With Covid-19 spreading at such a rapid rate across the country, health officials have asked people to practice social distancing and shut down their physical business operations. Not only has this virus impacted millions of lives across the country, but it has led to the stock market and the economy falling as well.
With no end date in sight, some businesses have completely put an end to their PPC Ad campaigns (Google and Bing). But the thing is, people across the country are on their computers browsing the Internet more than ever before. A few big guns in the industry have already limited their advertising efforts. This means that the competition isn’t as fierce as it was before the pandemic.
In short, we can conclude that there hasn’t been a better time than now to focus on your local PPC ad campaigns. People are constantly browsing the Internet to learn about the latest updates as well as news surrounding this virus. In the USA, Google’s searches have largely remained constant, yet have shifted a bit.
In the past week, we witnessed Google search ad campaigns decrease up to 7%. One of the things you need to look at right now is how the searchers are behaving. People are looking for something entirely different than their usual activity. It’s obvious that you’ll witness conversion rates to fall during this time. However, all of it depends on which industry your business belongs to.
Listed below are the 7 industries that have witnessed an increase in their Google Ads Campaign performance during Covid-19:
- Non-profits & Charities
- Health & Medical
- Business Management
- Finance
- Beauty & Personal Care
- On-Demand Media
- Greetings, Flowers & Gifts
Here’s the list of the industries that have witnessed mixed PPC performance:
- Real Estate
- Home Improvement
- Home Furniture
- Automotive
- Retail
- Jobs & Education
- Legal Services
The industries that have been hit the hardest are:
- Travel & Tourism
- Bars & Restaurants
- Live Entertainment
- Sports & Fitness
- Conferences
- Industrial & Manufacturing
- Building & Construction
But the question right now businesses want to know the answer to the most is,
“Should You Keep Your Google PPC Ad Campaigns Running?”
Let’s take a look.
Should You Pause Your PPC Ads or Keep Them Running?
First, from the following four categories, you need to choose which one your business belongs to:
- Business Operations Are Currently on Hold
- Business Operations Have Been Modified
- Business Hasn’t Had Much Impact
- Business Is in High Demand
Which category from the above four does your business belong to? Let’s analyze whether you should keep your PPC Ad campaigns running for each of these categories.
Business Operations Are Currently on Hold
There are various industries and businesses that can’t offer anything to their customers right now. For instance, travel companies can’t offer cruises to their customers right now.
With people practicing social distancing and avoiding travel entirely, there won’t be a huge number of people looking for such services anytime soon.
If your business falls into this industry, it is advised that you reduce your PPC Ad Campaign efforts.
But that doesn’t mean that people won’t be searching for anything related to your industry. People are currently sitting in their homes browsing the Internet all day and exploring some of the best deals your industry might have to offer in the near future.
All you need to do is to come up with a relevant, sensitive brand awareness campaign. Alongside this, such businesses can even shift their focus towards their social media channels and develop a follower base.
One of the most important factors that you need to take into consideration is the feasibility of running the PPC Ad Campaigns in order to retarget the newsletter subscribers. You will easily be able to market to your audience via email and later retarget them in order to remind them of your brand.
Business Operations Have Been Modified
Well, it’s a relief that your business operations haven’t been shut down entirely. You might have gone remote or cut costs by furloughing your staff until the pandemic ends.
eCommerce businesses, as well as real estate agents, are some industries that belong to this category.
These businesses are currently operational; however, they aren’t running at their full potential. They might have made some modifications to their business operations. For instance, eCommerce businesses might be selling only essential items to people across the country. Real estate agents might be conducting the screening process online.
But the thing is, the demand for these businesses have raised significantly. Therefore, now is the best time to run your PPC Ad Campaigns in order to be subject of more impressions, as well as clicks. While everyone is stopping their campaigns on a national level, now is the time to take advantage of the hole they have left.
Business Hasn’t Had Much Impact
There are businesses that haven’t felt much of an impact due to Covid-19. And that’s exactly why you shouldn’t even think of pausing your PPC efforts.
Right now, paid searches might be the sole focus of such businesses. After all, it’s an intermediate form of digital marketing. And the thing is, if you are looking forward to reaping more benefits, then you should increase your PPC Ad Campaign budgets as much as possible. Again, you don’t have to compete with the national giants who take so much of the available inventory.
Business Is in High Demand
What if your business is in high demand? In that case, it’s a no brainer that you shouldn’t shut down your PPC advertising efforts. Various businesses across the country are trying to survive this pandemic. One of the points that we need to look at is that this pandemic has raised the demand for some businesses out there, which used to struggle in the past. Such businesses include food delivery services, online fitness instructors as well as stores that are currently offering alcohol delivery.
Search volumes for such businesses are already at an all-time high. If you want to have a better understanding, you can always head over to the Google Trends for monitoring the spikes.
With such high demand, the competition might be at an all-time high as well. Hence, it’s important for such businesses to come up with a robust paid ads strategy in order to ensure that you can display yourself in front of as many potential consumers as possible.
Now that we know how important it is for some businesses to stick to their Google Ad Campaigns during this time, let’s shift our focus towards how you can get the most out of it.
How to Get The Most Out Of The PPC Ads During Covid-19?
Listed below are the points that’ll help you get the most out of the PPC ads during this time:
- Take Immediate Action
- Refine Your Messaging
- Cut Down the Wasted Ad Costs
Take Immediate Action
Right now, it’s uncharted territory for almost all the businesses out there. There’s no absolute certainty. No one can predict what will work and what won’t. And that’s exactly why you need to use your best-educated guess and take immediate action.
After all, if you don’t take the first step, you won’t know what you could have earned.
Things are changing rapidly these days. There’s no full-proof data that you can rely on. Therefore, it’s vital for businesses to take immediate action as soon as they get their hands on some promising data. Assess your PPC Ad Campaigns all day long.
That’s how you will be able to figure out what’s working and what’s not. Alongside this, it’s important for businesses to explore their respective industries even further. That’s how you will be able to capitalize on opportunities standing right in front of you.
If you do that, you will have already taken your business to the top of the mountain.
Refine Your Messaging
This point refers to the content as well as your PPC ads which you are creating during the time of the pandemic.
You need to ensure that your messaging is empathetic and sensitive. Make sure that it seems relevant and audience oriented.
If you don’t heed this advice, you might face a major backlash.
Chances are that your PPC ad might not even be approved. Hence, you need to let your customers, as well as prospects, know how you are monitoring the situation and looking out for their safety.
You need to fit into your audience’s temporary way of living. That’s the only way you will be able to survive in this pandemic world.
Cut Down the Wasted Ad Costs
Immediately cut down the wasted ad costs. You might simply be wasting your marketing budget on ads that may be performing poorly right now.
And the thing is, some ads that worked so well in the past might not move the needle now. Therefore, it’s time to put a pause to or end such ads.
Conclusion
It’s no secret that the Covid-19 pandemic has been impacting our daily lives on a vast scale. However, let me assure you that it won’t be the end of the world.
The number of people browsing the Internet has increased exponentially. Alongside this, various businesses have already put an end to their PPC ad campaign efforts. That’s exactly why now is the best time to come up with an outstanding PPC campaign strategy and reach out to your target audience. Now is the time to reap the benefits of less competition. Let us help you, contact us today.