Black Friday Google Ads Guide

The Black Friday shopping season in the fourth quarter of each year is the most important revenue battlefield for cross-border sellers. A successful Black Friday promotion can often generate more than 30% of the annual sales. Last year, a leading e-commerce team used this method to generate $94 million in sales through Google advertising channels alone in Q4. This hard-won practical experience is shared in full today:

Set clear goals – Analyze data from previous years for reference (focus on conversion rate and changes in average order value) – Study competing product launch strategies (use Auction Insights to view budget and ranking trends) – Set specific performance goals (it is recommended to set KPIs by time period, such as warm-up period/explosion period/end period) – Establish daily monitoring indicators (ROAS, exposure share, conversion cost, etc.)
Warm up in advance – Start early and warm up slowly (it is recommended to start 20-30 days in advance) – Cultivate brand awareness (Discovery Ads can be used to increase reach) – Accumulate target audiences (set visitor pixels and event tracking) – Prepare for the outbreak period (establish an independent warm-up period audience pool) – Test different creative directions (find the best creative for the main battle period)
Product selection strategy – Mainly promote popular products (top 20% conversion rate in the past 30 days) – Focus on high-profit products (products with a profit margin of more than 30%) – Avoid risky testing of new products (unless there is a strong market demand expectation) – Prepare differentiated product combinations (covering high, medium and low price points) – Pay attention to inventory depth (hot-selling products should have at least 3 times the daily inventory)
Play with practical discount combination plans: – Buy more, get more gifts (such as buy 2 get 1 free, outstanding cost performance) – Send exquisite gifts (choose to reach the customer unit price threshold) – Package discounts (match complementary products to increase customer unit price) – Free shipping (thresholds can be set to increase conversion) – Hot products at low prices (large profits but ensure profitability) – Flash sales (limited time and limited quantity, creating a sense of scarcity) [Publication skills]
Copy adjustment – Write a festive feeling (incorporate words such as “Black Friday” and “Thanksgiving Season”) – The discount should be eye-catching (use percentages and specific numbers) – Highlight selling points (product core value + limited time discount) – Emphasize scarcity (limited quantity, countdown and other elements) – Add social proof (number of good reviews, sales, etc.)
Product promotion – Title with festive atmosphere (update product feed) – Do a good job of event topics (independent Black Friday, Thanksgiving Season, etc.) Friday Zone) – Classification delivery management (grouping by profit margin) – Reasonable allocation of expenses (70% budget for key products) – Setting smart bidding (selecting target ROAS strategy)
Three price strategy axes: – Limited time special offer (set specific end time) – Large discount (40% is competitive) – Shopping cart discount (gift/stacked coupons for full amount) – Step discount (stimulate high unit price transaction) – Member exclusive (improve loyalty)
Focus on advertising format: – Discount display (highlight discount strength) – Quick link (guide to activity zone) – Direct price access (display discount price) – Countdown extension (create a sense of urgency) – Image extension (display hot-selling products) [Budget control]
Delivery budget – Focus on hot products (accounting for 60-70% of the total budget) – Appropriately increase cost expectations (reserve 30% floating space) – Adjust budget at any time (check every 4 hours) – Set smart bidding (target ROAS is recommended to reduce by 20%) – Reserve a budget for explosive sales (prepare 50% more than usual)
Seize the market – Bid for competitor brand words (select major competitors) – Accurately target competitor users (use Similar Audiences) – Reserve a budget for explosive sales (set a separate budget pool) – Differentiated selling points (highlight your own advantages) – Real-time competition monitoring (pay attention to competitor bidding strategies)
Brand word strategy – Separate management of brand words (independent advertising plan) – Control budget cap (set automatic adjustment) – Defend against competitor seizure (increase bid) – Expand related words (brand + event keywords) – Automatic bidding (maximise clicks) [Event support]
Operational guarantee – Sufficient inventory (3 times the reserve of hot-selling products) – Prepare contingency plans (deal with out-of-stock and website crashes) – Negotiate the supply chain (confirm expedited replenishment channels) – Ensure logistics (at least 2 express delivery options) – Customer service staff (increase 50% staff)
Secondary conversion – Set up backup activities (off-peak discounts) – Follow up with hesitant users (shopping cart abandonment recall, email/text message recall) – timely push discounts (personalized discounts) – Extend the promotion period (give hesitant users a chance) – Member exclusive (special discounts for old customers)
Flexible adjustment – Make good use of Google seasonal tools (set peak periods) – Predict conversion fluctuations (based on historical data) – Intelligently adjust bids (coordinate with traffic changes) – Keyword expansion (keep up with search trends) – Real-time bidding adjustments (based on conversion performance) Operation points: 1. Prepare one month in advance (list a detailed timetable) 2. Each link should be detailed (responsibility assigned to individuals) 3. Real-time monitoring (set up early warning mechanisms) 4. Prepare emergency plans (all possible situations) 5. Timely analysis and optimization (daily review)