Google Optimization Tip: Bank Holidays

Google Optimization Tip: Bank Holidays

During Bank Holidays (especially wet ones!) we often see an increase in traffic in certain sub-categories. It is important that retailers are aware of these opportunities, and can maximize on the increased traffic effectively and in good time.

The March bank holidays kick off the unofficial Home Improvement Season, with popular products being: gardening equipment, sheds, conservatories, greenhouses, DIY tools and equipment.

Of course, in the Summer Bank Holidays, you'd need to add BBQs, outdoor furniture/toys (trampolines, bat-and-ball games, etc.), paddling pools, as people choose to spend more time outside. Camping equipment, trekking kit and sports clothing and equipment are also popular items from the May Bank Holiday onwards. Indeed, all Spring/Summer clothing ranges should be optimised in line with the ever-changing weather conditions. Important sub-categories are swimwear and holiday accessories.



How to Prepare:

• Make sure your customers can find you: ensure fall relevant products are represented in the keyword list
• Expand your keyword list: for maximum ROI, invest in the long-tail traffic as well as the generic terms. For example, if you sell "power tools", make sure you also list other distinguishing factors of your product: Brand? Colour? Power capacity? As always, ad group these separately with unique, targeted ads.
• Ensure offline messaging is replicated online: repeat catchy slogans, re-iterate offers.
• Click and Collect? Many customers are able to buy online and pick up in-store on their day off.
• Cheap or free delivery, as always, is popular with Bank Holiday shoppers.
• Open up budgets and monitor them! Create a Bank Holiday campaign if necessary, to manage budgets separately.
• Look at last year's performance and be strategic about how you spend. Consider ad-scheduling on some products if you saw peaks and troughs last year.
• Which Bank Holiday? If there is a national event or festival taking place, think about what your customer may be searching for at that special occasion (e.g. flowers, gifts, chocolate at Easter; Christmas entertainment vouchers, fitness equipment for New Year’s resolutions!)
• Beware the weather! If it's a sunny weekend, expect lower traffic

2008 England & Wales Bank Holidays:

New Year's Day	1 Jan
Good Friday	21 Mar
Easter Monday	24 Mar
Early May Bank Holiday	5 May
Spring Bank Holiday	26 May
Summer Bank Holiday	25 Aug
Christmas Day	25 Dec
Boxing Day	26 Dec

Posted by Emily Whitchurch - Google Retail Team, UK

Tuesday, 4 March 2008 at 07:49

Valentine's Day - Ads

It is important to separate your keywords into specific ad groups tailored to different Valentine customers. Things to consider are:

• Men: Create specific ads for male customers, stressing the ease and speed with which they can shop. If you sell lingerie and provide easy sizing guides or tips, make this known within your ad copy. Lingerie sales are expected to be down this year, in part due to falling prices but perhaps also because of the potential "risk" of the purchase. Overall, make it as easy as possible for men to get it right!
  
• Women: Popular presents could include accessories (wallets, scarves, cuff links), underwear and jewellery. In the main, women are less last-minute, so a good returns policy or delivery deal may be more appealing.
• Last-Minute Shoppers: If you have next-day delivery, make sure this is prominently displayed in the ad. If delivery is free, make it even more pronounced, and if you are able to deliver to multiple addresses (e.g. home or office), make this known too. Include last delivery dates in your ad, and reassure the customer that you will deliver by 14th, if you are able to. Other reassuring messages can help customers find you more easily (e.g. "Forgotten Valentine's Day? / Don't Worry! 100s of gift ideas online")
• Flowers: Special deals, delivery discounts and flexibility are often the most important part of any ad, but it's worth also mentioning the quality and freshness of flowers, as well as range. Make sure your rose keywords are in a separate ad group, with highly tailored ads (trial at least three), and if you have any special deals (e.g. "Spend £30 - free chocolates"), these must be mentioned. It seems obvious, but the facility to write a "personalised message" with your flowers may also appeal.
  
• Manage Budgets Effectively: Use last year's results and industry predictions to estimate peak buying times for your products. Ad-scheduling could help you fine-tune efficiency levels and help you deal most effectively with seasonal hikes in traffic. Last year, for example, searches for "flowers" on Google started to rise dramatically on 11th February, peaking on 12th, but not really tailing off until the end of the day on 14th http://www.google.com/trends?q=flowers&ctab=0&geo=GB&date=2007&sort=0) Finally, separate high-performing keywords into tailored ad groups and manage this budget separately.
  

Posted by Emily Whitchurch – Retail, Google UK

Monday, 14 January 2008 at 07:58

Valentine's Day - Keywords

Valentine's Day 2007 was estimated to be worth £1.3bn to retailers, with shoppers spending an average of £95.80 (British Retail Consortium Feb 2007). Preparation for this event should begin as early as possible. The key products for retailers during this period are:

• Flowers - If you sell flowers, be sure your keyword coverage is as comprehensive as possible, prioritising the most popular products. It would be a good idea to manage your budget for each bouquet differently, and consider writing tailored ads for best-performing bouquets.
• Chocolates - Last year, 43 per cent of people bought chocolates as presents (Retail Week, Feb 2007), possibly alongside flowers or other seasonal gifts, or as part of a special offer. Other confectionery goods such as truffles, luxury chocolates & Valentine-specific candies (e.g. chocolate hearts) are all worth double-checking on your keyword inventory and expanding upon if neccessary.
• Jewellery - Ensure good coverage on last year's best sellers, as well as any new items for 2008. Predictably, pendants, lockets, and engagement rings are going to be popular, so expand on these ad groups within your campaign, write compelling ads, & make sure you monitor your bids closely.
• Miscellaneous - Other gifts to consider are lingerie, cuddly toys, Valentine's cards and Ecards. Also popular are "experience" gifts and accessories. Remember more generic searches ("valentine's gift", "quick valentine's ideas", etc.) and don't forget to add negative keywords ("anti-valentine's", "valentine's day massacre", as well as "lyrics", "poems", etc. if you do not stock these products).

Posted by Emily Whitchurch – Retail, Google UK

Online / Offline:

Posted by Emily Whitchurch

Are you planning a sale or promotion offline? Do you have a big TV branding campaign ready to launch?

Make sure you are equally as prepared online. Add catchy slogans or jingles from radio or TV campaigns to your online branding campaign. Maybe even create new ads that mimic the language and offers you are pushing offline. Make sure that there is continuity between the two; make the most of your offline efforts by supporting them online.

Wednesday, 14 November 2007 at 03:22

Get Creative With Keywords

Posted by Emily Whitchurch

Remember that when users search for your products, they search in a variety of ways.

If you're selling hats, it's important to think about more than just the generic "hats", "cheap hats" keywords, which will also be highly competetive. Think about:

• types of hats ("bowler", "beret", "beanie", etc.),
• brands of hats ("nike", "burberry", etc.),
  
• Occasions when hats may be worn ("wedding hat", "prom hat", etc.),
  
• colours and fabric of hats ("red hat", "black hat", "wool hat", "felt hat"),
  
• and -of course- combinations of the above.
  

Although traffic for these longtail keywords is likely to be low, it is likely to be higher converting, and CPCs could be less competitive.

Welcome to Optimisation tips for Retailers!

Posted by Emily Whitchurch

It’s that time of year again & to get the season of good will off to an exciting start, we are delighted to announce our gift to you.

The launch of the AdWords iGoogle Retail Tips. If you are an online marketer, a media agency or simply want to learn more about successful AdWords marketing specifically for the UK Retail industry, then this is the place for you.

We aim to provide professionals & marketers like you with an additional resource to support you in getting the very most from your AdWords account. These feeds will be updated regularly by some of our most experienced AdWords professionals with insider account management tips & tricks, as well as notice of important upcoming events. And with the holiday season already fast approaching, we aim to include:

* Seasonal specific optimization tips & tricks
* Tips for maximizing your ROI
* General a/c management tips & best practices
* Industry events & much more.

We hope you enjoy! You may also wish avail of further AdWords support available in our Help Centre at:

https://adwords.google.com/support/

Sincerely,
The Google AdWords Retail team

“Whoever said money can’t buy happiness simply didn’t know where to go shopping” Bo Derek (1956)

Tuesday, 13 November 2007 at 10:34

Maximize your landing page for a better ROI

Posted by Emily Whitchurch

A visitor to your landing page decides whether or not to stay within 8 seconds and as many as 50% of users will leave your page after just one glance. Increase landing page conversion rates by incorporating our LPO best practices:

1. Make a lasting first impression

-Avoid using home pages or all-inclusive, multipurpose landing pages. Create a specific landing page for every ad and paid search term, this will help the user find what they are looking quickly.
- Avoid a cluttered design. Google users in particular prefer a clean design where they can immediately find what they want.

- Include important information above the fold. A users eye is first drawn to the top left hand side of the page. Users will not necessarily read text thoroughly or sequentially, therefore the first two paragraphs must state the most important information.
-Include confidence messaging. Allay visitor’s fears at a glance by including information such as online security, a price promise or customer reviews on your landing page.
-Ensure special offers promoted in your AdWords ad are clear & prominent on the page.

2. Use effective visuals

-Use pictures to sell your product. Difference locations, angles, & detail shots of your product can be incredibly persuasive. Make sure that pictures make sense & are clickable as users like to click on product pictures for a more detailed view.
- Use effective background & text colours. Using dark background colours can have a negative impact on your conversions. Using clear bright colours can help promote a sense of trust & encourages users to stay on your page.

3. Ensure your shopping cart process is clear & easy to use.

- Don’t require registration to check out. Not only is it time consuming for a user but it also forces them to commit to a relationship before they have gone through the buying process.

- Use big bold easy to find ‘buy now’ buttons. Users immediately know where to go next. Hiding ‘buy now’ buttons or making them too small can make it difficult for people to shop effectively.

- Always use Progress Indicators. They immediately let people know how long the process is going to take and will keep users from bailing prematurely.

4. Use Google Analytics to track your website.

- Google Analytics can show you where people are clicking & how they expect the website to work. Are people clicking on words or images that aren’t hotlinks? Maybe they want to know more but can’t get it. You can also learn scrolling behavior & the last field a user interacted with before leaving your page.

Tuesday, 9 October 2007 at 01:38