13 Search Ad Tips for Happy Holidays

Emphasize fun, family and free shipping in your Q4 paid search ads

Which would you rather have in your Christmas stocking this year: a lump of coal or a wad of cash? The answer seems obvious, but if you don’t optimize your search ad campaigns to maximize the use of proven best practices and meet the needs of shoppers, you could be looking at more graphite in your hand than green bills.

Last week, Yahoo! presented a webinar that offered a sleighs-worth of data and tips for making your holidays cheerier. If you missed it, you can view the webinar in its entirety (as well as other past webinars) here. But if you’re short on time (and frankly, who isn’t at this time of year), here is a quick summary of the most important things to remember as you set up and tweak your holiday campaigns.

Best practices for marketing holiday gifts

• Personalization: Be sure to promote any monogramming/name engraving or other personalization offers that are available, whether the gift is for children or adults.
• Uniqueness: Many people like to know that a gift for their loved one will be rare or “one-of-a-kind,” and not simply something that is available in every store.
• Have a Holly Jolly Holiday: Holiday gifts for both kids and adults are for fun, so be sure your ad copy emphasizes the fun factor appropriately.
• Family Occasion: Emphasize family togetherness for holiday offers like recipes, food, candy, board games, etc.
• ’Tis Better to Give than to Receive: Ads that contain copy about giving gifts tend to perform better than copy talking about receiving them.
• Holiday and Seasonal References: Tailor copy that is appropriate to the festive season with special holiday language and references.
• Big Selection: An emphasis on a large selection from which to find exactly the right gift is important when bidding on general holiday shopping keywords.
• Shiny and New: People like to know that their gift will be hip, trendy and the latest fashionable thing.
• Gift Wrapping: If a gift wrapping option is offered, be sure to mention it.
• Free Content: Spotlight anything about the offer that is free.
• Shipping – Fast and Free: People prefer free shipping when it is offered at all times. During the holidays, fast/same day or overnight shipping verbiage is equally important, since the user must be sure that the item will arrive in time.
• Famous Brands and Trademarks: Appropriate use of trademark symbols with official brand names can increase user confidence and click-through rates.
• Deadlines and Calls-to-Action: Subtle language encouraging a click today can perform well. Sales with a specific end date, or an upcoming holiday deadline to prepare for, encourage the user to click and get the deal before it’s too late. (But be sure that your copy does not promote a date or season that has already passed!)