Retailers are currently confronted with a dynamic market situation that has rarely existed. Nobody can say today how the pandemic will affect the upcoming Christmas shopping season. But despite the current challenges, demand is growing steadily.
Presumably, the Christmas season will be particularly relevant for retailers.
In this guide you will find best practices to get the most out of any sales opportunity during the Christmas season and to take advantage of short-term sales opportunities with a flexible digital marketing strategy.
Basic strategies
Boost sales at Christmas time
You can increase demand by reaching out to potential customers on Google Search, YouTube and Google Maps who are doing Christmas shopping or looking for gift ideas.
No budget limits during the Christmas season
Since many potential customers are looking for gifts or want to do something good for themselves during the Christmas season, budgets should be generous. This means that your ads can be shown throughout the day and changes in smart bidding or targeting can be covered.
Smart Bidding / Search Network: Target CPA
Use the smart bidding strategy that best suits your marketing goal so that optimal bids are always submitted in the event of deviating auction dynamics and device trends.
The Target CPA Bids option automatically changes the bids so that you can keep earning as many conversions as possible within the specified target CPA – the average amount you’d like to pay for a sale.
Customize display campaigns
Update the creative based on your company’s priorities. The visual components and text of your ads should match the spacing rules that apply in the current situation.
Increase brand awareness with videos
Check your search campaigns against the current distance rules and, if necessary, pause location-based ads, which are usually intended to attract more visitors to the stores.
Instead, you can use the budget provided to increase brand awareness via YouTube. Online videos are currently in great demand because users want to learn new things and stay connected.
Use budget planning for Google Shopping campaigns
The effectiveness of campaigns can be measured with the performance planner. You can also see which of your campaigns are particularly powerful and optimize budgets accordingly.
Advanced strategies
Goal: keep sales stable
If you want to boost sales and revenue, the best way to get Christmas shoppers on your website. There you can view your offer and access it directly.
Budget optimization
Increase and / or reallocate unused budgets. You can also use shared budgets that are automatically distributed over your Christmas campaigns.
In this way, high-performance campaigns are given preference over less successful ones and there are always sufficient reserves available.
The performance planner can be used to carry out regular budget planning and, for example, estimate monthly, quarterly or seasonal expenses.
Smart Bidding / Search Network: Maximize Conversion Value
You can use the Maximize ConversionValue bid strategy to achieve the conversions that are most valuable to you with your budget.
Tip for the seasonal business
Dynamic search ads are also automatically delivered for relevant search queries that are not covered by the existing keyword list. You can also use the keyword recommendations from the optimization factor so that you don’t miss out on the latest search trends
Display network: responsive display ads
With responsive display ads, you have the largest inventory available and you can quickly find out which message is well received.
If you have separate budgets, creative assets, or different target ROAS for prospects, consider using smart display campaigns that target similar or custom audiences with a common purpose.
Video: TrueView for Action
Customize the video’s ad message to suit the context or situation. With TrueView for Action campaigns, you can also include sitelinks to inform potential customers about what’s new.
Tip for the seasonal business
The many cancellations of sports and music events also have an impact on brand strategies. YouTube is a good alternative for advertisers who want to reach valuable audiences on a large scale.
Shopping: use smart shopping campaigns
With smart shopping campaigns and the “maximize conversion value” bid strategy, you can present your products to potential customers with strong purchase intentions during the Christmas season.
On the Merchant Center Diagnostics page, check that your feed meets all requirements.
Update the Sale Price field. With Smart Bidding, it is determined that the item is on offer and the bids are adjusted accordingly.
Strategies for experts
Goal: to create added value
Restructuring your campaigns or strategies like lifecycle marketing can keep profit margins constant during the busy Christmas season
Budget optimization at Christmas time
If you’re making seasonal adjustments over the holiday season, you should have enough budget to cover a sudden surge in demand or conversions.
Smart Bidding / Search Network: Target ROAS
With the target ROAS bid strategy, sales can be increased within the specified ROAS value. If you haven’t set a ROAS goal but are tracking conversion value, you can also use the maximize conversion value bid strategy.
Tip for the seasonal business:
Changes in conversion rates are passed on to Smart Bidding via seasonal adjustments. This is useful, for example, for special sales or promotions during the Christmas season.
Most seasonal events are already taken into account. So only use seasonal adjustments if you expect a significant change in conversion rates over a short period of time.
Display network: Discovery campaigns
If you already have smart display campaigns, you should also try discovery campaigns.
Try formats that increase awareness and reach, such as TrueView “reach” video campaigns and bumper ads.
Stabilize ROI with reach video campaigns. The efficiency of campaigns can be easily increased via YouTube, as you can make optimal use of CPM auction formats (cost-per-1000-impressions).
Optimize smart shopping campaigns with target ROAS
With smart shopping campaigns, you can also set a target ROAS to achieve your efficiency goals. For the Christmas business it also makes sense to create various campaigns for special promotions planned for the end of the year or strategies to increase profitability.
Set a budget that is high enough for expected demand. Also, check the Recommendations page of your Google Ads account regularly to see if there are any individual budget proposals for campaigns that don’t yet meet the new seasonal demand.
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