Google ads are an invaluable weapon in your digital marketing arsenal heading into the battleground of the Q4 shopping season. However, simply having Google ads just isn’t going to cut it. In a PPC landscape that grows more and more competitive by the year, here are some damaging Google ad mistakes that you should be avoiding this Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and beyond.
Limiting Your Time Frame
Gone are the days when Q4 was defined solely by Black Friday, Cyber Monday and Boxing Day sales. Now, these benchmarks all run into one another, creating a long period of continuous offers from ‘pre-Black Friday warm-up’, to ‘extended Cyber Week’, to ‘last chance before Xmas sale’ and everything in between.
Brands that don’t prepare for their promotional period to run longer than the day/week risk their strategy not being competitive enough.
Extending your offers on either side of the holidays tends to lead to your Google ads strategy benefitting from lower CPCs and higher sales. Consider the Q4 period as a continuous mission to maximise sales all the way to Christmas, not just a couple of novelty discount days.
Overcomplicating
Consumers love simplicity. An efficient path to purchase removes the risk of users dropping out before converting and losing interest in your brand entirely.
Complex discounts, such as those with multiple codes, different offers on different ranges/collections, or deals that vary from platform to platform can cause confusion.
Make converting as straightforward as possible and keep messaging and offers consistent from Google ads to emails, to paid social. This will reduce your abandoned cart rates and boost conversions as consumers have more faith in the legitimacy of your offers.
Unclear Goals
It’s been said before but we’ll say it again. Those who fail to plan, plan to fail.
Consider what your long term goals are beyond the Q4 period. Sure, you want to boost revenue, but what other possible consequences can you foresee for your brand’s Black Friday Google ads strategy? Do you want to entice brand new customers? Encourage repeat purchases?
The key is to combine your Google ads approach with your other platforms to create a streamlined overall strategy that maximises your goals.
Poor Time Management
Unnecessary last-minute changes can cause algorithmic upset and long waiting times to get your ads live again, disrupting their performance. Submit ads for approval at least five days before they’re due to go live to ensure time for testing and final improvements.
The same goes for your website and landing pages. Organisation is your friend.
Get your Google ducks in a row long before Q4 begins, and you’ll avoid a mass of teething problems.
Lack of Remarketing
So what if your sales increase at an unprecedented rate during Q4? If you can’t retain that audience as a loyal repeat consumer base, your strategy has no longevity.
Take Q4 as an opportunity to invest in your customer data. High spend and more purchases = more data to collect.
This data is vital for future planning, which starts with remarketing to a warm, aware audience. It has the potential to improve your long-term Google ads approach, and in the end, further opportunities for conversions.
It’s essential to remember that your Google ads strategy doesn’t end with Q4. Give some attention to the Google ads concerns that could be holding back your strategy all year round, and you’ll be guaranteed to have the best Q4 ever!
Are your Google ads driving you mad? Contact DMT via our get in touch page to discuss how we could boost your PPC performance.
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