Are Your PPC Campaigns Ready for the Holidays?

Right now you may be enjoying a scrumptious pumpkin spice latte, football, and maybe shopping online for your spooky Halloween costume. Speaking of spooky, we're also sure you’re getting ready for the Holidays. The holiday season can mean big business and is often a make it or break it opportunity for you to make big bucks. Therefore, setting up an effective pay per click strategy is vital to capitalize on this season. We hate to be a negative Nancy, but you’re already late to the party. The holiday season started at the beginning of October.  Moreover, holiday shopping does not refer to only Black Friday or Cyber Monday. Actually, by these dates shoppers already completed 42% of their holiday shopping. But, fear not. The following tips will help you make it rain this season.

1. Calculate Your Ad Spend Budget

There’s a high probability your traffic is going to increase during this time of year. Thus, your budget should also increase. If you aren’t sure what your investment should be, pull historical data from last year’s  holidays and analyze year-over-year trends. Consider the lost impression share due to budget as an indicator of how much you should be spending this year to remain competitive.

3. Edit Your Ad Copy

Seems like a no brainer, but your ad copy should reflect the season and the competitive edge you offer versus your competition.  If you have "free shipping," "same day shipping," "buy 1 get 2 free" "24/7 service" "holiday availability" or any other perks, your ad copy should say it! Also, review your search terms to include keyword variations that could bring in value for your business.  Take into consideration your best performing ads from last year as well.

5. Do not overlook your ad schedule

Your regular ad schedule may not be enough to survive the holidays. Review historical data to analyze specific days or hours of the day you lost impression share and adjust accordingly.

6. Implement Automated Bidding Strategies

Search volume and traffic is much higher during the holidays, which also means you will have to be updating your bidding more frequently.  If you are busy running your business, how are you going to have time to be on top of your bids? Trust Google. There are various options Google Ads offers when it comes to automated bid management. Essentially, Google updates your bids in real-time for every auction and uses historical behavior to determine what your bid should be. It is crucial to choose the right automated bidding option that meets your budgeting and business goals. So, make sure you choose the right one (or trust Forthea to do it for you). For more information on how Forthea can help you ensure your bases are covered from a PPC standpoint, contact our team today.