The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has rapidly become a global concern over the past few weeks, and with the news dominated by regularly changing events, one of the biggest impacts is becoming economic. The implications for all businesses, who may be affected directly or indirectly by government policy and market trends, is becoming significant. So what should you be doing with your online marketing activity?
Every business needs to consider the rapid changes in the market and how this may affect your online marketing. It’s likely that quick changes will need to be made over the coming weeks, and we are ready to help you with this as much as we can.
One key strength of a Google Ads campaign can be its flexibility and use as a tactical tool. Therefore, depending on how your market is reacting to the current situation, we can help you make changes to your targeting and your budgets, and in particular, adapt your adverts to present the most appropriate messages to your market. We may also recommend switching from an automated bidding system back to manual for a period, if applicable, since Google’s system may struggle to react quickly enough to regular changes in your market.
If business slows, you may need to reduce your marketing spend, but we would also suggest that you don’t fully suspend your Google Ads. That’s because if there is a search market out there for your business, you should try to retain your presence and, if appropriate, adapt your message and target the main areas that should work best for you. Keeping some activity going will also retain current data and trends in your account that Google’s system can use to your advantage.
Conversely, it may actually be a good time for you to increase your marketing spend if you feel confident your business will be unaffected, while others in your industry may overreact and pause their advertising. That’s because this could lead to a lower cost for more click traffic which could gain you a significant competitive advantage, but you should monitor your key metrics and consider the best course of action.
Nobody knows how the next few weeks or months will develop, but this pandemic will pass and businesses should aim to come back stronger once the market picks up again. You should therefore be using the time to review your website and content, look at your Google Analytics reports to identify where improvements could be made, develop your SEO content to make gains over the next few months, or look at ways to develop your social media presence and establish your leadership in your market over this challenging period.
Web Marketing Workshop will be available to support your business during this time, either from our main office or from home offices, and will be ready to help you whenever we can. If you want to have a discussion about the options, or wish to make changes to your current activity, please get in touch and we’ll work with you to make the most of your online marketing.