2 February 2021

The Three ‘Paid Search’ Questions to ask this month

In this new series from Varn, we will be asking three vital questions each month all about ‘Paid Search’. We are sure these monthly questions will help you think about how you can improve and optimise your advertising.

Question 1 – Who is your Audience?

This should always be one of the first questions to answer at the beginning of a paid search campaign. What many advertisers and agencies forget is that you need to keep asking this question again and again. As we know more than ever before, everything changes…audiences change and people’s needs change. Before the 2020 pandemic, supermarket deliveries were often an occasional convenience for most people and an essential service to a small proportion of the UK population. In 2020, we all wanted a slot and they were literal lifelines for many. The supermarkets that could deliver, found that their current operation, simply could not cope with the new audience and consequent surge in demand.

So do keep track of how often you look at your website, your product listings and ask yourself the question about who is interested and also who isn’t engaged by your current campaigns. 

• Do you need to find a new audience? 
• Do you need to shift your budget to a different platform to move with your customers? 
• Is this audience on Instagram or have they stopped using Facebook?

Question 2 – Have you checked your Conversions lately?

With many websites now focusing more on online sales and ecommerce, it would be easy to forget that these are not the only source of conversions on your website. It is worth checking regularly that you are still receiving contact forms, telephone calls, and emails from customers and potential customers. Some of these should be coming from organic listings, but some should be coming from your Paid Search Campaigns too. 

• Ask yourself are conversions up or down on last year? 
• Should our contact form be easier to fill out?

Question 3 – When was the last time you changed your advert content?

This can be a very good idea as a new year begins, as your copy might refer to ‘24 Years of Experience’ or ‘Hottest Product in 2020’. Regular reviews of your ad content, copy and images can breathe new life into a declining campaign. It also prompts Google to review the advert compared to the landing page and its relevance to your customers’ searches. 

If you need any help looking for new audiences, reviewing your conversions or refreshing your advert content, let the team at Varn know and we will get on it so that 2021 doesn’t feel like 2020 all over again.