With the current recession, many businesses are seeing an increase in their typical cost-per-action. Pay-per-click is an economic alternative to most traditional advertising media options but it’s not immune to the tough, changing economic climate.
So… dum-da-dum! This calls for ‘Tough Measures for Tough Times AdWords Tactics” and we’ve been employing a variety of methods on behalf of our clients to curb this annoying little economic reality.
- It’s Christmas & Boxing Day. Turn UP your ads!
Surfers are still looking for a reason to buy when they type their search terms into Google. These qualified visitors might even be in a crazy rush over the Christmas period to finish shopping in time. You could take the opportunity to advertise “Guaranteed delivery by Christmas” or “Boxing Day Specials”. Holiday-related selling points can be cleverly used within Ad Texts to maximize sales conversion potential. - Cut out the riff-raff.
If you’re feeling a big hit in lead generation and it’s not sustainable, you may want to consider buying the ads that you already know ‘work’. Irrelevant clicks cost money. Concentrating your ad buy on keyword traffic that has a good conversion track record helps to ensure a return on investment. It’s also time to beef up that negative keyword filter. Sell blue widgets, not red widgets? Add “red” to the negative keyword list! - It’s coupon cutting time again!
People are always interested in a deal. Devise some price-sensitive ad campaigns that are aimed at the common mentality of finding the best ‘deal’ online. Emphasize your values and promotions in your new ad text and landing pages. - Make it easier for your clients!
We can’t always make our prices cheaper or pay more for advertising but what we can do have control over is the page we lead them to. Send visitors directly from your ad to a webpage that specifically describes the product or service in your ad. Keep it short and sweet with clear calls-to-action (i.e. buy this now or do this now). Try not to distract them with other bells and whistles. We want to show them what they came here for!
We’ve heard predictions that this downturn could last for 2-3 years. It’s time to prepare a strategy but it’s not time to pull back on advertising spend – after all, with no leads and no sales it’s hard to grow a business! Instead, spend time looking for the best return on investment (ROI) and concentrate less on exposure related ad spend if you need to stretch your advertising budget.
Happy Holidays! And, happy online marketing to you. Give us a shout (October 17 Media) if you’re interested in hiring us to figure out a little seasonal but economic strategy plan.
Tags: AdWords Strategy, Google AdWords, marketing campaign, Online Marketing
