How to optimise your paid channels for Peak

Recent research by Google into consumer behaviour around Peak has highlighted that the shopping process starts a lot earlier than previous years, with up to 10 different touchpoints before making a purchase. The main touchpoints are Search (Google channels) and social media so we asked more2’s Digital experts, Jose De Carvalho (Head of Paid Search), and Jennifer Cunningham (Director of Innovation and Best Practice), for their tips on how to optimise your performance marketing now ahead of the Peak season starting.

Paid Social checklist:

Build your audiences/brand awareness well ahead of Peak, whilst CPM’s are lower.
Make sure your tracking is correct, particularly for product-led events like View Product and Add to Cart. If you haven’t implemented Conversions API (cAPI), we strongly recommend that you do.
Do any testing now so you are not doing it during Peak when it's expensive.
Have seasonally appropriate images such as boxes under a tree/gift wrapping /party dresses etc. Your actual product will already be set but start thinking about what assets you will need, particularly at times when you might not have obvious product, but you can "rewrap" it.
Know your last posting date so you can phase your spend and make sure you have enough delivery slots for your forecast.

Paid Search Checklist:

Campaign Expansion and Targeting:

Expand your reach: Identify new opportunities to reach potential customers during Peak. Explore additional keywords using broad match (Controlled), and consider advertising on different platforms or ad formats to expand your brand's visibility (Bing Search has seen a good pickup in demand).

Audience targeting: Utilise audience targeting options to reach specific segments that are likely to convert. Leverage first party data from past campaigns to create custom audiences or utilise remarketing to target users who have previously shown interest in your brand. Ensure you take advantage of all the great GA4 Audiences segments available.

Feed Optimisation:

Ensure all your products get surfaced again this year with smart tactics. We have seen some great improvements when optimising descriptions, title and products types within your feed.

Clean up feed errors on Google merchant centre and ensure there are no GTIN issues or missing attributes.

Budgeting and Bidding Strategy:

Allocate sufficient budget: Determine your budget allocation for Peak based on historical data and anticipated demand. Ensure you have enough budget to capture increased traffic and maintain visibility during this critical period.

Bid management: Optimise your bidding strategy to maximize return on ad spend (ROAS) during Peak. Consider adjusting bids based on factors like your bottom line and New customer acquisition growth when analysing 1st party data.

By following these tips for your paid channels now, you can be front of mind for your customers when they're researching products and when they're ready to shop.

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