Holiday success isn’t built during Cyber Week, and if your fall search strategy doesn’t begin until Labor Day, you’re already behind!
The reality is: consumers don’t suddenly start searching when the season changes. They begin researching, comparing, and planning weeks earlier. That means your campaigns should be ready before demand peaks.
As you prepare, here are areas worth reviewing now:
✅ Refresh seasonal ad copy and landing pages before search volume increases.
✅ Build fall-focused Performance Max asset groups or campaigns early so Google’s AI has time to learn and optimize before peak demand.
✅ Review historical search trends to identify when your categories typically begin to accelerate. Let the data shape your timing instead of reacting to traffic spikes.
✅ Make sure promotions, Merchant Center feeds, product imagery, pricing, inventory availability, and product data are accurate before launch. As Google continues to invest in AI-powered Shopping experiences, complete and accurate product data will play an even greater role in helping shoppers discover your products.
✅ Evaluate budgets now. If last year’s performance showed strong seasonal returns, plan for that demand instead of chasing it once competition increases.
✅ Implement Google Tag Gateway. As privacy regulations continue to evolve, improving the quality of your measurement is more important than ever. Google reports that advertisers implementing Google Tag Gateway have seen an average 14% uplift in measurement signals, helping improve conversion tracking and giving Smart Bidding and Performance Max stronger data to optimize against.
✅ Test now so you’re ready for Google’s latest AI innovations, including AI Max for Search and Smart Bidding Exploration. Advertisers testing AI Max for Search saw an average 7% increase in conversions or conversion value at a similar CPA or ROAS, reinforcing the value of strong first-party data and reliable conversion signals.
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What are you doing today to prepare your search strategy for the holiday season? We’re happy to have our digital experts take a look and tailor opportunities for you. Contact us HERE.
