During this week’s PPCChat session, host Julie F Bacchini asked experts for their insights on advertising on Google and Meta, as well as which alternative platforms they find most interesting and which ones they would discourage advertising on.
Q1: Which platforms, other than Google and Meta, are you currently advertising on/have you advertised on for the accounts you manage? And what industries are you advertising?
Right now, all my clients are only on Google. But, I have done advertising on Microsoft, LinkedIn, Twitter and Quora.I am lead gen and do both B2B and B2C. @NeptuneMoon
We typically don’t venture outside of Google & Meta but we have a client that is heavily advertising on LinkedIn along with two clients who are doing Spotify and TikTok.These clients are lead gen but we also do ecom. @adwordsgirl
In almost any situation with Google search, we’ve got Microsoft Ads. In the ecommerce world I’ve got a client doing Pinterest, Amazon Ads & Walmart Ads for B2B definitely using LinkedIn. My testing of Reddit didn’t get very far, but it was interesting. @robert_brady
Quora, Taboola, Reddit, LinkedIn, Bing, Amazon. @alimehdimukadam
BTW – I don’t think it is widely available, but I am seeing a few ads on Threads now (which is still Meta). @NeptuneMoon
I have done Microsoft, LinkedIn, TikTok, Reddit and Twitter both for B2B and B2C @KarinaMontenegro
@robert_brady I had a client where we thought about doing Reddit, but we ended up doing Quora instead. @NeptuneMoon
Microsoft Advertising, Pinterest Ads, TikTok Ads, Snapchat Ads, Programmatic Display, Native Advertising (Quora and Taboola)Primarily been working with e-commerce but tranisitoning to lead generation/B2B/pay per call. @jimbanks
@NeptuneMoon is Quora better than Reddit? I recently tried Reddit for a B2B client but that has a very difficult product (healthcare) and can’t run on Google because all ads get limited views and almost no impressions. @KarinaMontenegro
Quora has low volume – relative to other networks @KarinaMontenegro BUT it can have great quality if you hit it right. @NeptuneMoon
I will also say that my love of Quora also happened because a PPC Chatter went to work there years ago and dragged a lot of us onto the platform. Shout out to JD Prater! @NeptuneMoon
The three two are Microsoft Ads, Amazon and TikTok. I will just include YouTube as part of Google for this chat. @duanebrown
I would consider YouTube part of Google @duanebrown – even though it is quasi separate. @NeptuneMoon
X, Rumble, Taboola, CTV (via YT and a couple of DSPs), email. @AlexMakarski
Q2: Which platforms, other than Google and Meta, do you find the most intriguing and why?
I love Amazon the most after Google & Meta for Ecom clients. The ad manager is excellent along with their recommendations (they recommend reducing bids). And if you are a registered brand you get a lot of insights. @alimehdimukadam
LinkedIn for B2B is such a no-brainer and such a hard sell for a lot of clients… AND YET they constantly talk about wanting to target C Suite or other job titles in certain industries. Which they totally can on LinkedIn but the high CPCs put them off. And I explain that you’re paying for that level of detail in the targeting, but wow do they get hung up on those CPCs a lot! @NeptuneMoon
The most intriguing idea for me would be a full integration between Microsoft Ads and LinkedIn Ads. Get search-based keyword intent into LinkedIn and all that juicy B2B targeting into Microsoft Ads @robert_brady
I could not agree more @robert_brady. I’m honestly not sure why they don’t do that. I have 3 theories: @NeptuneMoon
- It’s too hard and they don’t want to spend the money to do it
- They don’t want LI clicks to get cheaper
- They don’t view advertising business as important revenue stream
As for likelihood of happening though, I give better odds to Amazon developing a full-funnel advertising platform that extends beyond Amazon into the greater internet ecosystem. @robert_brady
X, Reddit, email ads. @AlexMakarski
The most interesting is retail media… like the CostsCos of the world build an ad network. @duanebrown
@duanebrown Ooohh that would be interesting. @NeptuneMoon
“Everything is an ad network” (ht Eric Seufert) @AlexMakarski
I love programmatic advertising, it’s got so many more lever to pull and it’s the only true platform where you can say you are a “media buyer” @jimbanks
Yeah for retailers there are a lot, there is Walmart, Costco, Target, instacart, amazon, etc. @KarinaMontenegro
Q3: What is keeping you from advertising on platforms besides Google and Meta?
Clients wanting to stick to Google and Meta more than anything else. Or not having budget to really, truly try advertising on other platforms. @NeptuneMoon
Nothing. We have clients with in-house teams where we don’t get to touch Google of FB at all @AlexMakarski
I’d second budget. @KevinHawke
I do explore multiple channels based on the client and include it in the strategy/plan initially. For some, maximizing Google & Meta usually comes first. Can’t pitch another platform unless data suggests otherwise. Though I’ve found clients to be more open to different channels as part of a small test. It makes complete sense to at the very least run remarketing campaigns (client/channel-specific). @alimehdimukadam
In the current ecosystem, data volume is paramount to success. Splitting budget among several platforms (or keeping new platforms underfunded) can seriously limit potential. It’s a conundrum for many advertisers with no easy solution. @robert_brady
Budget, creative assets and attribution. It takes a while to figure out what works on other platforms, which requires budget and assets to test creative and offers. Then attributing back to the right partner gets tricky, even if using MTA, because channel managers want to claim credit. @JeffreyHain
I’ll add to that thought @robert_brady – if you work with accounts with low overall conversion volumes, it can present a challenge to show alternative platforms are “working” well enough to continue too. And, you have to have your tagging tight to make sure you have a data source that can give you a comparison point for the in-platform data too. @NeptuneMoon
Clients with the appetite to explore the new stuff. @jimbanks
Knowing what works for different use cases/industries. I just used Reddit for a saas b2b product and it did really well! Last time I used Reddit, I felt like I had the perfect product/brand combo for Reddit and it didn’t perform well at all. So, agreed w/ Rob, having the budget and time to test and make an informed decision. @timmhalloran
Q4: Which platforms, other than Google and Meta, would you not advise advertising on and why?
I am not recommending Twitter right now for brand safety reasons. @NeptuneMoon
Honestly? None come to mind. If money can be made, I’ll bury my qualms and grab a rake. From a usability perspective, I hope I never have to use Pinterest again. @timmhalloran
Pop up ads & similar networks like Propeller Ads, etc. And never run programmatic without a block list or with an allow list. Some ad networks that send syndicated bot traffic. @alimehdimukadam
Maybe it’s a contrarian view, but if the audience is the right people, then the advertiser should be on the platform.I will also add that I also support the advertisers right to let their ad dollars speak as a mode of protest (X being the obvious platform here) @robert_brady
It is very client-specific. Some advertisers will be fine on some platforms and others won’t.I tend to work on the effort vs. reward both from the client and my agency. @jimbanks
I’ve had problems with MSFT Ads lately — whether it’s placement/network choices, buried advanced settings, or bad/fraudulent traffic, I’ve been wary of recommending scale & broader campaign pushes on there right now. But I don’t count it out, it still works great for some clients with the right guard rails. Just keep a close eye. Set alerts for anomalies (both overly bad & good trends – like ridiculously high/low CVR), so you’re not caught flat footed. @timmhalloran
Q5: Are there things you know now about advertising on non Google or Meta platforms that you wished you knew when you started advertising on them?
I have not run campaigns on LinkedIn in a bit, but last time I did the fact that duplicating an ad there does not just make a copy that can go anywhere drove me nuts. Like if you were making a new campaign and wanted to use the same ad you had in another campaign, if you copied the existing ad, it kept its association w the existing campaign. So I just made a brand new ad each time. Such a waste of time. When you are advertising on a platform like Quora or Reddit, you have to write you ads a lot differently than other platforms. Especially Reddit! Those users do not want to be sold to…@NeptuneMoon
Have all the pixels implemented via GTM. Regardless of whether you want to advertise on them or not, that way you have pixel data for whenever you want to start. Remarketing, etc. @alimehdimukadam
LinkedIn – follow AJ Wilcox manual bid advice on thresholds. Saves a ton of money.Programmatic (like Stackadapt) – Block lists and nitpicky placement inclusions are important. Also, be careful with Geo’s – lots of spam via VPNs routed through hub metros, especially East Coast.Reddit/Quora/Pinterest/TikTok – Establish a brand handle early if you think these will be part of our ad mix. It’s good to have a solid organic presence on these channels, good page with easy findability (linktree etc), which will aid your ad campaigns once you start publishing. Pinterest – I like to think of this one as ‘compound interest’ – despite my aversion to using their ad platform if I can help it, I’ve seen having some well thought out, relevant boards with links back to your website to be an amazing strategy for getting new traffic. I’ve had some clients where over the course of 3 years it surged to their 2nd referral source, just from occasional weekly updates to their boards. @timmhalloran
Every platform has reps and they can be really helpful. However, you have to work at keeping them within the guard rails. They all want to go crazy with huge attribution windows, large budgets, etc. @robert_brady
I wish I had focused more on other platforms that were beneficial for clients and sought clients for those rather than just being focused on the platforms that everyone knows. @jimbanks
Pinterest used to have reps that would do pretty much everything for you. Not sure if they still do? @NeptuneMoon
I miss good reps. @timmhalloran
Good reps never last long. The platforms won’t compensate them as well as advertisers/agencies. @robert_brady
I think it helps to be a user on some of the platforms too so you understand them from that perspective. @NeptuneMoon
@robert_brady have you heard of the new paid support tiers in meta? I haven’t tried it, or recommended it yet to clients but if I can recommend a client get a subscription to get really good support, it’d probably be worth it for some. https://about.meta.com/technologies/meta-verified/ @timmhalloran
@timmhalloran I haven’t tried it. @robert_brady
You should not have to pay for actual support on a product you are actively paying for… but if that is the only option for actual support, then I guess? But @NeptuneMoon
Totally agree. @timmhalloran
PPCChat Participants
- Julie F Bacchini @NeptuneMoon
- Karina Montenegro @KarinaMontenegro
- Robert Brady @robert_brady
- Duane Brown @duanebrown
- Tim Halloran @timmhalloran
- Ali Mehdi Mukadam @alimehdimukadam
- Alex Makarski @AlexMakarski
- Jim Banks @jimbanks
- Jeffrey Hain @JeffreyHain
- Kevin Hawke @KevinHawke
- Ameet Khabra @adwordsgirl
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