Head of Activation at Door4 Tom Morton delves into the pros and cons of paid search and social media, offering strategies to shape a successful marketing approach

The rise in paid digital media – from Google’s ‘shopping ads’ to social commerce – has transformed how consumers search and shop.

But what about in the kitchen and bathroom sector where purchases are more considered, and consumers’ shopping habits are firmly entrenched?

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Is paid search, Google shopping, and paid social a way to drive growth for challenger brands in a space where they must do more with less, do things differently, and do them smarter?

What is paid search?

Paid search is a highly effective digital marketing strategy, allowing brands to appear at the top of search engine results when users enter relevant keywords or demographics.

This approach helps businesses reach potential customers precisely when they are searching for products or services.

Alphabet Inc, Google’s parent company, generates 57.3% of its revenue from paid search alone, underscoring its dominance and global impact.

It an invaluable tactic for reaching customers at key points in their buying journey, particularly when they are ready to make a purchase, request a quote, or seek services.

The channel’s strength lies in its ability to target users based on location, demographics, and interest—ensuring ads connect with the right audience at the right moment.

However, each click incurs a fee. In the home improvement sector, cost-per-click (CPC) averages between £0.50 and £2.00, with rates rising by 10% annually.

Consider shopping ads

Unlike text-based ads, shopping ads visually display products to users actively searching and ready to buy.

This visual appeal lets brands highlight key product attributes like images, prices and details.

Shopping ads stand out by making kitchen and bathroom products or services more visible on search engine results pages.

They display features that standard text ads can’t match, attracting customers who are ready to make purchasing decisions.

For this approach to succeed, brands must focus on optimising their product feed —ensuring high-quality images, clear product titles, and detailed descriptions.

Additional elements like colour specifications and Global Trade Item Numbers (GTIN) also enhance performance.

Even as new campaign types like Performance Max emerge, the product feed remains the most crucial factor for success.

Investing time in optimisation is essential for brands to maximise the potential of shopping ads.

Paid Social encompasses advertising on various social media platforms, each evolving rapidly.

With such diversity among platforms, there is no one-size-fits-all strategy for running ads.

Here though, marketers can follow key principles to optimise their budget and reach the right audience effectively.

Cost-effective paid social

Understanding your target audience is crucial for paid social ads.

Paid social thrives on engaging visual assets that can be tested and refreshed, unlike paid search, which primarily needs a destination website.

Data shows while paid search remains valuable, paid social is becoming more cost-effective, with lower costs and higher conversions.

So while all of these channels play different roles within the marketing funnel, to engage users who are ready to make a purchase, search and shopping ads are highly effective.

If the goal is to reach a specific audience and build brand awareness, paid social is ideal for putting your brand front and centre.

Success in paid media hinges on the ability to evolve, optimise and continuously improve campaigns.

With the wealth of data available on these platforms, marketers have numerous opportunities to refine their strategies, enhance targeting, and drive better results.

Constant analysis and adaptation are key to maximising performance and return on investment.