Optimize Search Ads during COVID-19

During COVID-19, our lives have changed, and the way we communicate with the world as well. Now we are into social distancing, curbside pickup, and at-home workouts. This is also changed people’s interests, expectations, and behavior. Below are some tips to optimize your Search Ads as per consumers’ interest during this uncertain time.

Assess your Ads

Helpful language

• You have to make sure of the words you are using in your ads and how your audience feels about it. Follow these guidelines related to COVID.
• Don’t use words like “protection,” “checkup,” “prevention,” or “virus.” Know the local terms for international campaigns that have used to reference COVID-19.
• Change your ads according to your services like delivery, in-store, or curbside pick up.
• Change shipping settings and delivery time during this Covid time.

Modify Creative and Communication

• Change your search text ads, extensions, and landing pages.
• Update ad extensions like sitelinks, structured snippets, callout, lead form, location, promotions, and call.
• Continuously communicate to your users if there is a change in hours of operation by updating your Google My Business page.
• Use sitelink extensions to inform people about other right pages on your website.
• Apply dynamic ad extensions for more relevancy
• Use call ads for people who can’t visit your location. Now You can include an optional “Visit website” link as well if there is no one to answer people’s calls.

Pause ad groups or ads

• If any products are not available, then mark local products as “out of stock” across channels if you’re not sure restocking times and pause corresponding ads as well if needed.

Reshape with Current Market

Get updated

• You can check Think with Google to understand people’s preferences and expectations.
• Also, check Google Trends to check trends related to the COVID-19.
• You can set Google Alerts as per your interested topics to get emails around that.
• Make use of location exclusions where your supply is interrupted or where your business is unavailable.
• Schedule your ads to control the appearance of your ads

Check performance and Tweak the budget

• You can check the performance of your campaigns, cities, and products and think for some short term ROI.
• Tweak budgets as per the demands and supply uncertainty.
• You can use Performance Planner as well to plan budgets.
• Check budget recommendations for your campaigns if they lead to short-term ROI improvements.

Use tools

Focus on the right audience

• Use remarketing lists for search ads, similar audiences, and Customer Match lists.
• If using manual bidding, optimize your bids to increase conversions even when reducing costs.
• You can create audiences such as “Recent Purchasers,” or “Recent Cancellations” that may become customers.
• Reach people by using relevant affinity and in-market audiences.

You can apply these tips and improve your business performance.