- Test, test, test: Slow quarters are a great time to test and iterate.
- Prepare for periods of peak traffic, like the Q4 retail season, by optimizing now. Test new ad groups, clean up keyword lists, and get in front of new audiences with content network campaigns.
- Try products like Google's Website Optimizer to find the most optimal website design or Google Analytics to gain insight into how users interact with your site.
- Be prepared: By staying on top of industry news and trends, you'll know when slow periods are ahead and you can plan accordingly.
- Forecast quarterly budgets and make sure you've allocated your resources correctly.
- When creating the industry calendar that I described last time, highlight periods of potential slow growth. Develop a plan for those weeks or months to make sure that you're using the time to improve campaign performance.
- Room to grow: Review your client's account and focus on areas that may have growth prospects.
- For example, if your client offers a variety of loan types, you may find that consumers are currently expressing more interest in student loans than they are in home loans.
- Use Google Trends to help you identify markets that are expanding based on search volume.
- Interest now can mean sales later: Examine the buying cycle.
- In some industries, like business-to-business tech purchasing, the buying cycle is long, and has a predictable yearly cycle. Even if customers aren't converting on their clicks immediately, they may be doing research in order to plan for future purchases. Target these prospective consumers with non-branded search keywords and content network campaigns so they know where to turn when they're ready to buy.
Informed and industrious, volume 2
Seasonal dips happen in nearly every industry, and a slow quarter can be a great time to shift gears and take more time to fine-tune your clients' accounts. Read on for some of my top suggestions for making the most of a lull in traffic.
