Beyond The Bid | PPC Geeks May 2025 Newsletter ✉️

💡Stay Ahead with This Month’s PPC Insights💡

👀 Estimated reading time: 2-3 minutes.

Hey there – welcome to your May PPC Geeks newsletter!

We’ve pulled together the latest PPC news, tips, and updates to keep you in the know.

So grab a brew, get comfy, and enjoy the read! ☕📊

📰 Key Google Ads Updates for May 2025

Rest assured, the Geeks are already on top of these updates to keep your campaigns running smoothly and effectively

#1: Ecommerce Search Ads Are Evolving — Is Shopping Leading the Way?

Data from 2024 suggests a shift in eCommerce ad performance, with higher CPCs and changes in conversion behaviour. At the heart of this shift is Google’s clear move to prioritise Shopping campaigns within the search experience. Shopping ads are now taking up more prime real estate in search results—often ahead of traditional text ads.

While Shopping campaigns are highly visual and effective for showcasing products, they offer less control over messaging and targeting compared to standard search ads. This evolution highlights the importance of a well-rounded strategy that leverages the strengths of both ad types.

PPC Geeks Take: Rather than a decline, we see this as an opportunity to adapt. We’re reviewing account structures to ensure Shopping and Search work hand-in-hand—helping you stay visible, competitive, and aligned with the latest trends.

#2: Google Begins Showing Ads in AI Overviews

Google has started testing the placement of ads directly within AI Overviews—its new generative search feature that summarises content at the top of results pages. These ads appear subtly within the AI-generated content, offering another way for advertisers to reach users early in their search journey.

It’s still early days, and Google hasn’t confirmed how these ads will be bought, measured, or controlled by advertisers—but the move signals a major shift in how paid content may be integrated into AI-driven search experiences.

PPC Geeks Take: This is one to watch closely. While there are still many unknowns, we’re anticipating that AI Overviews could reshape how users interact with search results — and how ads are presented. We’ll be monitoring developments carefully and will ensure your campaigns are positioned to take advantage of any new ad formats as they roll out.

#3: Customer Match List Minimums Slashed from 1,000 to 100 Users

Google has reduced the minimum audience size for Customer Match lists in Search campaigns from 1,000 to just 100 users. This opens up powerful targeting options—like remarketing, loyalty segmentation, and customer exclusions—to much smaller advertisers who were previously excluded from using these tools.

This change brings Search campaign capabilities closer to what’s already possible on platforms like Facebook and LinkedIn, making audience targeting more accessible and personalised, even for businesses with modest email lists.

PPC Geeks Take: This is a brilliant update for smaller advertisers. Customer Match is a high-impact feature for targeting and exclusions, and opening it up to more businesses means smarter, more efficient campaigns across the board. We’ll be reviewing your CRM and audience data to make sure you’re getting the most from this expanded functionality.

💼 Case Study Spotlight: 1st Choice Formations

Conversions up 260% | Cost-per-Conversion down 73%

1st Choice Formations, a UK company formation specialist, partnered with PPC Geeks after experiencing declining performance from their existing Google Ads campaigns. Following a full audit, we discovered inefficiencies in campaign structure, poor use of match types, and underutilised ad extensions.

We rebuilt the account from the ground up — refining keyword targeting, introducing conversion-focused ad copy, and improving landing page alignment. The result? Conversions soared by 260% and cost-per-conversion dropped by 73%.

“PPC Geeks offer a professional service. Their levels of communication, reporting and service delivery are excellent. In our particular case, they managed to reduce our Google spend by 40% without any loss of sales”

🎟️ ICYMI

• 🎧 Podcast: 3 Essentials for Digital Marketing Success
  Join Chris Stott, co-founder and Managing Director of PPC Geeks, in Episode 11 of the All Things PPC Podcast – The 3 Most Important Things for Digital Marketing Success.
• 🎥 Video: How to Improve Your Shopping Feed
  Join Dan, co-founder of PPC Geeks, as he dives deep into how you can enhance Shopping Feed quality to boost traffic, conversions and ROI!
• ✍️ Article: How Google Uses AI to Enhance User Experience Google’s ongoing investment in AI is transforming how users interact with Search. From personalised results to predictive tools, this article explores the many ways AI is improving relevance, speed, and overall user satisfaction. A must-read for marketers looking to stay ahead of the curve

🤓 PPC Tip: Refresh Your Creative, Refresh Your Results

Running Search and Shopping campaigns side by side? Great—now make sure they’re working together, not in silos. When aligned properly, they can cover more of the funnel and drive stronger results.

Ask yourself:

• Are your Search and Shopping campaigns targeting complementary keywords?
• Is your messaging consistent across both ad types?
• Are you using audience data (like Customer Match or remarketing lists) in both?

🚀 Pro Tip:

Use your best-performing Search keywords to inform your Shopping titles and descriptions. And don’t forget to share negative keywords between the two to avoid overlap and wasted spend.

The result? Smarter coverage, better-qualified traffic, and more efficient use of your budget.

📞 Get in Touch

Thanks for checking out May’s newsletter! We’re here to keep your campaigns performing at their best with smart strategies and the latest insights.

If you have any questions or need help adjusting to any of these updates, just drop your Client Manager a message — we’re always happy to chat and support where needed.

Stay tuned for more tips and updates next month — and keep smashing those PPC goals!

Thanks for continuing to partner with us!

~ The PPC Geeks Team