The short version

Aaron Goldman predicted on January 3, 2025: “This will be the last decade of growth for paid search.” Verdict: Still evolving. Goldman predicted that the 2020s would be paid search advertising's last decade of growth. EMARKETER's 2026 forecast still has search ad spending rising, but growth is slowing and search's share of digital ad spending is declining. The decade is…

Prediction by

Aaron Goldman

On January 3, 2025

“This will be the last decade of growth for paid search.”

Follow-up

Goldman predicted that the 2020s would be paid search advertising's last decade of growth. EMARKETER's 2026 forecast still has search ad spending rising, but growth is slowing and search's share of digital ad spending is declining. The decade is not over, so the long-horizon call remains unresolved.

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