The festive season is upon us, but while the weather is getting colder, for online businesses competition is heating up. In the digital marketplace, Google Ads can be your secret weapon for a successful Christmas campaign. In this blog post, we’ll explore why adapting your Google Ads strategy is crucial during the holidays and unveil seven tips we utilise to maximise PPC success for our clients.
Why is it important to adapt your Google Ads at Christmas?
As people comb the internet on the lookout for the perfect gift, businesses have an opportunity to sleigh the competition with well-crafted Google Ads (ok, that’s our last Christmas pun, honest).
In order to stand out, you need to plan – what are peak traffic periods, when will you run your own online sales, and how will you adapt messaging at different points across the holidays? The following tips will help you work out a winning approach.
Here are 7 Christmas Google Ad strategies and tips to maximise PPC success.
7 Christmas Google Ad Strategies & Tips to Maximise PPC Success
1. Ensure you fully understand your business and industry’s holiday market before you begin
Before you dive into the world of Christmas-themed campaigns, take a moment to understand the unique dynamics of your business and industry during the holidays. Knowing what your audience is searching for and anticipating can give you a significant edge.
Map out a timeline of the whole holiday period, marking significant sales peaks within it. Prepare your creative to match with this. For example, your sales cycle may have the following stages:
- Black Friday to Christmas messaging and creative
- ‘Last week to buy’ messaging and creative (for example, if there are delivery deadlines etc)
- Sale messaging – prep creative to inform customers when the sale is going live (will it be Christmas Day or Boxing Day?). Also creative for once the sale is online
Think carefully about when you will run your online sales as that will inform creative messaging. For example, in 2023 a payday Friday is followed by a full weekend before Christmas Day on the Monday. Some companies are bringing forward their sales from Boxing Day to Christmas Eve, as it’s likely to be a high traffic period (the Sunday after payday when many people are on holiday). Plan messaging carefully – eg for a Christmas Eve online sale you may be targeting customers treating themselves rather than buying gifts (as online orders would not arrive in time for Christmas).
2. Key questions to decide between new or optimised existing Christmas Google Ads
To start your festive campaign, ask yourself: how can we tailor our approach to suit the needs and goals of the business? This may mean leaving the structure of your campaigns but adapting the messaging. In Google, prepare new sale campaigns for products you would like to shift – get them built before Christmas and use rules to set them live at the planned date and time.
3. Review, edit, test and optimise assets
‘Tis the season to be persuasive! Your ad copy and visual assets should exude holiday spirit while maintaining your brand’s personality. Regularly review, test, and optimise your ads to ensure they resonate with your audience. Reach out to your digital ad agency for support – reviewing, testing and optimising are superpowers of the team here at Launch.
4. Consider increasing your budgets to allow for increased competition and opportunity
The holiday rush brings not only joyful shoppers but also heightened competition. Be prepared to increase your budgets strategically, seizing the opportunity to reach more potential customers.
Search volume will significantly increase for the Christmas week of sales, so be sure to allocate budget for that period.
5. Extend remarketing audiences over a longer period to accommodate the extended Christmas conversion window
The Christmas shopping season isn’t a sprint; it’s a marathon. Extend the period of your remarketing efforts to capture potential customers at various stages of their holiday journey.
6. Schedule ads for Christmas sales
Be prepared with your Christmas sales ads! And be decisive. You need to have your creative ready to go with no last minute changes. Schedule your ads to coincide with your Christmas promotions, ensuring maximum visibility during peak shopping times.
7. Thoroughly analyse last year’s data
The ghost of Christmas past holds valuable insights. Analyse data from previous years to identify trends, successful strategies, and areas for improvement. This retrospective analysis can guide your current campaign for optimal results.
To wrap up
As the curtain falls on another year, ensure your Google Ads strategy is the star of your holiday marketing show. By understanding your market, optimising your ads, and staying agile in the face of competition, you’ll gain a competitive edge and make this festive season your most prosperous one yet.
Our merry team of paid media experts is on hand to help make your Google Ads strategy shine, so contact us if you’d like insights that make a real difference.
