Budgeting and Planning for a Big Win

Q4 is the biggest time of the year for nearly all retail businesses. There is a huge increase in shoppers and their likelihood to convert.  During the holidays, it costs more to get to those customers, especially in your paid search campaign. Many businesses will be putting more money against their marketing campaigns, and it takes a little planning and research to decide when the best time to spend it is.

The holiday shopping season generally starts mid-October, although in the ecommerce world, it’s still a little early. During the month of October, focus and budget should be put  towards getting in front of customers. Let them see your brand and products, and get them thinking about purchasing from you when they do their gift shopping. October is a big investment month online, as this is the point where shoppers can be influenced. Consider spending 15-30% of your Q4 budget in October, dependant on promotions and other programs you may have going on.

November is where the competition starts to heat up in the paid search world. The beginning of the month is still the beginning of the conversion rate climb, although there will be more people purchasing at this time than earlier in the year. This is a great time to start experimenting with more generic, category level keywords if you don’t already run them. As you approach the end of the month, particularly Black Friday, both CPC and conversion rate will increase substantially, and you’re in the official online holiday shopping season. Consider spending 25-40% of your Q4 budget in November, very heavily weighted towards the last week of the month.

December is when all that early investing pays off. The customers that you haven’t converted already are still out there, and now it’s crunch time for them. With time running out, inventories running low, and the earlier connection with your brand in their head, it’s the perfect time to make the sale. Budgets should be non-existent, and campaigns should be allowed to spend freely. To control how much is spent, focus on keyword bids instead to maximize your clicks, and leverage the budgets as a safety to prevent a case of extreme overspending. Consider spending 30-45% of your Q4 budget in December, very heavily weighted to the beginning of the month, staying high until your shipping cut off dates.

Tailoring a budget specific to other programs your business is running is critical. A successful paid search campaign during Q4, as well as any other part of the year, takes heavy consideration on the other marketing channels. Budgets should be adjusted week to week based on overall marketing schedules, and any other factors that may change user’s behavior or demand. When budgeting for Q4 this time around, a big win comes after a great plan, and now is the time to tie up any loose ends and finalize that plan.