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2020 saw consumers migrate to online shopping in great droves. Studies in the past year predicted online rushes for each of the year’s holidays.

As 2021 kicks off, any businesses that didn’t prepare for the digital shift still have a chance to do so before Valentine’s Day.

As pandemic precautions continue, the usual Valentine’s Day experiences may not be available to the public. There simply won’t be as much dining out, in-store shopping, and weekend getaways that we expect to see. That means people still need to look online for alternatives this year.

Historically, Valentine’s related consumer activity spikes in January. If you couple that with the shifts brought on by the pandemic, the need for an effective online presence is vital.

In other words, there’s no better time than the present to implement top-notch marketing strategies for February promotions.

Valentine’s Day Marketing Strategies to Win Clients

You can streamline your Valentine’s Day marketing activities by following some of the simple guidelines that will get your ads in front of your ideal audience this February.

Start Early

Suppose you are prepared for the increased online activity for Valentine’s-related products in January. In that case, you can capitalize on early searches and shopping queries that many marketers miss because they delayed their marketing efforts.

Display your ads and connect with users trying to jump on the holiday ahead of time. If consumers are looking for these products in early January, your ads should be there from the beginning.

Get Ready For Increased Costs-Per-Click

As searches increase in this time frame, ad placements will be limited, and a shortage will occur, leading to a higher equilibrium price (cost per click). This is true even in Google Ads, so be prepared for somewhat higher costs per click, which will (theoretically) be offset by higher conversion rates.

Review Past Valentine’s Performance

The best place to start is last year’s marketing plan. This will give you an indication of how consumers responded to your  Valentine’s marketing efforts. When you go over last year’s report, make sure to identify the following points:

• Best performing channels and campaigns
• Most engaging ad copy
• Most profitable promotions and products
• Placements where your ads outperform competitors and vice versa

However, the pandemic will make this year’s holiday different from any other year in history, so combine this historical data with recent behavior to guide your decisions. Once you’ve examined last year’s metrics, couple them with best-performing settings in past months for the most balanced strategy.

Optimize Your Keyword Strategy, Ad Copy, and Landing Page

You should align the content on your landing page and ad copy with the keyword strategy. This will help customers engage with your brand. The clearer the message, the stronger the understanding of your brand and value proposition. 

What keywords should you be targeting right now with your Valentine’s Day PPC ads? A recent Search Engine Journal article shared Microsoft data that revealed some of the most common mobile search queries for Valentine’s Day:

Take Full Advantage of Ad Extensions

The big question is, -“What Google Ads and Microsoft Advertising ad extensions can be useful for Valentines?”

The short answer is all of them. 

The intuitive thing would be to launch the following:

• Price Extensions
• Promotion Extensions

That’s a good start, but you could also update the content of all current extensions with your promotions — so you can make all ad extensions promotion extensions. 

• Sitelinks
• Callout Extensions
• Structured Snippets

Optimize for Mobile and Desktop 

Gifts can be a spontaneous purchase – mostly when you forgot that Valentine’s Day is just around the corner and you still haven’t purchased your significant other something special this year.

So, your customers will go straight online with their mobile devices and try to place their orders as quickly as possible.

This means you need to make sure your website is fully optimized for both mobile and desktop users.

Leverage Smart Bidding and Smart Audiences

Many wonder what Google Ads and Microsoft Advertising smart bidding and smart audiences will use to drive more leads or purchases during this season.

Ideal bidding strategies are always Target CPA (for lead Gen) or Target ROAS (eCommerce). During the holidays, there is no need to increase nor decrease the bidding values.

At the same time, Google has excellent predefined audiences for “Seasonal Shoppers”:

Use Your Remarketing Lists

Connect with past visitors who have already expressed interest in your products and services. Learn more about how remarketing can help rev up your campaigns this upcoming February as searches increase for gifts. 

Run Promotions

Support your Google Ads and Microsoft Advertising blueprints with the following strategies to help promote special deals or discount ads:

• Ads must be updated. Conversion rates and user engagement is usually greater when all generic, regular content is paused. Let new promo-only ads run on their own. Consider using features such as “Countdown Customizer.”
• Use the “limited time” or “Offer Expires Soon” approach to create urgency. People tend to rush or purchase faster when they sense that resources are limited. Phrases that give a sense of abundance, such as: “Call Our Experts 24/7,” are not helpful.

Focus on Capturing Last-Minute Buyers

A great Valentine’s Day PPC strategy will leave room for those customers who have left gift shopping to the last minute. As the nerves kick in, so does that emotional rush that helps a customer decide to purchase.

Displaying ads to last-minute customers will be as effective as getting them early on. Special occasions are perfect for targeting procrastinators, and you can do it without putting a major dent in your budget.

Spread the Love: Don’t Just Focus on Couples

Though you’ll want to market to the prominent segment, make sure to promote the products you have available to everyone else. Singles tend to gather and celebrate this holiday as well, so make sure to create messaging that highlights gift cards and promotions that will benefit them.

An excellent way to do this is by creating unique landing pages, sales, and packages for each segment.

Conclusion

Over the past year, all industries and markets have seen consumers migrate to online shopping. Studies predicted it for each of the holidays, and mailrooms were booked to the roof. Knowing that, it’s in any company’s best interest to get ahead of the rush.

Applying some of the adjustments suggested by our strategists will go a long way in generating brand awareness and profits.

Are you interested in getting expert help? Contact one of our strategists to learn more about our White Label PPC Management services to facilitate campaign optimizations and get ahead of competitors for 2021.