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Written by
Nicholas Patterson

Nicholas Patterson

It’s that time of year again! Where Christmas music starts to besiege mainstream radio and you start getting irrationally angry at random strangers setting up their Christmas lights too early. But it’s never too early to start thinking about holiday marketing strategies. In fact, you’ve probably been thinking about them for months now. If you’re a little behind in your holiday planning, don’t sweat it. These tips will help you breathe some life into your holiday marketing strategy.

AdWords ad extensions

AdWords ad extensions are the perfect way to make your ads stand out and show off your holiday offers. If your ad was a Christmas tree, ad extensions are the sparkly, customer converting ornaments. By taking advantage of ad extensions, you can stuff your ad with valuable information to your customer like specific links to your site, your businesses phone number, your business location, testimonials, and more. If you already have ad extensions on your ads, great! The holiday season is the perfect time to revisit them to ensure holiday shoppers have the information they need to convert on your site. Never used ad extensions before? Here’s a guide to help you get started.

Shopping campaigns

If you’re selling physical products this holiday season you should consider making shopping campaigns a main part of your holiday marketing strategy. Shopping ads include product images, pricing, merchant name, and a direct link to the product page. Google will automatically select the most relevant products to show based on the initial search. The photo of the product and the price are the most visible part of the ad, making these ads incredibly user friendly and give the customer the ability to make a snap decision to purchase. Keep in mind that your products will be shown next to other competitors. So, make sure your ads shine brighter than Rudolph’s nose.

Revisiting ad copy

I know, I know. Writing new ad copy can take longer than waiting in those dreaded Black Friday lines. Revisiting your ad copy for the holidays can give you a leg up on the competition. Be sure to include all those special offers and discounts you have lined up this season. Call out time-sensitive offers and use copy that evokes a sense of urgency to hook customers. Make your audience feel like they need to buy from you right now. When using holiday-themed language, being broad and generic rather than calling out specific date can be a mistake. Generic campaigns receive about a 2.3% conversion where more specific campaigns receive a 4% conversion rate. While creating generic campaigns is certainly easier, making them more specific can boost effectiveness.

KEYWORD RESEARCH

If you’re targeting the same keywords this holiday season that you do all year, you may be left scratching your head wondering why your customers didn’t convert. While you certainly want to still target your core terms, it’s crucial to capitalize on seasonal searches. Tools like Google Trends and AdWords Keyword Planner can help you identify new keywords that will keep your holiday campaigns from getting frost bite.

Remarketing/retargeting

Think back to last holiday season. When you were getting your holiday shopping done did you buy the first product, from the first sale you saw on an ad? Absolutely not! That’s why remarketing is holiday marketing strategy gold. More often than not they will be shopping around to find the absolute best deal possible. Remarketing allows you to target shoppers who visited your site and were hesitant to purchase the first time around. Past visitors will see your ads when surfing other sites, keeping your brand or product top of mind and reminding the customer that your offer is the best one out there.

If you haven’t started preparing for your holiday marketing campaigns, the time is now! 32% of consumers start their holiday shopping in October. While you may be a little behind in the game, it’s never too late to launch an effective holiday marketing strategy.

——— Nicholas Patterson is a former Marketing Analyst at SHIFT Communications, sister company of NATIONAL Public Relations