How has Coronavirus impacted Google Ads metrics?

COVID-19 has become a global event affecting public health and the economy; of course the advertising market is no stranger to this new situation. We cannot, nor should we stop communicating. It is true that brands must be able to adapt to change, to be empathetic, to be supportive of society, and they must also count on it. But how is COVID-19 impacting metrics in Google Ads? And what is the most affected sector?

How has COVID-19 impacted Google Ads metrics?

The effects of the coronavirus are increasingly present in our daily lives. In addition to purely social and health aspects, the economy is also beginning to suffer the first blows. Reduced activities, suspended public services and industrial slowdown. Not to mention public events and sector fairs, which are postponed or even canceled for security reasons.

According to Google, “since the first week of February, search interest in coronavirus increased by + 260% worldwide”. While spikes in search trends are common during events of this scale, there have also been sudden increases in traffic to products and related topics as a direct response to the pandemic.

In addition to making it easier for people to learn more about symptoms, information about vaccines and travel advisories, Google is removing any content on YouTube that seeks to prevent coronavirus instead of seeking medical treatment, and is also blocking all ads that take advantage of the coronavirus.

As a result, the pandemic and the resulting market changes will affect accounts.

Here are a few strategies to prepare for and adjust:

1- Review the account

It's important to stay aware of how changing markets can affect your search and social ad accounts, from changes in click and impression volumes to costs and conversions.

The search online/paid reflects the market, it is not the market itself. So, if people's search trends have gone the other way right now and endodontic treatment or the Gucci skirt from the latest collection are no longer in the mind, with good reason, that is a reality and we must act in this regard. Check for drops in traffic (clicks and impressions) in Google Analytics and Google Ads. Usually, that will indicate that something is happening and will manifest itself in a drop in conversions.

2- Communicate changes

Communicating effectively and efficiently will be the key to maintaining relationships with your customers. In all cases, advertisers must build trust with current and potential customers through proactive communication via email and/or information directly on their site.

3- Adjust the strategy

Many of these changes can be stressful, but the best thing we can do as sellers is to look ahead and calm consumers' nerves to the best of our ability by having clear, concise and accurate messages.

4- Keep checking

Unfortunately, COVID-19 has affected the health and well-being of communities around the world, and keeping communities safe should be our first priority. Many, if not most, companies are already feeling the effects of the virus, and keeping up to date with information is key.

Industries that increased their metrics during COVID-19

• Non-profit organizations
• Health and medical
• Beauty and Personal Care Industry
• Streaming services

Industries with varied metrics during COVID-19

• Real estate
• Home furniture

Industries heavily affected by COVID-19

• sightseeing
• Bars and restaurants

A special note about the travel industry, here's my Guide:

Here are my tips for those who work in the Travel sector with travel companies. I myself am applying them for a client of mine and I hope they can be useful for some of you:

1- Work on the brand

At this time, it is not appropriate to invest in acquisitions, especially on the side of latent demand, both because of uncertainty (When will we be able to travel again?) and out of fear (People have other things in mind).

The objective of these actions is to make our brand perceive as:

- Take part in the collective moment.

- Active in providing support to its users (including morale).

- Committed to building positive communication that can put people at ease.

Good branding work at this stage can allow us to:

• To be remembered by our users/potential customers
• People are not traveling today, but they will travel as soon as possible.
• So, being memorable means increasing the chances of them coming back to you that day.
• Increase brand reputation
• Generate engagement (also known as a personalized and then usable audience) and strengthen the relationship with our users.

2- Don't abandon conversion campaigns completely (but be careful with locations)

If it is true that this is not the time to invest in acquisitions, it is said that we cannot work on conversions anyway.

In my opinion, it's not appropriate to completely “separate” campaigns that work on conversions, especially on the part of conscious demand.

Especially if you can offer attractive money-back guarantees to users.

Clearly, messages must be created. ad hoc and budgets must be adjusted (constantly).

3 - Improve customer service

Since right now there are far more users who need answers than those who want an offer, players in this sector should absolutely focus on strengthening their customer service (even at the expense of marketing if necessary).

To satisfy, protect and reassure the one you had (and/or could have in the future) as a customer in time means making sure that when the situation is resolved, that person will probably return to us.

4 - Work in leadership

Since people are scared and confused by all the information they're receiving right now, helping them clarify the aspects of greatest interest can be a great way to increase our brand leadership.

I'm talking about positioning yourself decisively as authorized sources within your reference market (which is travel, not politics or general information).

What does this mean in practice?

It means, for example, working to keep users updated in a clear and timely manner on the Spanish and global situation related to the possibility of traveling.

This simply means rewriting the frequently asked questions on our website, for example.

5 - Take and maintain control of conversations

It is advisable, in my opinion, to try to take control and moderate the conversations involving our brand in the various channels, whether owned, earned or paid.

This allows us to position our brand, as appropriate, as authorized, present, relational and ready to listen to the needs, fears and needs of its users.

6 - Re-Segmenting and Reprogramming

A limitation often encountered by those involved in digital marketing in the travel industry relates to the segmentation of users.

Many of the companies that operate in the sector have, in fact, most of the time, mailing lists or CRMs that are truly disastrous.

Therefore, my advice is to seize the moment to work on this important and often underestimated aspect.

Organize your mailing lists, tags, tracking, automations, and anything else that can be useful to effectively segment your target audience. This work, when it's time to go, will allow you to intercept your users with personalized messages and offers and not waste your budget.

7 - Optimize everything that can be optimized (and for which you usually don't have time)

Take advantage of the extra time to work on those aspects for which there is never time, but which in reality, although there is no full perception of it, are often crucial to increasing our CR or lowering the CPA.

8 - Get ready to get back on track

When the health emergency ends, one of the strongest desires among people will be to travel again, make up for lost time and travel.

At that point you'll have to be there, ready to harvest everything you've sown in this “dark” period.

How can we help you?

If you need more information, do not hesitate to contact us.