COVID-19 has disrupted business as know it. Companies have had to make decisions about whether to continue operating while following social distancing guidelines or temporarily close—and they’ve had to quickly adjust their operations and decide where to move forward or pause ongoing marketing efforts.
For businesses choosing to continue paid advertising during this time, it’s a good idea to review reports and reevaluate your bids and networks. Here are a few quick things your business can do right now with your paid advertising strategy during COVID-19.
1) Review Search Query Reports
According to Google, search interest in coronavirus has increased 260% globally since the first week of February. The increased volume of COVID-19 searches could lead to your paid ads mapping to terms that aren’t relevant or that are unsavory for your business. Unfortunately, it’s hard to determine what terms will be trending next, so you need to get ahead as much as you can now.
Review your search query reports regularly and implement any necessary negative keywords. This will help you anticipate any issues while also enabling your business to remain in the correct queries without going over your allotted budget.
2) Check Your Device Bids
In March, mobile traffic had fallen 25%. With more people staying at home, mobile device use for searches during the day hasn’t been as necessary—most likely because more people are sitting in front of laptops and desktops at home, rather than commuting.
With the decline in mobile traffic, your paid strategy may need to shift. While mobile may have been the primary focus for the past two years, at the current moment, mobile is secondary. So you need to start revisiting any device bids you have set and make adjustments based on the current data. Don’t be afraid to implement short-term changes to your spending strategy, as these short-term shifts could produce traffic gains.
Be sure to keep an eye on CTR and CPC, though. With a shift to desktop over mobile, bids may fluctuate as other brands get away from mobile and head toward desktop ads. Be ready to monitor your paid advertising strategies and don’t settle for a set-it-and-forget-it PPC campaign.
3) Start Advertising Across Multiple Networks
Since the beginning of March, conversion rates have fallen 21%. But what’s interesting about that is people are still spending time online. As a matter of fact, internet usage is up 70% in some parts of the world, yet Google clicks and conversion rates are still dropping. One theory is that people are spending less time searching for information and turning more to social media and entertainment sources.
What this means is you may have to adjust your paid advertising strategy to find them. Try running ads on Facebook, Instagram, or YouTube, if you’re not already. You can also opt your current Google campaigns into Google Search Partners. Nevertheless, advertising across multiple networks can help your business reach your audience where they’re currently spending their time.
The COVID-19 situation is evolving rapidly and likely will be for the next few months, meaning a change in advertising strategy won’t be a quick fix, but rather a necessary change. The most important thing you can do for your business is monitor performance and continue making adjustments. Small changes are good to make any time of the year, but they’re even more crucial right now.
If your business needs help during this time, Hurrdat is here to provide Paid Search and PPC Marketing Management services. Get in touch with us today if you need assistance managing your paid advertising strategies!
