With the spread of COVID-19, the digital advertising landscape has changed; the first thing we noticed was people trying to exploit fear to attract more customers. But that’s not all we noticed.
We look after many of our client’s pay-per-click (‘PPC’) advertising campaigns which use one or more of the following platforms to promote their products and services: Google Ads, Bing, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and LinkedIn. PPC campaigns can be very costly, the tools are constantly changing, and can be complex. It is important to ensure that you are advertising to the right target market, at the right time of the day, and that you point your ads to a web page or other destination that provides the best return on your click investment.
Whilst adjusting our client’s ad campaigns during this unprecedented time, we have noticed four important tactics to help you manage your paid search campaigns during the pandemic.
1. Geo-targeting
Geo-targeting may require adjustment, depending on the effects of the pandemic on your services. It is crucial to decide the area you want to target this could be states, cities, ZIP codes, or by radius. The smaller the geographic area, the smaller the estimated clicks on your ad. However, that will help to balance the relevance of the audience you intend to capture while making the most of your budget.
Bonus Tip – Consider adding negative locations. Location exclusion can allow you to prevent your ad from showing in certain parts of your targeted locations. This will help for example, if your business offers a special promotion that isn’t eligible for people in a few regions of a targeted area.
2. Review Search Behaviour & Ad Copies
While people are social distancing, they will still be researching, browsing, and planning what they can do and buy when the restrictions are lifted. They will also be potentially looking for different products and services, for right now.
We have been assisting our clients by reviewing any change in interaction levels with their ad campaigns, as well as altering their PPC campaign strategy to communicate about services that can be delivered virtually.
After carrying out extensive research using multiple keyword research solutions, we determined that the search behaviour of users has not altered drastically. People are still searching for individual products and services, on the assumption that businesses have adapted to deliver these services virtually.
We observe many advertisers adding COVID 19 in the headlines of their ads. This is unnecessary, as people are not searching for individual services along with COVID 19 related terms – people know and expect companies to adjust to the restrictions of the pandemic. Therefore, we recommend not to make any changes in the headlines, but revise the text in the ad copy description or ad extensions to communicate benefits like free delivery, online consultations, webinars, online training, zoom events instead.
3. Ad Scheduling
Ad scheduling assists with controlling spending on ads by just running advertisements on specific days and at specific times. If your business is open during definite hours, it may be wise to set advertisements to run just while you are open. However, if you sell on the web, you are constantly open and can make use of the ‘Overview’ tab to decide whether there are any times when there is a negative ROI and capitalize on specific times to increase clicks or conversions.
Given many people are working from home, the time that they are likely to be searching for your products and services may have adjusted, requiring your ad scheduling to change accordingly.
Ad Scheduling is a beneficial tool that your business can leverage to make data-driven decisions of displaying your ads during peak search times, increasing your likelihood to achieve more clicks and conversions. Use this tool to select specific days and time to derive the maximum value from your PPC budget.
4. Negative Keywords
Depending on your industry, the pandemic may have caused minor (or majors) moves in search inquiries, which could be causing your ads to appear for the wrong types of searches. To counter this situation requires a dual approach – the first is analysing historical data and the second is forecasting searches that could incorrectly trigger your ads in order to create a negative list.
We have found the following are beneficial to determine the search terms to add to a negative keyword list:
- Search Term Report – reviewing search terms and display campaign placements in real-time for COVID-19. If a search term isn’t relevant enough to the products or services that you offer, add it as a negative keyword. This will help keep your ad from showing to people who are looking for something that you don’t sell and help you make the most of your limited budget. For example, if you sell spectacles and you see that the search term ‘wine glasses’ is triggering your ads, you might want to add ‘wine’ as a negative keyword.
- Google Trends – A great resource with the latest information on search behaviour is Google Trends: Coronavirus Search Trends.
If you require any assistance to ensure that you are getting the most out of your PPC campaign spend, don’t hesitate to get in touch. We’re ready to help.