Many people have been asking us – what is the best Paid Search Advertising Strategy when it comes to Black Friday? We all know between this and Cyber Monday therein lies the biggest shopping and e-Commerce opportunity of the year, and its imperative that you have a presence on Paid Search while not blowing through your whole budget. These terms can be expensive, and competitive and the approach must be smart and effective.

Below is a timeline that I have come across recently that show how early shoppers begin to search for these terms, which will give us some perspective on timing and the importance of jumping on this opportunity early:

On top of the timing – we all know everyone will be including ‘Black Friday’ and all potential variations in their Paid Search Advertising Approach, but there are a few ways we can accomplish bidding on those types of terms without blowing through a budget. Here are the top Black Friday Keywords by Paid Search Spend (My Take – this Average CPC is way too low to what I have been seeing):

How do we counter this? How can we accomplish having a solid presence on the SERP while still competing with the ‘big dogs’ and not inflating our avg CPC?

1. Avoid Broad Match terms for ‘Black Friday’.
2. Bid heavier on Longer Tailed Keyword variations – Google is smart, and people know that, they search Google with questions, long keywords to get the most accurate results, people are adjusting to this as well and know that they will only see Target, Amazon and Overstock if they search broad terms. People also use ‘ok Google’, Siri and speak their Search Queries which lead to longer tail keyword match opportunities.
3. Let the data be your best friend. Add as many variations as you can, once the dust settles and you see data flowing in, run Search Query Reports to see other possible Keyword Variations that you may be missing out on.
4. Keep your GEOs as strict as possible – you can also run GEO Perf reports as well to make sure you are spending effectively in your regions of desire.
5. Test Ad Copy variations. Use more generic calls to actions to get consumers onto your site for Remarketing Opportunities as well as possible lead gen through form submission, Newsletter subscribers and phone calls.
6. Use Ad Extensions! If you do get that number 1 position, this will massively expand your SERP space and make you look even more authoritative. Use these extensions to get email sign ups and phone calls.
7. Push for Mobile! More than 50% of Search Queries are now on mobile devices. it is important to have mobile preferred ads, as well as mobile bid optimizers in place.
8. Day Part – be smart about when you are pushing your ads the heaviest.. a little hint, people love to sit on their phone / tablet and shop while watching tv at night

My Goal is to help you make money – if there is any more information and details I can provide you, please feel free to reach out to me at: kroeger.james@gmail.com