5 Ways to Adjust Your PPC Strategy During a Recession

With a possible economic downturn on everyone’s mind, many business owners wonder if they still need a PPC strategy during a recession. 

Many competitors will pause their marketing campaigns out of fear, but that does not mean you have to. After all, you still need leads (probably more than ever), right?

Pausing your PPC marketing can disrupt any momentum you have already built, and your competitors who continue with marketing will gain a competitive edge and take the leads you’re leaving on the table.

You need PPC now more than ever because high-intent leads are necessary to close sales.

Instead of completely pausing your campaign, think about shifting your strategy a bit. All it takes is being aware of ways to optimize your campaigns to reduce your spend and cost per lead to maximize your budget.

Let’s look at how you can adjust your PPC strategy during a recession:

1. Continue with Any High-Converting Campaigns

If your campaigns generate plenty of leads at a reasonable cost per lead, don’t stop them! If it’s not broken, don’t fix it. 

Another big mistake that you want to avoid is pausing and unpausing your campaigns frequently. Why? This disrupts data flow and it can take some time to pick up the momentum again. Also, depending on your bid strategy, you may need to go into another round of a “learning phase” if you pause and/or make some tweaks to a campaign that’s already doing well. This can lead to your ads losing visibility which decreases traffic and lead volume.

However, it is the perfect time to take a closer look at what is not producing leads and “trim the fat.” Pause any low-converting, high-spend Google ads campaign. Better yet, drill down to the keywords and see what’s converting and what’s not. Granularity will be key to finding ways to save and reallocate budget. 

Think of it like looking through your credit card bill and canceling pesky subscriptions that are driving up your expenses!

2. Monitor Performance Closely 

If you have yet to monitor campaign performance closely, the best time to start is now. 

PPC campaigns do not perform well with a long-term “set it and forget it” approach; it requires constant monitoring and adjusting. During a recession, you will need to monitor your ads even closer to get the most out of your ad spend. For example, this may mean switching from an automated bidding strategy to a manual one if things are looking out of control. And yes, manual bidding is still a thing in 2023!

It’s also critical to monitor keyword trends and monthly search volumes. Keywords that were not popular before may increase search volume, and you can capitalize on them. This strategy is an excellent way to be proactive instead of reactive to changing consumer behavior.

Look at what search terms are being used to find your ads. Are there any irrelevant terms? Add those as negative keywords to avoid spending on wasted clicks.

3. Review Messaging 

Your target customers may have different pain points during a recession, so this is an excellent time to take another look at your responsive search ads and landing page content. You may not need a complete overhaul, but you have to make adjustments if pain points have changed. 

If you are a residential roofing company, you may want to highlight your financing options if that’s available. You can also mention your reputation as a trustworthy roofer or say that a new roof is a long-term investment that will increase the home’s value in the long run. Think of any current customer objections and integrate that into your copy

It’s also helpful to see if your competitors are promoting new offers during the recession or if they stopped marketing altogether. This can help you brainstorm gaps that have been left, and you can add that to your messaging.

4. Adjust Your Ad Schedule

Do you typically get most of your leads after 12 PM? Are there fewer impressions and clicks in the mornings? Turning off ads during times of the day with slow traffic and fewer clicks can help you save money! In the online advertising world, this is called dayparting.

You can adjust your ad schedule at any time. Just look at the data from the last two to three months to determine when your leads are coming in. If you have been running your ads 24/7 or attempting to generate more leads by bidding during specific times of day, consider pulling that back and shortening that window. Monitor the performance over the next few weeks if you make any changes. If there are fewer leads, then consider reversing your changes.

Remember, every PPC campaign is unique and built around who you are targeting. Testing and monitoring are critical to success and continuing PPC during a recession.

5. Focus on Increasing Conversion Rates

Take a closer look at how you can improve conversion rates. This allows you to continue your PPC campaign with your current budget, but you are making adjustments to convert more of those clicks into leads. Look at keywords that are already yielding strong conversion rates and allocate more budget to those.

Additionally, you can improve your conversion rates by improving your landing page experience. Follow best practices such as implementing a mobile-friendly page, strong call-to-actions, and customer testimonials. If you make any changes, make sure to A/B test it against the previous landing page to measure the increase in conversion rates.

You can also add a chat feature to your landing page. Quick responses can increase your chances of converting that click into a lead. However, ensure that someone monitors the chat as unresponsiveness can drive potential customers away.

If you have an offer, try testing a new one to reduce friction. It gives price-sensitive customers a more significant incentive to choose you over competitors. Again, you must measure your conversion rates before and after the new offer.

However, make one change at a time. By isolating changes, you can clearly see how it changes the performance.

Be Proactive, Not Reactive With Your PPC Strategy During a Recession.

Your PPC strategy should be viewed as a way to help sustain your business through a recession. There is no one-size-fits-all strategy for PPC, so be proactive regarding campaign management and use data when you make additional optimization adjustments.