December is just around the corner and people are now starting to do their shopping! If you’re a Small Business Owner, you have to take advantage of this peak selling period. Christmas has always been a time on increased consumer spending, you certainly don’t want to miss a sale.
While there’s no denying that this season brings a lot of joy to everyone, the fierce competition for Small Business Owners can sometimes get overwhelming. With plenty of purchasing time left before the big event, the good news is that you’re not too late to start some Digital Marketing for Christmas. There’s endless potential for you if you’re willing to make the small investments required to capture Online shoppers.
In order to do that, you need to be seen by as many people as possible when they search for and buy presents Online. Running a Pay-Per-Click (PPC) Campaign is one of the most effective Strategies you can utilize to do this. Most importantly, it won’t take you a fortune to lure Customers to your Digital doorstep.
THE MAGIC OF PAY-PER-CLICK
PPC is a Digital Marketing powerhouse for Small Businesses like yours. For instance, if you’re selling Vegetarian Cookbooks, your ad will include relevant keywords like “vegetarian cookbook”, “vegetarian book”, or “book for vegetarian”. When someone goes to Google and uses those keywords to find a gift for their vegetarian mother-in-law, then you’ll show up in front of the person making the search. If you’re smart with your choice of keywords, you can maximise the number of times your ad is seen by someone who is looking to make a purchase, rather than an individual just doing a bit of research.
Another great thing about PPC is that you’ll never be charged until a potential Customer clicks on your ad, which basically means you’re only charged for a genuinely interested browser.
TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE
Although some people wish it could be Christmas every day (we’ll be honest, we’re probably not one of them), it’s thankfully at a set time every year. If you’re going to target shoppers over the festive period, you need to get in as quickly as you can.
Studies show that Online shoppers tend to start doing research as early as October, before making a purchase in late November or early December. The good news for you is that unlike many other forms of Marketing, PPC doesn’t require a lengthy set up process. As soon as you’ve found your keywords you can submit your campaign to Google for approval, which will normally be granted in 24 hours. Once your campaign is up and running, you’ll be able to make as many changes as you want on an ongoing basis.
Get your ads up and running, then start optimising to make sure you’re getting the most bang for your buck.
YOU’VE GOT NOTHING TO LOSE
When it comes to getting up and running with Google PPC, as a Small Business Owner you’ve got next to nothing to lose. Because Google allows you to set a spending limit for your clicks, you’re able to precisely monitor your budget in real time.
Play around with your keywords and you might find that using extensions to your keywords like ‘free xmas delivery’ actually drives the cost of your clicks down, while increasing their potency. Remove any super broad keywords (think something along the lines of ‘Ladies handbags’) as they are likely to increase in price as the general level of searching Online increases. Have a quick think about what you can reasonably afford to spend (and the best way to think about a Marketing budget is always ‘what can I afford to lose?’) and even if your campaign doesn’t bring you anything in, that’s all it’s going to cost you.
Put simply, you’re reading this article because you know that Christmas is the perfect time to be doing some Digital Marketing for your Business. If you need any help setting up your campaign, or you simply want to ask a few questions to make sure you’re limiting your risk, then give us a call. We run hundreds of PPC campaigns for our Small Business clients and have all the knowhow required to make yours a success.