Every summer, most companies experience a traditional decrease in sales and enquiries (conversions), and some are at a loss to explain what’s happening. Conversion rates dip, CPA’s rise and AdWords performance become more erratic: These are just some of the symptoms of the summer low season. Your PPC management company should be well aware of this and if they’re not, then give us a call!
Don’t worry! A seasonal decrease is normal in the digital industry due to most of us taking their holidays during the kids holiday – I know I will be!
Think abut it, it’s estimated 58% of Brits will go on holiday this summer and that means less people buying online, at work in general and less money to spend thanks to the price of holidays (especially during the kids holidays, grrr!).
Why hot weather gives typical bad online sales performance
It’s pretty logically really: When it’s nice outside, we’re outside or on holiday and not at home shopping online. In simple terms, there are much less of us at our desks or shopping online and given the cost of a typical family holiday, most of us have less willing to spend on unnecessary items
What should I do during this seasonal low?
This chart represents a typical yearly trend for most businesses throughout the year.
Firstly, accept that it’s a seasonal trend and come September, things are going to pick up without you having to do anything.
Secondly, for PPC advertisers especially, summer is a great time to try new ideas such as run new experiments with ads, try new keywords. Also, keep an eye on mobile, mobile sales will happen so ensure your site is mobile friendly and be working as it should. In other words, use this time to prepare for the final part of the year when things usually pick up.
Summary
Whatever you do, don’t worry or panic. There is no point making sweeping changes to your PPC account (or any online ad campaign). Seasonality is seasonality; you can’t escape it so don’t extend it by making knee-jerk reactions to try and boost sales, you will likely make things much worse.
If you want to be productive, start planning for the surge in search volume between September and December. Planning for Christmas during the seasonal low is a very smart way to spend your time.
