Social Ads and Search Shake-Ups

As flowers bloomed in May, so did new opportunities and shifts in the digital marketing world. This month saw social media advertising milestones, some surprising search engine stats, and continued emphasis on adaptation in strategy. One headline-grabber: for the first time ever, social media ad spend saw a slight decline. Reports noted that overall ad spend on social platforms dipped, signaling a possible saturation point or a momentary pullback as brands reassessed budgets.

Yet, interestingly, Facebook remained the reigning champion for marketers – nearly 90% of marketers worldwide still chose Facebook as an advertising channel, far outpacing Instagram (~80%) and dwarfing TikTok (26%). This dominance was backed by Meta’s grip on the social ad market; with Facebook and Instagram combined, Meta held about 55% of global social ad dollars. What this meant for businesses was clear: Facebook Ads was (and is) hard to ignore. Even if shiny new platforms emerge, the reach and targeting on Facebook/Instagram is unparalleled. In May, many firms rebalanced their budgets, perhaps taking a bit from experimental TikTok campaigns and reinforcing their tried-and-true Facebook efforts where ROI was more predictable.

However, that’s not to say newer channels weren’t making waves. In fact, TikTok launched “Pulse Premiere,” a new program allowing top publishers to sell ads next to their content and share revenue. It’s TikTok’s bid to woo brands with premium placements (akin to YouTube’s model). Combined with TikTok’s announcement that it was testing an e-commerce fulfillment service (“Fulfilled by TikTok”), it’s clear the platform was maturing its monetization and shopping capabilities. For marketers, the writing was on the wall: TikTok is serious about being an all-in-one social commerce platform. Early adopters – especially those targeting Gen Z – doubled down on TikTok in Q2 2023, not just for awareness but increasingly for direct selling. I helped a fashion retail client set up a TikTok Shop and strategize content for “shoppertainment” (entertaining videos that also showcase products), anticipating that these features would only grow.

In the search engine arena, May delivered a shocker. Google’s search market share dipped by about 4%, its single-largest drop ever recorded, bringing it to the lowest since tracking began in 2009​. Particularly in the U.S., Google’s share fell a notable 10% (though still leaving it around 86-87% globally)​. The beneficiaries? Bing ticked up to ~5.7% and Yahoo to ~3%​. This might sound small, but in search terms it’s significant movement. Speculation swirled that this was due to users testing alternatives amid the AI search buzz (Bing’s integration of ChatGPT, for instance, drew curiosity) and perhaps frustration with Google’s recent quality of results​. Within the SEO community, some argued Google’s core updates had harmed result relevancy, nudging users to try Bing or DuckDuckGo.

What’s the practical impact? Possibly cheaper Bing ads and a tad more traffic from Bing/Yahoo for those optimizing for them. We advised clients not to dump Google (it’s still king by far), but to diversify search efforts slightly. For example, we ensured websites were verified on Bing Webmaster Tools and followed Bing’s SEO guidelines, since an incremental gain on Bing could be worthwhile if the trend continued. On the advertising side, we revisited Bing Ads (Microsoft Ads) for a few clients where we previously hadn’t bothered. One surprising result: a B2B client got a very efficient cost-per-lead on Bing Ads in May-June, reminding us that while Google has volume, competitors can have value audiences with less competition.

Another noteworthy update: Meta integrated its AI assistant with real-time search results from Google and Bing​. In simpler terms, Meta’s platforms (think future AR glasses or messaging) could pull in live info from the web. This convergence of AI and search meant lines between social and search platforms were blurring. For marketers, it hinted that in the near future, someone might ask a Meta AI in WhatsApp for “a good pizza place nearby” and get results that include web data and Facebook reviews. Ensuring your business info and reviews are robust across the web’s ecosystems (Google, Bing, Facebook, etc.) is clearly vital. It’s not just about SEO or social in isolation, butholistic online presence.

Speaking of web presence, privacy and tracking were hot topics. Google once again delayed the phase-out of third-party cookies in Chrome, now pushing it to 2025​ They announced this in May, acknowledging feedback and the need for more time to develop and test their Privacy Sandbox alternatives. For digital advertisers, it was a relief and a time-buy. Those scrambling to implement cookieless solutions (like using Google’s Topics API or ramping up first-party data collection) got a breather. However, smart businesses didn’t relax entirely; instead, they continued preparing for a cookieless future knowing it’s been postponed, not canceled. In my role, I continued urging clients to invest infirst-party data: building email lists, loyalty programs, and app engagements that will serve as direct channels when cookies finally crumble. We also tested Google’s Consent Mode and GA4’s behavioral modeling to prepare for data sparsity, and advised keeping a close eye on email marketing (since a strong CRM may become even more valuable).

May also saw website owners focusing on performance and SEO enhancements. Google reported overall improvements in Core Web Vitals across the web (likely as developers responded to past algorithm boosts for speed). A particular metric, Interaction to Next Paint (INP), was slated to become a ranking factor soon (this foreshadows what actually happened in 2024) – essentially rewarding sites that respond quickly to user input​. Sites with heavy popups were called out to improve INP​. In response, many companies in May started auditing those pesky pop-up chat widgets and newsletter offers that can slow down page interaction. As a web strategist, I often walk a fine line here: balancing business needs (lead capture, support chat) with user experience. The trend by May was clearly favoringless intrusive, faster UX, and I guided a few clients to replace large, slow pop-ups with more subtle banners or side panels, improving their INP and possibly their SEO, while still meeting marketing goals.

In terms of tone and approach, May 2023 was a month where the industry had to be both introspective and innovative. Introspective, because we saw that even giants like Google can stumble, prompting questions: Are we too reliant on one platform? Are our strategies future-proof if user behavior shifts? Innovative, because new tools and features (like TikTok’s monetization and Meta’s AI search integration) gave us creative new ways to reach audiences.

My team and I helped businesses of all sizes navigate this balancing act. For a small local business, for instance, we might shift some PPC budget to Microsoft Ads where competition was lower, while also running a spring promo on Facebook to leverage its still massive reach. For a larger client, we demonstrated how to turn the cookie delay into an advantage: doubling down on building a robust first-party database now, so that by 2025 they’d be miles ahead of competitors who procrastinated.

We maintained a professional yet playful approach through it all. In presentations, I quipped that Google’s “spring slide” in market share was its version of a spring cleaning – shedding some users who might come back once the dust settled (humor helps ease client anxiety around such news). When discussing Meta’s search AI or TikTok’s new features, we used playful hypotheticals (“Imagine asking your Facebook app to order you a pizza – here’s how that could include our client’s pizza shop!”) to spark creative thinking.

The evolving nature of digital marketing was plain to see in May: past assumptions (Google will always dominate, social ad spend only goes up, cookies will be gone ASAP) were being challenged. For businesses, the lesson was adaptability. Having an expert team who watches these trends like a hawk and pivots strategy accordingly made all the difference. By month’s end, our clients weren’t caught off-guard by any of this – they were capitalizing on it. They enjoyed improved ad efficiencies, broader multi-platform reach, and peace of mind that their marketing foundation (be it analytics, SEO, or data strategy) was built to weather what’s coming next. After all, in digital marketing the only constant is change, and May 2023 underscored that in bold.