May 28, 2020
As the COVID-19 pandemic has swept across the country, businesses everywhere have had to rethink their marketing strategies. As advertising agencies, it is our duty to guide these clients in the right direction when it comes to their advertising strategies and marketing platforms.
Recently, the team at Conduit Digital sat down with our Google Agency Partner, Ann, to discuss the changes in the digital marketing industry during COVID-19. In this edition, we are going to break down the biggest differences between Facebook and Google CPCs, CPMs, and more.
The Difference Between Facebook and Google Ads
When your agency runs ads on either one of these platforms, it’s important to know the difference between the two. Knowing this will help you develop a better strategy for capturing leads for your clients.
The biggest difference between Google and Facebook ads is search intent. When users are using Google it’s because they are looking for a specific thing, so you can target ads based on the keywords they use. Whereas with Facebook, users are shown ads based on their interests.
You can attribute Google to having more of a pull marketing strategy where Facebook is great for building brand awareness.
So when you are meeting with your client on the best way to reach their goals, it’s crucial to know the different strategies that go behind each platform.
Now that we had a refresher on the differences between these two platforms, we can go into what the best practices are for running ads during COVID-19.
What Are The Data Points?
When discussing the shifting strategies across digital channels, it is important to differentiate between your data points. Identify the KPIs that you would like to study. For example, in discussing these trends with our Google Agency Partner, we noticed particular volatility in both CPCs and CPAs on Facebook and Google. Here is a breakdown of some of the most important data points during COVID-19.
1. CPCs
Cost-per-click is a metric that changes based on the bids of the target keywords. Your client only pays for a click on their ad. CPCs on both Facebook and Google are very volatile during COVID-19 and it is not recommended that you put too much stock in CPC performance during this time.
2. CPAs
Cost-per-action is a metric based on qualifying actions such as sales, form fills, or registrations. CPAs may also be currently volatile due to the pandemic.
When discussing data points, you should encourage your clients to look away from metrics such as CPCs and CPAs due to the volatility of the market due to the coronavirus pandemic. Instead, encourage your clients to focus on clicks-to-site, ROI, and CLVs.
3. Clicks-To-Site
While not normally a key metric, many businesses have shifted their focus to draw as many clicks to their site as possible. Especially if your clients aren’t selling right now, a brand awareness campaign with clicks-to-site as a metric could see huge dividends for your clients.
4. ROI
Return on investment may be the single most important metric when it comes to digital marketing, especially during this pandemic. Our Google Agency Partners stress that focusing on ROI as a metric for your clients will help them to see the value that your agency brings and continue marketing during this difficult time.
5. CLVs
Consumer lifetime value is the amount of money a customer is predicted to spend with your business for the duration of your relationship with that individual. By focusing on calculating their CLVs, your clients can begin to hyper-target individuals who provide their business with the highest value.
What Google Suggests
During our sit down with Conduit Digital’s Google Agency Manager, we wanted to dive deep into the most pressing changes in metrics and data. They explained to us the increasing volatility of CPCs and CPAs on Google platforms, which may not exactly come as a surprise to most people in the industry.
However, one notable difference was found between verticals. In fact, week over week, there have been many different and interesting shifts. When looking at your clients’ campaigns, it is important to note whether these shifts are week over week trends, or if they are part of a larger pattern.
With the volatility of KPIs like CPCs, it is important to have your client assess their 6-month goals. Is their CLV increasing? Where are the profits coming from per channel? Develop a 6-month plan with their full-marketing mix. In an ideal world, that includes all of the platforms they are currently running on including Google and Facebook.
If your client has been seeing strong end-KPI efficiencies, then keeping up a strong mix of marketing will help them to separate themselves from their competitors.
What We Have Seen On Facebook
Facebook has been very interesting for our analysts to watch and test. While usage of the Facebook platform has skyrocketed in countries hardest hit by COVID-19, those same countries have contributed to an online-advertising pullback that undercuts results. With the combined additional usage on the platform and the wildly varying advertising strategies, traditional Facebook advertising methods have seen volatile KPIs.
As with Google, Conduit Digital recommends straying from traditional data points on Facebook. Instead, look for ways that your clients can take advantage of the shift in usage. Focus on brand awareness, your clients’ COVID-19 response, and informational tools for consumers.
What Google Says To Do
In order to drive sales, your clients need to seize emerging consumer needs: Bid, Budget, Keyword, & Targeting. Here is how Google recommends adjusting your campaigns in search.
Adjust Unused Budget In The Account To Capture High Traffic Campaigns
Get more traffic by moving unused budgets to the ads that need it most. This helps to avoid losing potential traffic of where the demand is. Check the “Move unused budget” recommendations from Optimization Score for more actionable details tailor to your account.
Leverage Automated Bid Strategy To Achieve Your Current Business Goals
Your business goal might change as online traffic presence becomes more important, using Google’s auction-time signals help you to bid more effectively for your main business goal.
Activate Dynamic Search Ads
Show your ads on searches relevant to the business that you may be missing with your keyword-based ad groups. It is important to get incremental traffic and discover new keywords especially the online searching queries behavior might be different during this time.
Use Keywords Identification To Show Your Ads More Often To People Searching For What Your Business Offers
Check “Add new keywords” recommendations in Optimization Score, analyze your previous keyword performance to keep performing terms, and explore search term reports to identify high potential keywords.
Raise Your Budget Where There Is Demand
Fixing your limited by-budget campaigns can help you not to miss out on more potential traffic which could lead to potential online/offline sales. Check the “Raise your budgets” and “Raise your budgets for upcoming traffic increases” recommendations from Optimization Score.
Empower Customer To Take Action With Your Ad Copies
Be creative with your ad copies messaging for a unique selling point, i.e. special promotion, free delivery, next day delivery, in-store discount.
Leverage Sitelink Extension To Make Your Ad Stands Out And Be Helpful
Take people to specific pages on your site i.e. a specific product, store hours, specific online stores, store location.
Leverage Promotion Extension To Show Special Sales And Offer With Your Ads
It makes your offer stand out so potential customers can spot great deals and generate new sales for your business.
Activate Responsive Search Ad To Show More Relevant Messages To Your Customer
By adapting your ad’s content to more closely match potential customers’ search terms, responsive search ads may improve your campaign’s performance.
If you want more PPC tips and tricks to effectively run your campaign, our expert analysts wrote an extensive guide to help you crush your next ad campaign.
The Issue With Lead Quality
Lead qualification has become a huge issue for many businesses during COVID-19. With spikes and surges in volatile online activity, it can be tough for your clients to know they are reaching the most qualified leads and not wasting their precious ad spend budgets.
It is important to work closely with your clients to ensure they are prepared on their end to reach the right customers. The good news is that API integration and tracking has become much more streamlined, enabling you to easily assist your clients in setting them up with the tools they need for success.
Conclusion
Now is the perfect time to help your clients set themselves up for post-COVID-19 success. By following these tips from Google and Conduit Digital, you can ensure your agency is in a position to grow revenue for you and your clients. Remember to focus on data points that matter during this time and stray away from those that might be more volatile.
Understand that Facebook and Google are still two of the best tools available for helping your clients reach their goals. Focus on qualified leads, track and measure every ad encounter, and shift goals to reflect ROI, ROAS, and CLV.
By following these tips from Google and Conduit Digital, you will set up your agency and your clients for success. For more assistance on running your clients’ PPC ad campaigns during this crisis, contact Conduit Digital today to see how a White Label Pay Per Click Partner will be there to help you during this difficult time.
