Digital advertising in Q4 2024: Deciphering the Tinuiti analysis

The digital advertising landscape is evolving at lightning speed and Q4 2024 confirmed this acceleration. Between the rise of automated formats, the rise of Retail Media, and a shorter-than-usual holiday season, advertisers had to work harder to maximize their return on investment.

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The numbers are clear: advertising spending exploded on Meta (+15% YoY), Google Search continued to dominate despite a tense competitive environment, and Amazon Sponsored Products jumped by 37% the week before Thanksgiving.

In this context, brands that have been able to optimize their post-click strategy have made a difference.

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👉 But how can we take advantage of these developments for 2025? What are the concrete levers to activate right now?

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We analyzed the report for you Tinuiti Q4 2024 Digital Ads Benchmark and have extracted the essential trends and strategies to boost your ROAS and stay ahead of the curve.

1. Paid Social: Meta, TikTok, and Pinterest

Meta still dominates the Social Ads market

If you think Facebook and Instagram are losing momentum, think again. In Q4 2024, advertising spending on Meta jumped by 15% thanks to two key levers:

• The rise of Advantage+ Shopping campaigns, which now capture 34% of the retail budget
• The explosion of Reel Ads, whose share of impressions has doubled in one year

These developments confirm that brands that optimize their campaigns on these new formats have higher conversion rates.

TikTok: growth that is stabilizing, but commitment is still strong

After a meteoric rise in 2023, TikTok continues to grow with a 13% increase in advertising investments.

What is its strength? An extraordinary commitment and a massive power of attraction for Gen Z and Millennials.

👉 Don't just rely on Facebook & Instagram Ads. Integrate immersive video formats into your strategy and test TikTok Ads campaigns to capture an ultra-active audience looking for authenticity.

💡 Our tip: Maximize your conversions with optimized landing pages and adapted to Social Ads.

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2. Paid Search: Google Search & Performance Max

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Advertisers swear by Google Search Ads, and Q4 2024 was no exception.

Google Ads: 10% growth and CPC inflation

Despite fierce competition, advertising spending on Google Search increased by 10%, driven by:

• Massive adoption of Performance Max, which now represents 67% of Shopping Ads investments
• A 7% increase in CPC, forcing advertisers to rethink their bidding and optimization strategies

Microsoft Ads is still under-exploited

While Google remains the king of Search, Microsoft Ads grew by 7% in Q4. With a lower CPC and an audience that is often more mature and qualified, this platform deserves to be explored, in particular to diversify your traffic sources and limit competitive pressure on Google Ads.

👉 What you need to do right now: Optimize your product flow! A good ranking in Google Shopping requires rich titles and descriptions, comprehensive product attributes, and intelligent feed structuring.

💡 Dataiads makes it easy for you with Feed Enrich, our solution that optimizes your product flow to improve the visibility and profitability of your Google Ads campaigns.

3. Retail Media: Amazon explodes

Retail Media is becoming an essential channel for e-commerce brands. Amazon Sponsored Products saw impressive growth in Q4, especially in the week before Thanksgiving when sales jumped 37%.

Advertisers also used Sponsored Brands to attract new customers and maximize sales at the end of the year.

Google Shopping: Still strong but competing with Amazon

Google Shopping remains an essential lever for advertisers, but competitive pressure from Amazon is intensifying. Amazon is investing heavily in Google Ads auctions, requiring retailers to be more vigilant about their bidding strategy and optimizing their product flows.

In this context, limiting yourself to a single platform can be risky. Amazon Ads and Google Shopping respond to different buying logics, and the most successful brands diversify their investments to attract as many intentionists as possible.

👉 How do you maintain a competitive advantage?

Test and adjust your advertising mix between Google Shopping and Amazon Ads to maximize your share of voice where your products perform best.

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💡 The post-click experience is just as essential. A user who clicks on your ad should immediately find what they are looking for. Pages tailored to each platform and search intent increase your conversion rates.

4. YouTube and Video Advertising: Connected TV

Spending on YouTube Ads has slowed (+7%), but Connected TV (CTV) is taking on an unprecedented scale.

• YouTube advertising spending via smart TVs has increased by 60% in one year
• YouTube Ads on mobile and desktop see a drop in CPMs (-16%), a strong signal that advertisers must adapt their creations for TV

👉 If you invest in video, think about optimizing your campaigns for connected TV. Short, high-impact videos are the ones that perform best in this format.

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Q4 2024 was marked by major strategic developments: the rise of Retail Media, the massive adoption of automated campaigns and the growing importance of video and social formats.

Faced with these transformations, you must adapt your strategies to maintain control and maximize the profitability of your advertising investments.

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👉 The after-click is becoming a key success factor.

Attracting traffic is no longer enough: the post-click user experience must be designed to convert effectively.

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👉 Optimizing product flow is strategic.

With the rise of Performance Max and the evolution of auctions on Google and Amazon, an enriched and structured feed makes a difference in the visibility and cost of campaigns.

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👉 Testing and adapting remains essential.

Formats are evolving rapidly: Reels Ads, TikTok, Advantage+ Shopping, YouTube CTV... To remain competitive, you have to experiment, analyze and adjust constantly.

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2025 will be a decisive year for digital advertising.

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What's at stake? Control these evolutions and make informed decisions to remain efficient.

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