As these query volumes for liquor and wines show, the holiday season is the main time when people search for their tipple of choice.
Three weeks ago the AdWords policy on advertising hard liquor was changed in the UK. Previously, hard alcohol suppliers could only use search advertising to promote their brand. Now, provided that they abide by strict restrictions, advertisers can promote the sale of spirits and liquor on search. Advertising these products on the GDN remains prohibited.
Some interesting facts:
- Liquor and wine queries are up 39% and 33% YoY respectively
- Out of the top 100 drinks related queries within the Liquor category, 60% of the queries were whiskey related and 10% liquer related
- Queries for alcohol are predominantly done for specific brands rather than using generic keywords, indicating a high level of brand loyalty
Like alcohol itself though, these new ads are best enjoyed responsibly and a full list of the new restrictions on alcohol can be found here
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Act Early For Christmas Traffic
The days are becoming progressively shorter and it’s time to vacuum pack your summer clothing to make way for the warm winter woolies. Consumers are beginning their Christmas shopping earlier than ever before. 48% of shoppers buy gifts in September to spread the cost of Christmas shopping.The interest in searches for ‘christmas gifts’ has risen in the UK within the last 90 days. The Christmas shop has opened at Selfridges, putting consumers in the Christmas spirit. Taking all of this into consideration, it is time to start planning your Christmas AdWords Campaigns.
With some great help from our Christmas Site, you will be ready to target your Christmas market effectively and make the most out of this wonderful season.
There are 4 simple steps to guide you through building a successful Christmas Campaign strategy:
1. What is happening in your market?
2. Why this is a huge opportunity for you.
3. How to create Christmas focused Campaigns.
4. When do you need to do it?
Don’t get caught up in the December rush to reach traffic. Act early to ensure the money is jingling and not just the bells this Christmas!
Sunday, July 4, 2010
Retail: Weathering the Storm
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“The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco" ~Mark Twain
Although the nuances of the British weather system have the ability to befuddle even the smartest meteorologist, one can usually expect a colder climate from October to March and hotter weather from May to September.
In the same way, as a retailer, it’s pretty safe to assume that during the winter months more heaters, raincoats and winter boots will be bought, whilst in summer it would be sensible to stock up on air coolers, barbecues and beachwear. In the past month alone, as the mercury rises, Waitrose has reported a 6.1% rise in sales with traditional picnic fare like salads up nearly 30%: great results, but hardly unprecedented. These assumptions are part of staple planning for all retailers, and shape the buying patterns for such seasonal products.
However, as the weather seems to be becoming increasingly unreliable, retailers often have to act fast to climate changes. For example, in 2007 freak stormy weather in June – usually a quiet month for online retailers - saw shoppers buy from the comfort of their homes, rather than brave the appalling weather. Play saw a 33% increase in sales compared the the year before. Stuart Rowe, spokesperson for Play.com said "every year we see a decrease in sales during the summer months as consumers spend their time in their garden, the parks or high street but this year has been a monumental exception"[1].
Likewise, severe snow in January 2010 resulted in pubs and restaurants reporting a like-for-like sales drop of 5% as people stayed at home rather than braving the snow[2]. "With so many city centres feeling more like ghost towns it is perhaps surprising that the figures weren't worse,” said Peter Martin of Peach Factory, which produced the research[3]. At the same time, Pets at Home reported a 70% rise in dog coats, at a time when the product would usually have been on its way out until next Winter. In the same period, John Lewis saw a 1.4% sales drop as snow kept shoppers off the high street. Importantly, online sales rocketed by 56% with comfort food such as frozen chops and tinned beans performing well[4].
Optimisation & SEO Ideas:
- Change your ad text. Signal your customers to the urgency of buying at this time of increased demand with messages like, “While Stocks Last” or “Stock Just in” if you have a plentiful supply.
- Make sure you can fill any holes in your offline product offering online. If you can’t get paddling pools in your store in time, but think you could ship online orders to coincide with a bout of hot weather, make sure you have ads showing. Give realistic delivery times too, or you could be facing returns.
- Prepare your paid search campaigns far in advance wherever possible, to make sure you have established some history and a good quality score on your seasonal product keywords by the time they come into fashion.
- Your ability to restock according to freak weather conditions is crucial, and depends a lot on the quality of your supply chain. Either way, prepare your online campaigns to reflect the situation: if you have something or can get something in stock, prepare the necessary ad text and keywords. In the same way, make sure you’re keeping an eye on products that may have gone out of stock. For example, you don’t want to be paying for clicks on “desk fan” during a heat wave if you have none in stock!
- It sounds ridiculous, but watch the weather forecast! A 10-day one if you can. If sun is predicted, make sure your bbqs, garden furniture and toys, summer apparel is all in stock and well presented on your site and in your advertising campaigns. If it’s set to rain or be very cold (which, let’s face it, is much more common in the UK!), remember that people will be less likely to leave the house, so products like DVDs, Books, CDs and Homeware may be more in demand, especially if long periods of bad weather are predicted.
- Remember, freak weather conditions trigger unusual buying patterns, which may skew your ordinary sales figures. People buying paddling pools in a sudden April heat wave, for example, are simply moving their usual “June purchase” a few months forward. Don’t be alarmed then, if your usual peak seasons for particular products are not as great. As the Greenlight white paper on weather and retail says, “All these purchases would have still been made, but were brought forward or postponed due to weather abnormalities”[5].
[1]Fashion United, 4th July 2007
[2]“Like-for-like sales sink 5% under January snow”, Peach Report, 14 Feb 2010
[3]“Coffer Peach Business Tracker January 2010 figures - Pub and restaurant groups count cost of January blizzards”, KPMG, Jan 2010
[4]“Pets at Home enjoys winter sales boost with dog coats”, Guardian 15th January 2010
[5]Greenlight White Paper:”The effects of weather on Internet retail sales”
Friday, May 28, 2010
Getting Ready for Father’s Day 2010
Photo courtesy of PhotoXpress.com
As Father's Day approaches on June 20th, you might have already thought about buying the card, purchasing the new golf clubs and maybe even some of his favourite chocolates. All for your special Dad. Your unique one-of-a-kind Dad. That’s right, just like your Dad is so unique, like all of the hundreds and thousands of fathers out there who people are trying to find special gifts for.
Looking back, consumers have historically spent around ₤63.67[1] on Father’s Day. Father’s day isn’t just for Dads however. Many gifts each year are given to husbands, sons and grandfathers on the day. For this reason it is important to segment and target each specific audience. Up to 20% of consumers are purchasing online for Father’s Day[1] so it is important to segment each category the consumer might be making their purchase for.
Try segmenting each category by ad group, ensuring the keywords and ad text are specific to Grandads, Dads, Sons and Husbands. Keep in mind gifts for the whole Father’s Day range from cards, music, chocolate and televisions to holidays.
According to an NRF report 2009 [1], Father’s day saw an increase in sales on greetings cards, clothing, book and cds, electronics, personal care, sporting goods and home improvement products. From looking at those search terms in Insights for Search, there have been rising searches over the last 30 days, in particular within electronics.
Other popular terms according to Insights for Search are "fathers day gifts", "fathers day cards", "fathers day presents" and "fathers day ideas".
Quick Tip: Graduations happen all year round from Universities all over the country. This time of year, many medical grads are graduating and what a perfect time for a special gift. So why not incorporate your display image ads with both ‘Dads & Grads’ referencing.
[1]Statistics and Figures from Emarketer
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