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The Search Marketing Advisor Newsletter Article:
December 2009, Volume 8, Issue 12

search engine marketing

Paid Search: 4 Tips to Market Short Term Promotions

By Ashley Minor, Search Marketing Specialist, iProspect

With less than ten shopping days left, the 2009 holiday season is in hi-gear as retailers leverage paid search to compete for consumers' attention (and wallets). But no matter what your peak season is, paid search can help you market short-term promotions and capitalize on the gains.

Savvy marketers know that paid search is a great channel for reaching a large audience of active consumers. Not only can it help you reach new customers, but it can also help build brand awareness and generate incremental sales. But those benefits don't just apply to major campaigns initiatives. They hold true whether your promotion is running for two-days or two months. Considering that, marketers should tap into paid search for short-term promotions.

For example, a computer retailer may want to run a week-long promotion offering $100 off laptops. By creating a paid search campaign to support this deal, they could gain additional conversions, and perhaps steal potential customers from a competitor. In the process, the retailer is also likely to strengthen their brand perception in the marketplace.

Below are four tips to help you tap into paid search for short-term initiatives:
  1. Select the right deals to promote: Choose promotions that could have the biggest impact on performance. Starting with initiatives for your most popular products is a great place to begin. If a product typically performs well, a special short term promotion will probably generate incremental growth. Conversely, promoting a great deal or low price on a less popular product will likely have little impact on the bottom line.


  2. Build your keyword list: Include a mix of both general and specific keywords built around the product on promotion. Bidding on broader keywords will allow you to capture more search volume and get more eyeballs on your brand and promotion. Specific, long-tail keywords will help you capture those searchers who are more ready to purchase. These keywords often have higher conversion rates and generate stronger ROIs but have lower search volume.


  3. Reel them in with compelling ad copy: Include price points and percentages in your ad copy as doing so can lead to higher click through rates (CTR). In addition, alert the searcher about auxiliary deals, free gifts, or special rewards. Lastly, create a sense of urgency. If your promotion ends in two days, tell the searcher that they need to act quickly to take advantage of the deal.


  4. Measure your success: While conversions and ROI are good metrics to evaluate, don't discredit the value of other metrics including CTR, click volume, and conversion rate. If a promotional campaign aided in generating an additional 1,000 clicks, that could be 1,000 potential customers which you've reached and who may come back to purchase. Leverage all findings to perfect future promotional campaigns and your other paid search initiatives.
Paid search is the ideal tactic to market short-term promotions. It will help you generate additional sales, build brand awareness, and spark new ideas for future campaigns.

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