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Get Your Google AdWords, Yahoo Search Marketing & Bing Accounts ready for Black Friday & Cyber

Black Friday & Cyber Monday are Coming

Monday now. You have likely heard the terms Black Friday and Cyber Monday, but do you know how to use pay-per-click (PPC) advertising to take full advantage of these events? 

Black Friday:  One thing is certain; mobs of people will wake up at the crack of dawn, trek down to the store of their choice, push through the crowds and fight for the deal of the century.  Are you prepared for that? Do you take part in that? Or do you simply stay home, watch the games and leave the chaos to others? However you choose to spend your day, you cannot ignore the fact that sales generated on Black Friday and Cyber Monday equal 25% of annual sales activity!

Is your business ready? Are your PPC advertising campaigns ready?

Cyber Monday, the kid brother of the Black Friday sales tradition, is only 4 years old and was brought to life by the National Retail Federation, in conjunction with www.shop.org.  E-commerce retailers noticed a spike in volume after the busy Thanksgiving holiday.  Is this simply a marketing tactic? Is it an illusion of massive online sales? Yes AND Yes – It is marketing and it is indeed somewhat of an illusion. Though these 2 days do typically account for 25% of annual sales, the busiest online shopping day is actually typically 2 weeks AFTER Cyber Monday.  So brace yourself and your business for increased sales not only on Black Friday and Cyber Monday, but also for the weeks following as well. Also prepare for a new term to be invented for the day that does actually prove to generate the most annual online sales. While last year’s Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales results were a disappointment, economists have great hopes for a recovery this holiday season.

You need to be prepared to make some changes to keep yourself in front of your shoppers.  A professional PPC Management Company can help ensure that you maximize the results of your PPC Campaigns this holiday season. Below are a few details to follow to ensure that your PPC Campaigns are ready to capitalize on e-commerce opportunities for next week’s arrival of Black Friday & Cyber Monday.

1. Be sure your ad copy clearly states your Unique Selling Proposition (USP)    

     -Free Shipping
     -In Stock
     -50% off retail prices
     -Hard to find items
     -Gift Wrapped for you
     -The list goes on and on…

2. Reassure the searcher that you can get them the item in time for the holiday.
3. Clearly state your order deadline for promised delivery.
4. Increase your budgets to be sure you are not offline.
5. Check your ad delivery schedule.

Google AdWords, Yahoo Search Marketing and Bing represent an amazing opportunity to reach your potential customers.  Make sure your PPC advertising campaigns are ready for BOTH Black Friday and Cyber Monday!

I like to think of my pay-per-click (PPC) advertising keywords as my sales team. Each keyword, whether it be a broad match variation, a phrase match variation or an exact match variation is a unique sales entity. Each keyword, whether it be a singular or plural, puts a different spin on the sales pitch inherent within the words themselves. Each keyword, whether it be a tightly focused model number, a brand name, or a generic catch-all kind of word, puts forth its own individual call to action.

So, what do you do with a member of your sales team who is performing under expectations? Well, for starters, you can “reduce his pay” by lowering his bid. Note: I’m using “he” just for simplicity sake. If a member of your sales team is underperforming, certainly you don’t want to keep paying him at his normal rate. Bring his pay down to a level that is acceptable to the performance he is delivering. Bring a keyword down in position if it’s not delivering in a high position.

What if you have already “reduced the pay” of an underperfomer? Then what? Well, ultimately you are going to have to fire him. There is no sense in keeping a sales person around if he has proven time and time again that he cannot deliver the results that are expected of him. So, fire him. Shut him down. Pause that stinker. Sometimes it’s hard to let go, but in the long run you’ll be glad you did.

Now, on a happier note, what do you do with a member of your sales team who is kicking butt? What do you do with the guy who’s outperforming expectations? Well, one obvious thing to do is give him a raise. Push that keyword position a bit higher if you have room to grow the position. This doesn’t always translate into more sales, but you should certainly give the keyword the opportunity to shine if it’s proven in the past that it can deliver results.

What if he is already at the top of the pay scale? Then what? Then you might need to start looking beyond raising his pay. Now you need to start looking to him for “referrals.” Does he have any trustworthy friends who need a job? Does that keyword have a few variations that you haven’t considered? Dig deeper into the keyword and see if you can find a few of its “friends” to come join your team. You might be surprised at what you find.

Happy Holidays to all.

More about Jack
JumpFly PPC Account Executive

Sometimes we get some distressed calls here at JumpFly.  My traffic is down! My Sales are down! What is going on with my pay-per-click (PPC) advertising campaign??!!  You can imagine the panic – you may have even felt it before.  However, in order to put your best foot forward in updating your PPC advertising campaigns, you need to look at the big picture in your marketplace.

PPC Management -  Understanding Seasonality

First, take a look at your seasonality.  Not all markets have the same seasonality.  Some don’t have much seasonality at all. The timing and the length of your high season could be related to what you sell (i.e., bathing suits or snowboards) and where you sell it (air conditioning repair in Michigan).

Over the summer I received a call from a client who was upset because overall conversions were down.  They have a hotel in Mexico.  Is it really a surprise that they don’t book as many rooms in July as they do in January??  I live in Chicago and I can tell you that I’m thinking about a balmy vacation more in the dead of winter than I am during the 3 short months of warm weather we have here. 

You have to understand the seasonality of your marketplace.  When are your customers most likely to order your product or require your service?

Does this mean you just give up and go with the flow? No! Of course not, but you need to be much more creative in your ads and your offers when it is your down season.

You may also find, depending on what you sell, that you just need to adjust your focus.  This is why heating contractors also repair air conditioners – more year round business.  And why landscapers also offer snow plowing.  Instead of lying down and giving up or fighting what you can’t control, roll with it and figure out how to keep going.  When your typical customer is NOT looking for your product or service – what would they be looking for instead?  Be creative and expand your market to even out your revenue.

View more about Kristie

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