Merkle-2020年第一季度网络营销报告（英文）-2020.5-25页_1mb

Digital Marketing Report Summary - Q1 2020

Core Content Overview

This report analyzes digital marketing trends in Q1 2020, highlighting the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on ad spending and performance across various platforms and industries. The report includes insights into paid search, organic search, Amazon ads, and display & paid social.

Main Trends and Insights

Paid Search

• Google Search Ad Spend Growth: Increased by 11% Y/Y in Q1 2020, down from 16% in Q4 2019. This was the weakest growth seen in Merkle's eight-year history.
  • Clicks: Rose by 9% Y/Y.
  • CPCs: Increased by 2% Y/Y.
• Microsoft Search Ads: Grew by 18% Y/Y, but clicks fell by 11% and CPCs rose sharply due to declining phone traffic share.
• Device Shift: Desktop share of Google search ad clicks increased by 4 points in mid-April compared to early March, as more users spent time at home.
• Travel Ad Spend: Dropped by 21% Y/Y for the full quarter, with budgets cut by nearly 80% by the end of March.
• Retail Ad Spend: Held up better, with 13% Y/Y growth. Google Local Inventory Ads (LIAs) dropped to zero click share by the end of Q1, and Google Maps also saw a decline in click share.
• Amazon's Impact: Amazon reduced its Google search ad spend, contributing to retail ad conversion rates and sales per click improvements. However, Amazon shut down its Google Shopping program by early March.

Organic Search

• Overall Organic Search Visits: Fell by 15% Y/Y in Q1 2020, continuing a decline from the 11% drop in Q4 2019.
• Device Trends:
  • Phones: Generated 52% of organic search visits, up from 49% in Q1 2019.
  • Tablets: Declined to 4% of organic search visits, down from 8% in Q1 2019.
  • Desktop: Increased slightly to 44% of organic search visits in Q1 2020.
• Essential Retailers: Saw a 53% Y/Y increase in organic search visits in mid-March, while non-essential retailers experienced a 31% Y/Y decline.
• DuckDuckGo: Delivered a 38% Y/Y increase in organic search visits, but growth has slowed from 68% Y/Y in Q3 2019.
• Google's Share: Increased to 92% of all US organic search visits in Q1 2020, compared to 91% in Q1 2019.

Amazon Ads

• Sponsored Products:
  • Spend: Rose by 67% Y/Y.
  • Clicks: Increased by 87% Y/Y.
  • CPCs: Fell by 10% Y/Y.
  • Sales: Grew by 70% Y/Y.
  • ROI: Held flat compared to a year ago.
• Sponsored Brands:
  • Spend Growth: Accelerated to 118% Y/Y.
  • Clicks: Rose by 43% Y/Y.
  • CPCs: Increased by 52% Y/Y.
  • Conversion Rates: About five times higher than Google Shopping ads.
• Late March Challenges: Ad spend levels dropped significantly due to inventory and budget issues, but are expected to rebound in Q2.

Display & Paid Social

• Facebook & Instagram Ads:
  • Spend Growth: Accelerated, with Facebook up 19% Y/Y and Instagram up 39% Y/Y.
  • CPMs: Trended lower in late March as the pandemic's impact intensified.
• Stories Ads: Accounted for 22% of Instagram spend and 28% of impressions.
• Ad Format Trends:
  • Showcase Shopping Ads: Increased their share of Google Shopping clicks to 9% in Q1 2020.
  • Core Audience Tools: Maintained steady reach with Customer Match and Similar Audiences generating 5% and 10% of clicks, respectively.
  • Search Partner Share: Continued to decline, with 1.2% for text ads and 0.4% for Shopping ads in Q1 2020.

Key Takeaways

• The pandemic significantly impacted travel ad spend, which dropped by 21% Y/Y, while retailers saw more stable performance.
• Google and Microsoft showed opposing trends in device usage, with Google's phone share increasing and Microsoft's desktop share rising.
• Organic search continued to decline, but essential retailers bucked the trend with 53% Y/Y growth.
• Amazon ads saw strong growth in Q1, but faced challenges in late March due to inventory and budget constraints, with a rebound expected in Q2.
• YouTube ad spend outpaced Google search ads, but many brands paused campaigns to focus on direct response tactics.

Conclusion

The first quarter of 2020 marked a critical shift in digital marketing, driven by the pandemic's effects. While travel and non-essential retailers faced significant declines, essential retailers and Amazon ads performed better. Google search and organic search saw moderate growth, with device behavior changes influencing ad performance. Microsoft experienced higher CPCs due to declining phone traffic. The future looks promising for Q2, with rebound potential for Amazon and Google ad spend.