Attention, business owners! The much-awaited holiday shopping season is just around the corner, and you’re eager to make a big impact on your business. But with fierce competition vying for customers’ attention, where do you begin to outshine your rivals and boost your sales? Fear not, because we’re here to guide you through the maze of holiday advertising with a slew of powerful pay-per-click (PPC) strategies designed to elevate your eCommerce revenue to new heights.

Let’s roll up our sleeves and delve into these proven tactics, cultivated from years of working hand-in-hand with leading eCommerce companies across the globe. These strategies will serve as your trusty arsenal to maximize your eCommerce PPC efforts and pave the way for a prosperous holiday season. Get ready to harness the true potential of PPC and make this holiday shopping extravaganza a grand success!

1. A Roller Coaster Ride: The last few years have been an exhilarating roller coaster for eCommerce PPC strategists. With the whirlwind of COVID-19, the eCommerce landscape has witnessed a meteoric rise in online shopping, fueled by changing consumer behaviors and economic shifts. As you gear up for 2022, historical performance data is your North Star. Dive into your past holiday spend from 2018 to 2020, understanding how your campaigns performed amidst the evolving market dynamics. Keep your eyes peeled for emerging trends, especially the soaring growth of mobile eCommerce, and equip yourself with invaluable insights to craft an optimal budget strategy for the holiday season.
2. The Budget Booster: The holiday season is akin to a bustling bazaar, teeming with eager shoppers and fierce competitors vying for the limelight. To ensure your PPC ads shine brightly amidst the clamor, it’s imperative to supercharge your ads with the right budget and bidding approach. Delve into last year’s search impression shares, especially around the frenzied Black Friday and Cyber Monday, and throughout the entire holiday season. Did your competitors outmaneuver you with higher bids? Were there high-return campaigns with low search impression share? Uncover these opportunities that you might have left untapped.

Armed with this knowledge, don’t hesitate to invest more in your digital marketing efforts to secure prime real estate for your ads. A proactive approach to bidding and budget management will help you seize high-value traffic and ensure your PPC campaigns outshine the competition.

3. Divide and Conquer: As the holiday rush surges, traffic to your PPC campaigns will soar, and your budget might get exhausted sooner than anticipated. Don’t let your top-performing campaigns be confined by budget constraints. Take charge and optimize their potential by breaking them into smaller, specialized ad groups. This strategic move empowers you with greater control over specific budgets, allowing you to tweak spending for the best possible return on investment.
4. Roar Like a Lion: The holiday season brings not only increased traffic but also heightened competition. It’s time to unleash the beast within and get aggressive with your bids. As cost-per-clicks climb for popular products and keywords, adapt your bidding strategies to maintain your coveted positions in the ad results. For those employing automated bidding, crank up the aggressiveness to fend off competitors and secure a lion’s share of the clicks.

But tread carefully, as this will be the first holiday shopping season featuring Google’s new Performance Max campaigns. Familiarize yourself with the nuances of these campaigns, from settings and automation goals to exclusions and audience signals, to maximize their potential.

5. Master Your Promotional Calendar: The holiday season is a whirlwind of promotions and deals, and you need a well-crafted promotional ad calendar as your guiding star. Collaborate with your promotional team to map out when and which products to promote, taking into account historical performance data and holiday events. Armed with this calendar, tailor your holiday PPC campaigns accordingly, leveraging Google Merchant Center’s promotion extensions to dazzle potential customers.
6. Tailor-Made Ad Copy: Ordinary ad copy won’t cut it during the festive frenzy. To stand out in the crowd, invest time and creativity in crafting holiday-specific ad copy that resonates with your audience. Immerse your copy in the spirit of the season, infusing it with festive phrases, power words, and emotive language. Consider the desires and aspirations of holiday shoppers, incorporating elements like urgency, excitement, and the joy of gift-giving. Embrace the season’s thematic appeal and offer irresistible deals to entice your customers.
7. The Hunt for Hidden Gems: As you concoct holiday-specific ads, embark on a treasure hunt for those overlooked but potent holiday keywords. Think beyond generic terms like “gifts” and unearth search queries that align with your brand and customer preferences. Unleash your creative instincts and get granular with your keyword choices, weighing factors like search volume, CPC, and past performance. Target these gems with precision, and you’ll likely encounter less competition and reap richer rewards.
8. Optimize Like a Pro: A well-optimized Google Shopping feed is the foundation of your holiday PPC success. Roll up your sleeves and ensure each listing shines with the essentials – from Global Tracking Identification Numbers (GTINs) and relevant keywords to specific product categories and captivating descriptions. Don’t skimp on attractive, high-quality product images to entice shoppers. Moreover, keep a sharp eye on your shipping prices, ensuring they’re accurate and reflective of any special holiday deals.

Spot-check your product landing pages (PLPs) to guarantee accuracy and avoid last-minute surprises from Google. Remember, a well-oiled feed is crucial for a seamless shopping experience that keeps customers coming back for more.

9. A Plan for the Unexpected: The unpredictable nature of the holiday season can throw curveballs your way. As supply chain issues continue to linger since the onset of COVID-19, be prepared with a contingency plan for out-of-stock products. Strategize early on how your ad strategy will adapt if your top-performing products run out of stock. Consider featuring similar products, reallocating budgets to other high-performing categories, and even exploring uncharted territory with new products and categories.
10. Reflect and Learn: The holiday season may be a whirlwind, but it’s essential to take a moment to reflect on your PPC campaign’s performance before ushering in the new year. Gather your team for a post-holiday evaluation and identify what went well and what could have been improved. Pay special attention to your Return on Advertising Spend (ROAS) and Cost Per Acquisition (CPA) metrics, as they can serve as valuable indicators of potential untapped opportunities. Did your campaigns perform above expectations, indicating a possibility for more significant investments in the future? Scrutinize your search impression share to ascertain if there was room for increased spending.

With these insights in hand, you’ll be well-prepared to design your holiday PPC advertising strategy for the upcoming season. As the days tick away, invest the time and energy to review historical data and chart a course for a triumphant 2022 holiday season. When the time comes, you’ll reap the rewards of your meticulous planning and strategic execution. Should you need a guiding hand along the way, don’t hesitate to request a free customized proposal from our team of PPC experts. Here’s to a spectacularly successful and joyous holiday season ahead!