoming stronger.”

Prediction 3: “Hidden features” will continue to lead to wasted ad spend.

Thomas Eccel predicts that we need to be careful with hidden features that are designed to make Google money, not help the advertiser.

“Google Ads will continue to implement so called “hidden features” and opt you in by default, advertisers need to be cautious to not waste spend. Hidden features of 2024 were for example Demand gen video partner, optimized targetings, Pmax vertical videos etc.”

Prediction 4: Keywordless Search will roll out.

Lol Lowe, Freelance Google Ads Specialist, predicts that Google will roll out Keywordless Search:

“This is already in Beta under the guise of Search Max. Working much like Performance Max does, Google will use keywords, landing pages and creative you supply as a guideline (not for specific targeting) and go far beyond that to try and hit campaign objectives.

For those of us that have been around Google Ads since year dot, this is giving “Adwords Express” vibes, however, Google’s machine learning has moved on leaps and bounds since those days so I expect Ads Managers will have to embrace it while armed with lots of scripts to pull out the data that Google inevitably won’t share!  I’m calling 2025, the year of massive negative keyword libraries.”

Prediction 5: Image Search will increase in popularity within pMax & Shopping.

Casey Gill, Senior Search Specialist at Websavvy, predicts that “2025 will offer opportunities to harness the huge increase in image search within PMax and Shopping campaigns.

With the rise of non-keyword searches such as image search over the past year, I suspect we will soon see the option to target Google Lens directly within campaigns, auto-linking products in Google Merchant center to specific themes or lookalike brands/products based on AI image search. I also suspect paid promotion extensions, badges and offers will become more visible within Google Lens.”

Prediction 6: Brands will focus more on attribution & incrementality (by Caterina Mariani).

I can fully get behind Caterina Mariani’s prediction for 2025:

Prediction 7: Building a Central Data Hub leads to personalized campaigns, at scale.

Here’s what Ruben Runneboom, co-founder of Taskforce Agency, predicts for 2025:

“We’re still at the start of a new era where first-party data is becoming non-negotiable.

Last year, I predicted it: first-party data would be the key to staying ahead of the competition. And guess what? It’s happening. Over the past year, we’ve helped clients drive more profit by weaving in data like return rates, product lifecycles, reviews, and even insights from Search Console into their Google Ads strategies.

CDP’s allows you to create hyper-specific audience targeting and it is a great way to start building your full-funnel automations, not only within Google Ads but cross-channel.

A holistic approach is becoming increasingly important, shifting the focus away from channel-specific performance.”

Prediction 8: AI will transform Google Shopping.

The Google Shopping Experience has changed a lot in 2024, and Floris van Vleuten (founder Amplifize) and Denie Geertzen (Freelance Google Ads Specialist) think this will be taken to the next level in 2025.

Floris sees a big opportunity: “We, as experts, have to truly understand how Google's AI will provide our potential customers with our ads, and make sure to give Google the exact right datapoints to maximize that experience.

For brands who've built their proof of concept, a good Google Ads Expert will be essential to stand out from the crowd. I'm very excited for 2025 and I think anyone who bridges Google and Ecommerce should be excited too.”

In addition, Denie thinks that Ecommerce adveritisng will drastically change in 2025:

“Just like in 2024, external tools will remain essential for optimizing data beyond the Google Ads interface. The adoption of external tools like Triple Whale, ProfitMetrics, and Lifetimely is still really low and will therefore continue to provide a competitive advantage over many other advertisers.

Advertisers leveraging AI tools like Google’s Product Studio will experiment/optimize faster and outperform competitors who don’t improve their product images. I’m excited!”

Prediction 9: How users interact with Search will change.

Ramial Aqeel predicts that "2025 will likely see a continued shift in the way users interact with search. Driven by the rise of voice search and increased use of GPT, this is expected to prompt longer and more conversational queries, potentially opening the door for new strategies and products which are tailored to capture and optimise for higher search intent."

Prediction 10: More PPC Experts will embrace AI as the output becomes better.

Adriaan Dekker predicts that “more specialists will start embracing AI & that the output becomes better. Also, there will be more diversity in the use for example AI will become an important part of generating pictures. With this change, we will see again that the time spent on accounts can decrease so specialists are going to work more in different accounts and look more into the strategies."

Prediction 11: Video will become more important.

Roger Cooney, co-founder at MoonSauce Agency, thinks that Video will become more important in 2025:

“Just today I saw people on Linkedin posting that they're now seeing a spot for Video Assets in their Google Ads accounts. This isn't too surprising since it's been available for a while in Microsoft Ads, even if it's used sparingly from what I've seen taking over accounts. But beyond that, I think Google Ads will make a bigger play into CTV (Connected TV). Their current CTV solution is lacking, and almost no one thinks of Google Ads when they want to run CTV. There's a huge untapped market there for Google, even if it might be challenging for them to work out deals for the inventory.”

Prediction 12: More automated account structures.

Arjan Schoorl, co-owner at Flowboost, predicts the following:

“In 2025, we are moving more and more towards automating account structures. Producthero started years ago with the labelizer, which automatically scales shopping campaigns by giving the right signals to the algorithm by splitting campaigns based on performance.

Many tasks will be automated and if you can apply models or strategies such as a labelizer in combination with smart bidding, this results in a powerful account structure from which there is no winning.

The differentiation then goes into the offer on your website, how easy your order flow is on the website, how your overall, broader marketing is set up and what synergy all platforms have. It is even more important in 2025 that you find a good marketing partner who will also join you as a business partner.”

Prediction 13: AI Agents will transform the PPC industry.

I love PPC Legend Mike Rhodes’ prediction for 2025:

“The PPC industry is on the cusp of a dramatic transformation through AI agents, yet many agencies remain unprepared.

… one identifying keyword opportunities and negative keywords, another optimizing budgets in real-time based on client goals and performance data, and others handling routine optimizations that currently consume hours of analyst time. The agencies that thrive will be those building and deploying these customized agents to augment their teams.

However, the concerning reality is that many agencies aren't experimenting with this technology today, essentially sleeping at the wheel while this revolution unfolds. In 2025, my mission is teaching agencies how to create (and monetize) their own AI agents - because the question won't be whether to use them, but how many you have working for you. And if you own them or have to buy them from someone else.”

Want to learn more about how AI is influencing the PPC industry and how you can leverage it as a Google Ads Specialist? Check out this interview I did with Mike on The PPC Mastery Podcast!

Quick recap: 13 PPC predictions to prepare for in 2025.

So there you have it: 13 predictions for the PPC industry in 2025:

1. Google Ads Specialists who focus on the fundamentals are the ones who have success.
2. PPC Experts who look beyond Google Ads will have the most success.
3. “Hidden features” will continue to lead to wasted ad spend.
4. Keywordless Search will roll out.
5. Image Search will increase in popularity within pMax & Shopping.
6. Brands will focus more on attribution & incrementality (by Caterina Mariani).
7. Building a Central Data Hub leads to personalized campaigns, at scale.
8. AI will transform Google Shopping.
9. How users interact with Search will change.
10. More PPC Experts will embrace AI as the output becomes better.
11. Video will become more important.
12. More automated account structures.
13. AI Agents will transform the PPC industry.

A big thanks to all PPC Hub members who contributed to this issue — I hope it was helpful to you.

All the best, and let’s make 2025 a smashing success, together.

Have an awesome day!

Cheers,

Miles (& Bob)