AI summary
Rising CPCs in 2024 are driving advertisers toward automated campaign formats (Performance Max, Amazon DSP, Advantage+) and diversified channel strategies. Retail Media emerges as a cost-efficient alternative with only 3% CPC increase, while paid search is consolidating around Performance Max and paid social is shifting investments from Meta toward TikTok and automated formats. Successful budget allocation in 2025 requires mastering automation, leveraging granular conversion data, and balancing investments across multiple channels to maintain profitability despite increasing acquisition costs.
The evolution of advertising costs in 2024 confirms a structural trend: the automation of campaigns and the concentration of investments on a few major platforms are profoundly changing acquisition strategies.
According to Skai Q4 2024 report, The rise in CPCs is accompanied by a refocus on more efficient formats, such as Performance Max, Amazon DSP, and Meta’s Advantage+ campaigns.
Competitive pressure is intensifying and budgetary decisions need to be more precise than ever. The question is no longer just to optimize your campaigns, but to adopt a more agile and granular approach to media buying.
We have prepared an overview of trends and strategies to focus on.
Retail Media: a controlled growth driver
The Retail Media is establishing itself as a key channel for advertisers, with an increase in investments of 23% in one year. Unlike other channels where CPCs are exploding, Retail Media is showing a more measured increase in costs, with an increase limited to 3%.
- A strong growth in click volume which compensates for the increase in CPCs, guaranteeing stable profitability.
- A rise in DSPs (Amazon, Walmart), which allow for more precise targeting and better control over bids.
- An alternative to saturated traditional channels, especially for advertisers looking to maximize their return on investment without relying solely on Search and Social.
To be tested : Take advantage of Retail Media DSP solutions, refine targeting to capture intentional audiences and integrate these campaigns into a multi-touch attribution logic.
Paid Search: Performance Max is redistributing the cards
Paid Search is undergoing a major transformation with the massive adoption of Performance Max, which is now capturing an increasing portion of advertising budgets. This evolution has resulted in a 2% drop in spending in one year, while investments in PMax continue to increase sharply.
- Fewer impressions and clicks on traditional campaigns, a sign that Google favors automation and the expansion of the available inventory.
- Overall stable CPCs, but a necessary redesign of auction strategies, as the optimization logic changes with PMax.
- An crowding out effect on traditional Shopping campaigns, forcing advertisers to review their budget allocation.
Recommended strategy: Optimize product flows to maximize distribution on PMax, refine conversion signals and test adjustments to audience segmentation.
To go further 👉 Recent analysis shows that advertisers who incorporate more granular conversion data and use A/B testing on their PMax campaigns perform better.
To know our 12 tips to optimize your Performance Max campaigns
Paid Social: a recomposition of investments
Investments on social networks are increasing by 2% in one year, but the dynamic varies greatly between platforms SKAI-Q4-2024-Quarterly-…
- Meta down (-5%), in favor of TikTok and Advantage+ campaigns, which capture new budgets thanks to automated formats and optimized targeting.
- A drop in CPM, but less commitment, which requires better optimization of advertising creations.
- Fragmentation of buying paths, requiring a finer approach to performance measurement.
The strategy to be addressed : Prioritize short and interactive formats, adjust targeting according to new delivery algorithms and integrate Advantage+ into a cross-channel strategy to maximize coverage and conversion.
To know everything about how to launch your Tiktok Shop It is here 👈
How to structure its budgetary decisions in 2024?
The evolution of CPCs requires a more strategic and technical approach to media buying. The rise of automation and the diversification of channels should not make us lose sight of the final objective: profitability.
- Optimizing the Retail Media, Search, and Social combination to limit exposure to cost increases on a single channel.
- Mastering automation (PMax, Advantage+) without undergoing it, by integrating regular tests and adjustments to the signals of intent.
- Rethinking attribution and performance measurement, because traditional conversion tracking models become less reliable with the multiplication of touchpoints.
2024 marks a turning point for advertisers: those who will know manage their budgets with agility, invest in the right levers and optimize their post-click journey will be the best positioned to maximize their return on investment.
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Faced with the rise in CPCs, the challenge is no longer to buy more, but better.
Maximizing profitability requires finer auction management, careful channel selection and optimized use of automated solutions. The key to success is based on an agile approach, where each decision is guided by data and experimentation.
In a constantly changing advertising environment, only advertisers who are able to adapt their strategies quickly will succeed.