7 Reasons Why You Shouldn’t Stop Advertising Over Christmas

The Holiday Season is a time for family and fun, but for many small business owners across the country it is the time of year where many experience a surge in revenue and online traffic incomparable to any other time of the year. Making this short period of time count equals extra stress and pressure, and this is only one of the reasons why you should not stop marketing over Christmas. Here I have collated a series of reasons to back-up my case:

1. Traffic Volume Increases

This is the time of year when people actually have time to search for things on the Internet. People are on holidays; their time is not spent in their day jobs from 9-5 Monday to Friday.  That time is obviously spent on other activities, including spending time on the Internet.

Also, to take into consideration that what Google has aptly named as ‘Micro-Moments’ are on the rise. These are the moments where people need instant answers and solutions to their queries.  How many times a day do you Google something that comes up in your mind or in conversation?  As a business owner you want to be there during those Micro-Moments.

2. Spending Increases

Consumers are on holidays.  They spend money.  This is the time of year when people are buying up on things they need as they’ve now got the time to purchase those big ticket items they’ve been holding off on.  Think about things people cannot buy online. Think about the empty gaps in their calendars, where they will fill those gaps with things to make them happy. Think about the socialising and family gatherings they are going to have to attend.  People generally spend more during this period, so how can your business take advantage of that?

3. New Year’s Resolutions

People want to change their lives over this time of year.  It’s time they got healthier, quit smoking, lost weight, joined a gym or went on that much needed holiday! Does your product or service improve people’s lives? Will people be specifically searching for your product or service over this time? Do you have gift cards? Utilise a remarketing campaign to re-capture an audience who have visited your site. If you can make a difference, you want people to be able to find you, and believe in your business and product. You can’t do that if you’re not advertising.

4. Trades and Services

Emergency tradesmen are in high demand over this period. If you’re a tradesperson, you need to be advertising. Keep your ads really specific to notify people you’re still working over the period. Or, if you want a break, maybe you could consider showing your ads on certain days, or after hours.  If your competition is going on holidays, you’re one step ahead, because you’ll get the exposure and the business.  It’s important to have call extensions active, and be near your phone at all times so that you can convert those phone calls!

5. Ad Rank

Ad rank is the elusive rank that all AdWords campaigns have but are never advised of.  It determines how often your ad shows and how you are shown.  The better the ad rank the better your ad is going to be treated by Google in comparison to competitors with lower ranks. The score is determined by a few things, including quality scores, bids, use of extensions and also the length of time you’ve had an active campaign with Google.

Pausing your campaign over this period drastically diminishes your ad rank, not to mention it removes you completely from the auctions – giving all your competitors a rank up in their positions, meaning you have to fight longer and harder when you decide to come back and start advertising again after the holidays (that means more money out of your pocket to get it back).You’re better off reducing your budget to allow for one click a day, and consolidating your ad schedule to keep everything running. This maintains your average position and your ad rank.

6. Competition

If you drop your ads, and your competitors keep advertising – you lose your position. They go up a position without having to pay extra for that click.  This means when you want to resume advertising you’ll need to increase your bids even higher to get back your position. If your competitors stop advertising, the same applies to you if you remain in the auction.  The bidding on keywords reduces, and you’re able to bid lower to get the same position. Remember you only pay the amount for a click as the highest bid on the position below you. So if your competitors drop off, then you’re Cost Per Click (CPC) may reduce drastically!

7. Get AdWords working for you WHILE you’re on holidays!

Going away and still want to build a pipeline for next year? Easy! Here are some options:

• Remove call extensions from your campaign over this period or keep them, and make sure you have someone professional who can answer the phone for you and make appointments or bookings.  Alternatively, hire the services of companies who specialise in this area.
• Update your ad text to influence people’s next steps by using a Call to Action.  Tell your prospects what you want from them.  “Email Us For 2016 Bookings” or “Email To Get In First For 2016!”, “Email For January 2016 quotes”
• Make sure your landing page is updated to reflect the message you’re portraying in your ads. You want to make it clear that anyone visiting your site knows what your movements are over Christmas. Do not have it hidden on your contact us page.  Have it on the header banner across all pages.

Still need convincing to not stop marketing for your business over the Holiday Season? Get in touch with us at SponsoredLinX on 1300 859 600 and we’re 100% positive we can help you to see otherwise.

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