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%.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

“Different types of companies—including local search, safety, entertainment and even health—have rubber on the road in the connected car evolution.”. The most visible progress has been in infotainment.

Travel companies will preserve their limited ad budgets for search to bolster their direct-marketing efforts. And travel service providers will use search to identify and compete for local, regional (driving-distance), and essential-business travel customers. Even with US travel at historic lows, some consumers will still be on the road, and industry advertisers will spend what they can to reach them.

For example, virtual influencer Noonoouri starred with Chinese actor Li Xian in a campaign for luxury menswear brand Ermenegildo Zegna, and Luo Tianyi has endorsed major consumer brands including Gillette, KFC, Pizza Hut, Tide, beverage brand Vitasoy, and local cosmetics company Pechoin.