Black Friday and Cyber Monday aren’t just big shopping days—they drive a dramatic increase in online consumer spending. In 2023, Black Friday sales reached a new milestone, surging 7.5% year-over-year.
The momentum from 2023 is expected to carry over into 2024.
For retailers and eCommerce leaders, this period is the biggest opportunity to drive sales, attract new customers, and outsmart the competition. With shoppers on the lookout for deals, optimising your paid media campaigns can have a big impact on your bottom line. For many retailers, Q4 can account up to 50% of annual sales.
Our guide outlines essential tips and tactics to help you optimise your Black Friday & Cyber Monday Google Ads in 2024.
From bidding strategy to budgets, ad text and keyword strategy to Performance Max campaigns—we cover everything you need to know for Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and the extended Cyber Week.
Black Friday Google Ads 2024: What You Need To Know
A well-thought-out Google Ads strategy can give an instant boost to the bustling Black Friday shopping season. Here are two strategies you must remember.
Define Your Promotions Early
- Identify Your Offers: Clearly outline the specific promotions you plan to run during Black Friday.
- Assess Stock Availability: Determine if you have sufficient inventory to support your planned promotions. Strengthen your supplier relationships. If you are a reseller, reach out to explore opportunities for potential support or offers.
- Adjust Overall Strategy: If stock is limited, scale back your activity on these products or focus on less aggressive promotional tactics like Shopping or Search campaigns.
Prepare Backup Offers
- Anticipate Demand: If there’s uncertainty about stock availability for specific promotions, have backup offers ready, label these SKUs with custom labels and optimise feed attributes in the event you need to push these offers live.
- Maintain Flexibility: Adapt your campaign strategy based on real-time demand and inventory levels. Ensure your data feed in Google Merchant centre is kept up to date on real-time stock levels and reflects when products are out of stock. If you are a clothing or a footwear retailer, you may want to stop serving ads on SKUs where only limited or a single size is available.
By following these tips, you’ll be better equipped to optimise your Google Ads campaigns for the Black Friday and Cyber Monday Week period.
Black Friday Bidding & Budget Management Strategies To Maximise ROI
A well-executed bidding strategy helps boost your ROI during the Black Friday shopping rush. However, the influx of data and dynamic bidding algorithms can pose challenges post-Black Friday.
Here are four strategies to address those issues and optimise your bidding and budget management approach.
- Make Data-Driven Decisions: Use Google Trends and other tools to analyse search volume trends for high volume keywords and inform your budget allocation.
- Apply Daily Budget Increase: Significantly increase your budget during Black Friday to capitalise on heightened consumer demand.
- Analyse Past Black Friday Performance: Use historical data from previous Black Friday periods to inform search demand increases and budget decisions.
- Use Seasonality Bid Adjustments: Maximise performance during Black Friday and Cyber Monday by adjusting bids based on expected conversion rate changes. Analyse the increase in CVR for year-over-year Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales to inform your adjustments.
With these strategies, you can manage your bidding and budget during Black Friday and ensure optimal performance throughout the holiday season.
Black Friday Ad Writing Tips
It is no different writing a Black Friday ad than your year-round promotional messages. They require the same attention to detail and strategic thinking. Make sure your ads are directly relevant to the sale and utilise ample ad space.
Here’s what you need to prioritise to optimise your campaign:
Essential Elements
- Create a Promotion Asset: Clearly highlight the Black Friday sale.
- Add Black Friday References: Use language and imagery that captures the excitement and urgency of Black Friday.
- Master AI Prompts: Use AI tools to experiment and A/B test with different headlines, body copy, and visuals to see what works best with your audience.
Advanced Strategies
- Optimise Sitelinks: Direct users to specific high-demand products.
- Use Inventory References: Showcase product availability to enhance urgency.
- Implement Behavioural Science Tactics: Use behavioural science strategies to drive desired actions, increase user engagement and boost conversions.
Ready to create engaging and effective Black Friday ads that drive sales and maximise your campaign’s success? Let’s dive deep into these pointers:
Promotion Assets for Black Friday Ads
Promotion assets are a powerful tool to enhance your ad writing strategy, particularly during peak shopping events like Black Friday. Here’s how this additional line of ad text can differentiate your ads from competitors:
- Use Promotion Assets for Ad Differentiation:
- Use promotion assets to create unique and engaging ad copy.
- Highlight the limited-time nature of Black Friday deals.
- Set a Specific Run Time:
- Time your ads to coincide with peak shopping days (e.g., Friday to Sunday).
- Create a sense of urgency to encourage immediate purchases.
- Balance Promotion Assets With Other Elements:
- Don't rely solely on promotion assets for your promotional strategy.
- Combine them with other elements to maximise impact.
Add Black Friday References in Your Ads
To ensure your ads remain relevant and effective, your copy must have references to current events such as Black Friday or Cyber Monday. Here’s how:
- Keep Ads Relevant, Timely and Engaging:
- Modify the second headline to emphasise the Black Friday sale.
- Ensure your ads are relevant to the current event.
- Tailor Ads for Specific Products and Categories:
- Develop targeted ad copy to improve click-through and conversion rates.
- Prioritise ad efforts for products with the highest potential.
- Invest in Compelling Ad Copy for the High-Demand Period:
- Even a single day of Black Friday ads can yield significant returns.
- Make the most of the increased customer interest during Black Friday.
Enhance Sitelinks with Specific Product Offers
While sitelinks often receive less attention in ad creation, they can be a valuable tool during peak shopping events like Black Friday.
- Use Specific Product Offers:
- Instead of broad links, use specific product deals to attract attention.
- Replace generic links with targeted offers.
For example, if you’re running a campaign for Bluetooth speakers, instead of broad links like “Most popular BT speakers,” use more targeted options like “Soundlink: 33% Off Now” or “20% Off All Soundlink Products.”
- Target Active Shoppers & Offer a Variety of Options:
- Capitalise on the broader interest during Black Friday.
- Provide multiple product offers for consumers who are actively searching for deals and cater to different preferences.
Use Inventory References to Create Scarcity
If you have a highly sought-after product with limited availability, create a sense of urgency and encourage immediate action.
- Highlight Limited Availability:
- Use inventory references to indicate low stock.
- Create a sense of urgency to drive purchases.
- Have Backup Promotions Ready:
- Prepare alternative promotions for sold-out products.
- Mitigate stockouts and ensure a seamless customer experience even if products are unavailable.
Optimise Ad Management with Labels
Before launching your Black Friday campaign, tag all relevant ads with the label “evergreen.” This allows you to easily pause and reactivate these ads as needed.
- Label Always On Ads:
- Use the “Always On” label for ads that can be used year-round.
- Easily manage the status of these ads throughout the year.
- Avoid Accidental Activation:
- Use the “BF-2024” label to identify Black Friday-specific ads.
- Avoid accidentally running these ads in subsequent years.
- Optimise Campaign Management:
- Use labels to streamline the management of your ad campaigns.
- Ensure optimal ad performance during peak shopping seasons.
Plan Ahead: Create Ads in Advance
Avoid last-minute stress by preparing your Black Friday ads well in advance.
- Ensure Timely Approval:
- Submit ads well in advance to allow for review.
- Prevent last-minute issues that could impact your campaign.
- Don’t Wait Until the Day of the Sale:
- Create and upload ads early to avoid delays.
- Ensure your ads are running from the start of the sale.
- Upload Ads In Advance For Upcoming Sales:
- Upload ads in advance for:
- Early Access to Black Friday Week Sale
- Black Friday Week Sale
- Cyber Monday Sale
- Cyber Week Sale
- Extended Cyber Week Sale
- Use countdown timers or other techniques to create excitement for the upcoming sale.
Utilise Automatic Rules for Efficient Management
Add automatic rules to pause and activate ads as needed. Follow these steps:
- Create an Automated Rule:
- Set up a rule specifically for Black Friday.
- Pause and activate ads on specific dates.
- Review and Test:
- Carefully check the rule’s functionality.
- Verify that the rule operates as intended.
While automation is a powerful tool, it’s essential to maintain oversight. Manually review your ads and their live performance to identify and address any issues promptly.
Remember, while minor delays might be manageable, even an hour of downtime during Black Friday can significantly impact your sales. By planning ahead and utilising effective automation, you can minimise risks and maximise your campaign’s success.
Google Performance Max Retail Campaigns for Black Friday
Google Ads Performance Max campaigns play a crucial role in Black Friday success, despite their unique challenges. To maximise your returns, consider the following strategies:
Create a Dedicated PMAX Campaign
- For your most sale products, create a new PMAX Retail campaign to house on sale products. This approach allows for more granular control and monitoring during the high-volume Black Friday period.
- Start this campaign earlier, in advance to ensure ample time for optimisation and to exit the learning periods.
Maintain Consistent Campaign Structure
- If you segment your Shopping campaigns based on search queries, continue this practice for your Black Friday campaign.
- Deviating from your established strategy can negatively impact your ROI, especially for high-performing products.
These tips help optimise your Google Shopping campaigns for Black Friday, drive sales, and maximise your returns.
Prioritise High-Performing Products in Your PMAX Campaign
- Analyse your orders over the past 60 days and identify the top 10-50 products that consistently outperform others.
- Even though storewide promotions can be effective, it’s essential to focus on your best-selling products.
- Include these top-performing products in your new Shopping campaign to maximise your Black Friday returns.
This targeted approach will ensure your efforts are concentrated on the products most likely to drive sales and generate significant revenue.
Prepare Your Shopping Feed and Merchant Center for Black Friday
When preparing your Shopping feed for Black Friday, determine whether to use a coupon code or lower prices directly in your feed. This decision often depends on your business strategy and platform limitations.
- Coupon Codes: If you’re using coupon codes, ensure they are accurately set up in the Merchant Center to ensure they don’t get stuck in review state and avoid displaying incorrect prices in your ads, which can significantly reduce click-through rates.
- Lowered Prices: For lowered prices, it’s crucial that your feed reflects the exact prices on your website for each product.
- Avoid Discrepancies: Discrepancies can lead to:
- Lower Ad Performance: Incorrect prices can significantly reduce ad visibility and performance.
- Ad Disapproval: Google may disapprove products with price discrepancies, resulting in delays and potential lost sales.
To avoid these issues, update your feed immediately after making price changes on your website. This is important as products may go out of stock throughout the day.
Black Friday Contingency Planning
What potential challenges could you face during Black Friday? Be prepared for the following scenarios:
Scenario 1: Low Average Position
- Monitor Performance: Regularly review your average position for key products.
- Adjust Bids: If necessary, bid aggressively to improve your visibility and compete effectively as long as margins allow you to do so.
Scenario 2: Lack of Uplift
- Evaluate Competitor Offers: Your competitors will also be running promotions. Assess if your competitor's offer is more compelling.
- Adjust Your Strategy: If necessary, consider matching or improving your promotion or redirecting efforts to remarketing.
Scenario 3: Budget Exhaustion
- Monitor Budget: Regularly check your budget status.
- Increase Budget: If approaching your budget limit, allocate additional funds based on your established guidelines.
By anticipating these potential challenges and having a plan in place, you can effectively manage your Black Friday campaign and maximise your sales.
Post-Black Friday Actions
After the excitement of Black Friday subsides, take the following steps in your PPC account:
- Restore Original Bidding Strategies: Revert your bids to their pre-Black Friday levels.
- Pause Black Friday Ads: Deactivate ad assets specifically created for Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
- Reactivate Always On Ads: Resume your regular, ongoing campaigns.
- Conduct a Post-Campaign Analysis: Review your Black Friday performance to identify key insights and areas for improvement.
- Reduce Daily Budget Caps: Reduce daily budget caps after the sales event concludes. It helps prevent overspending when demand and conversion rates are likely to decline..
Need a fresh perspective? Let’s talk.
At 360 OM, we specialise in helping businesses take their marketing efforts to the next level. Our team stays on top of industry trends, uses data-informed decisions to maximise your ROI, and provides full transparency through comprehensive reports.
