Q3 earnings are in, and the consolidation is real. Hosts Mike Ryan and Chris dive into the gravity-defying numbers, confirming that Google's core ad revenue is up a strong 12.6% year-over-year (YoY), and their massive Cloud backlog sits at $155 billion USD.
Chris states that Google is not the "bee-headed chicken" but remains the dominant "American eagle". The focus then shifts to Amazon, which has truly become a services business (Cloud and Ads), with its retail component no longer the core driver of its wealth.
But the big story isn't the growth—it's the crisis. Mike and Chris reveal a dangerous surge in ad costs: CPCs in PMAX and Shopping are up an alarming 30% year-to-date (since week one of the year), with Shopping CPCs specifically soaring by 36% YoY. Chris warns that this kind of inflation is a "real threat" to Google's business model because it is "forcing especially small and middle businesses out" of the auction.
They discuss whether a competitor like OpenAI could challenge Google by offering "massively discounted CPCs" to eat into market share. Finally, Mike introduces the free smec Market Observer tool that helps online retailers benchmark their CPCs and check competition levels from giants like Amazon and Temu.
About Smarter Ecommerce (smec):
Smarter Ecommerce (smec) empowers e-commerce brands with AI-driven PPC automation that optimizes for profit and business outcomes while maintaining strategic control.
The platform activates first-party data - profit margins, customer lifetime value, and key business metrics - to automate campaign optimization toward goals like profitability and efficient growth, while detailed campaign insights provide full transparency and enable PPC teams to focus on strategic oversight rather than manual execution.
As a Google Premier Partner and three-time Microsoft Retail Partner of the Year, smec manages over €500 million in ad spend and drives €5B+ in annual e-commerce revenue for 350+ global retail clients including THG, Snipes, REWE, and Intersport.
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