At the end of each year, we digital marketers morph into futurists that predict what the next twelve months look like. And search marketers are no different. I thought I’d catch-up with some of the country’s best-known (and passionate) search marketeers to get their view of what the 2020s will hold for Google Ads and its customers.  

I met with Miki Clarke from Allianz, Phil O’Connor from Koala, Daniel Benton from Neo Ogilvy, Andrew Burger from Switched On Media, and Preet Singh from Indago Digital for a couple of cheeky ales and to chew on the search-marketing fat. 

Among things that were discussed such as automation, machine-learning and the role of digital marketing teams there was obviously discussion around the ACCC and changes to cookies and data privacy. 

What regulation should there be? 

Most of us agreed that Google has created this platform and has the right to promote its own products in any way it sees fit — but none of us was overly comfortable with the power that provides them. Without being drawn on potential regulation, Dan pointed out that “while everyone wants to get a view into the black box, Google AdWords has been a large catalyst in the growth of Australian business. I think it’s done a pretty good job of growing the economy. 

”Why should the ACCC regulate Google? I get that everyone wants to view into the black box to understand how it works – but is that right?”   

My argument is that we often see cost per clicks — CPCs, in marketing talk — rise, even though there might be fewer advertisers and more consumers in that market. In an auction-based environment, costs should decrease, not increase. It’s basic supply and demand.  

Personally, I’d like to see some form of regulation around paid search click prices, but I cannot see how this could be enforced and that the ACCC will be ineffective here.  

One of Miki’s main concerns was around trust and transparency around the auction and costs. Working in the insurance space where CPCs are extremely high (the top of page bid for the phrase ‘life insurance quote’ is AU$124), Miki questioned whether having “blind faith” that you’re only paying one cent more than the highest bidder, was satisfactory? It would be great for advertisers to have visibility and in this time of mistrust towards digital advertising would supply much-needed PR.”  

However, she believed that “Government would likely focus on protecting the privacy rights of consumers as well as controlling broadcasting and eradicating fake news.”  

Will the ACCC regulate Google Ads?  

Andrew raised the most relevant point that focused on whether the ACCC had the skills to regulate Google. “I don’t know that the regulators know how to deal with a tech giant as big as Google,” he said. “I believe they’ll look to the EU who are more progressive legislatively for guidance. They’re willing to slap Google with huge fines – Google seems willing to pay them. I think the ACCC will look to the EU example and what GDPR has done as a steppingstone for privacy.” 

The overarching opinion was that the ACCC is a toothless tiger and that Australia will rely on other countries or regions to set the benchmark to implement regulations. 

How will privacy laws impact Google Ads tracking and attribution? 

Preet was “most concerned about the ACCC imposing heavy-handed restrictions. From the initial report we’ve seen it’s GDPR [the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation on steroids. It feels like the industry could be going back ten years.”

“Based on what they’re planning it would make doing business with Google pretty difficult. Without those measurements in place which we’ve all been addicted to, what are you going to do? How are you going to deduce whether your millions of dollars in investment are working or not? That’s probably one of the big areas of concern. With that being said, we do need to regulate Facebook and Google. I don’t think that your average-joe is even close to understanding the sheer scale of data that’s being collected.” 

Andrew’s view was very similar, but he felt that Google would benefit from the new privacy laws. “The tighter and harder regulations get; the better off Google is. They sit on more first-party data than anyone else which gives them the edge. It then becomes a three horse-race between themselves, Facebook and Amazon. Who has the most robust data? Who can utilise it in the most effective manner?” 

Most of us agreed that remarketing and attribution would greatly suffer. Andrew asked us: “Think about the attribution platform which Google have been talking about for years. They haven’t solved it within the current environment. So, I’m not sure what hope the market has when these big platforms can’t talk to one another.” 

Phil’s opinion was that “We’ve seen it many times before where a paradigm shift comes. As per usual, the responsibility to succeed in the data dark ages will fall to the advertiser to innovate around the problem.” 

Of course, just after we spoke, last Thursday, the Morrison government released its response to the digital platforms inquiry. Of particular interest to me was the establishment of a special unit within the ACCC to monitor, report on competition and consumer protection. This unit has been tasked with undertaking enquiries as directed by the Treasury and enforcing the results. The first industry sector that they are looking at is the murky world of ad tech and display.  

I’m sure everyone involved in digital marketing will be keenly following the results and any subsequent action.  

Gary Nissim is a digital marketing specialist with more than 15 years’ experience in a diverse range of channels and services. His most recent venture is as managing director of Indago Digital, a marketing agency that specialises in running acquisition campaigns and the channels that drive low-cost conversions.

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