During the pandemic, consumers made fewer local searches, and local search advertising dropped dramatically.

But while Amazon-inspired search managed to claw back some ground in a difficult 2020, display ad spending (powered by video’s strong showing) forged ahead in the digital shakeout. Last year, it surpassed search for the first time as the predominant ad format, accounting for 48.9% of total digital ad spend against search’s 44.6%.

On today's episode, we discuss social media moderation: How is new regulation keeping social media marketers honest, which social platforms are taking the lead on self-moderation, and how have brands already fallen foul of local laws. Tune in to the discussion as eMarketer principal analyst Bill Fisher hosts senior analysts Jasmine Enberg and Matteo Ceurvels.

Trend No. 4: Local Search Will Recover Strongly. During the pandemic, consumers made fewer local searches, and local search advertising dropped dramatically. Some formats, such as local inventory ads (LIAs) and Google Map Ads, dropped between 75% and 100% in Q2, and they have still not fully recovered, according to Merkle data published in October.

Whether you own a local business, or handle digital marketing for a brand which operates physical locations, the quality of your local business listings can either improve—or erode—your customer experience. Seventy-three-percent of high-intent consumers don’t visit a brand’s website before making a decision, according to Yext research.

Google can capitalize on this growth and use pring’s existing partners to make its payment product available at more locations throughout the country, helping it compete against local players like PayPay, which has a strong presence in the market.

eMarketer junior forecasting analyst Nazmul Islam shares our digital ad spending numbers in India and the impact of Facebook, Google and local sites.

Mobile search also relies heavily on local search. The large drop in local search will continue to suppress mobile CPCs, and consequently Google revenues. Sustained business from larger advertisers will not offset all of this. At the same time, however, the IAB data indicates that both Facebook and Google are experiencing smaller drops from larger advertisers than other publishers.

For many brands, language barriers and cultural differences present major impediments to cross-border marketing. Now, artificial intelligence (AI) technology is helping marketers connect more effectively with global and local audiences.

Our ad spending forecast for Canada shows a slim majority of ad dollars funneling to digital, fueled by the duopoly’s massive impact on the local market.

Enable local inventory ads and promote curbside pickup for contactless transactions to help close a sale. Read more on how to develop telecom brand love with consumers here. —Scott Falzone, managing director of telecom, Google.