How the coronavirus has been impacting PPC accounts
We are still managing many different clients through this pandemic. We thought we would highlight some industries and platforms and the impact they are having along with the solutions we would propose or are using.
This has been kept brief and we haven’t gone into every industry and sub industry and platform or else we would end up with a lot of reading which people will not necessarily be interested in. We would advise you to get in touch if you do want more details specific to your industry.
Industry
Travel
The Impact:
This is one of the hardest hit industries at the moment. With the uncertainty hardly anyone is booking any holidays or even if they are, they aren’t booking anything for the near future.
Solutions:
Whilst we do not know how long the pandemic will last, we do expect this to end by next year, so maybe start selling holidays for next year for now and come back stronger with some last-minute deals when the epidemic ends.
Finance
The Impact:
Another hard-hit industry is finance. However, with the category Finance being very wide ranging from debt management companies to banks to lenders the performance is different for different businesses. Some businesses in this industry have had to pause their PPC as it has been impacted that much whilst others are taking advantage of the current situation.
Solutions:
If you do have the technology and budget to keep going then the marketplace is seeing cheaper CPCs at the moment. It all depends on the individual business however and the conversion rates you are seeing.
B2B
The Impact:
With many businesses working from home, staff on furlough, and general office requirements put on hold somewhat, this industry has also seen a downturn. A lot of time however is going into research and buying things for when people are back.
Solutions:
If you can afford to keep going at the moment, potential customers are bookmarking pages, highlighting products they want to buy and come back later.
iGaming
The Impact:
With more people being at home this industry is working really well at the moment. With the restrictions in place and the government guidelines we will see some impact. Sports betting however has seen an impact due to the lack of sports.
Solutions:
Sports betting budget should be added to the casino alternative. These players do overlap so you will see them crossover when sports do start again.
Retail
The Impact:
With stores being closed most retailers are doing very well online. Obviously, it does depend on what you are selling, and people are basing things on the needing things or wanting things at the moment but even luxury items are doing well at the moment.
Some shipping companies are having an impact however which ultimately has an impact on performance. The key is to make sure communication is kept on top of, so you do not end up with any negative reviews.
Solutions:
With the strong results we are seeing retail is an area where if you can continue to push and even increase aggression to get more out of the industry then we would advise to keep doing so. The opportunity is definitely there to take advantage of and as long as your warehouse and delivery can meet all the guidelines then we would advise to push on.
However, if you are seeing a dip in your conversion rate, with retail again being very vast, then obviously we wouldn’t advise the above.
Platforms
The Impact:
The traffic on Google is only increasing at the moment with more people online with stores being closed. Not only is there an increase in traffic potential on Google search but also on display and video. The performance we are seeing across all the different areas of Google (search, shopping, display and Video) is varied based on the industry and client.
Solutions:
The performance here varies based on your market and the advice therefore is very tailored.
Bing
The Impact:
Bing is pretty much exactly like Google however we are finding certain clients are picking up a lot more on Bing then on Google at the moment.
Solutions:
Again, like the above the performance is very varied and the solution is very tailored based on this.
Amazon
The Impact:
Amazon is continuing to dominate a lot of product searches however Amazon have had to put restrictions in place for large item deliveries which means anyone selling items which require more than one person to deliver it they won’t be delivered at the moment. All smaller goods however are continuing to sell despite Amazon prioritising the products which customers need most at the moment.
Solutions:
This is an area if you are already set up in, we would advise to keep pushing if it is working. To get setup on Amazon as a vendor at the moment will be difficult, as a seller not so much but still more hurdles to jump through with many of the Amazon staff working from home at the moment as well. Unless if you speak to an agency who have an Amazon representative like Circus PPC which does make life a lot easier.
Facebook and social
The Impact:
With a lot more time spent online at the moment. A lot of the time is spent on social media. Advertisers are seeing an increase in competition with more people advertising and some people starting to di toes into this platform as well.
Solutions:
The strategy you use on social for paid activity needs to be chosen very carefully. Whilst the opportunity is there at the moment, it isn’t there for everyone and certain markets are seeing the CPCs increasing.
Criteo
The Impact:
As with the above, a lot of time is spent on browsing other websites. With an engine like Criteo, we are seeing many competitors dropping off and the traffic opening up further alongside the actual traffic generally increasing anyway.
Solutions:
For clients who are continuing to sell and do well, we would advise to keep pushing on Criteo.
For clients not doing so well at the moment we would advise getting the codes live on site as a lot of potential customers are spending time researching at the moment with the view to buy in the future.
For more information or if you want our help to plan your strategy please do get in touch.
