3 Easy Steps to a Valentine’s Day Search Campaign You’ll Love
Valentine's Day is right around the corner and it's not too late to prepare your search marketing campaign.
Valentine's Day is right around the corner and it's not too late to prepare your search marketing campaign.
Love has been said to make the world go ’round and has inspired innumerable songs, poems, movies, and art. This time of year, the holiday devoted to love is impossible to escape, and while The Beatles famously sang that “money can’t buy me love,” the amount of money spent each February 14 would suggest otherwise. Yes, Valentine’s Day is just around the corner, and with this particular holiday, it’s never too late to get your search campaign in order.
There’s a reason that seemingly hours after the New Year begins, Valentine’s Day is already lining the aisles of retail shops everywhere. February 14 is a big day for retailers. According to the National Retail Federation’s Monthly Consumer Survey, in 2014, all of the candy, cards, and flowers added up to more than $17 billion.
A declaration of love alone doesn’t do the trick. According to American Express Spending & Saving Tracker, 85 percent of couples and 45 percent of single people plan to spend on Valentine’s Day. And these gifts of love are not for singles and couples alone. Nowadays, consumers are shopping for family members, their kids, friends, classmates, teachers – even their pets.
Valentine’s Day is no longer just a “Hallmark Holiday.” Sure, greeting cards, candy, and flowers are the top three items bought each year, but Bing Ads research shows that gifts like a dinner out, jewelry, and clothing rank right up there.
So as an advertiser, how do you make sure you’re ready? Here are three tips for online advertising success in February:
While searching for love can take years, searching for a Valentine’s Day gift occurs at the very last minute. Half of all transactions take place within one week of Valentine’s Dat. In fact, according to Experian Marketing, 90 percent of gifts are purchased within three weeks of Valentine’s Day, and 51 percent of gifts are purchased within one week of Valentine’s Day.
As with love, timing your Valentine’s Day ads is everything. Bing Ads research shows that searches spike the week of Valentine’s Day, and then see a last-minute surge right before the day itself.
More specifically, last-minute searches tend to be for non-perishable items, like greeting cards, while flowers and chocolates see spikes just a few days before. Romantic getaways or evenings out take a bit more planning, and see search spikes earlier in the month.
Advertisers should include “delivery date” and “guaranteed delivery by” in ad copy, so searchers can plan accordingly and make sure they get their gifts on time.
The most popular Valentine’s Day searches are “cards,” “flowers,” and “jewelry,” while the most expensive cost per clicks (CPCs) go to flower-related searches, followed closely by chocolates.
For each top category, our analysis shows the best ad combinations that can help you drive the highest click-through rate. For example, it’s imperative that gifting-related keywords use “delivery date” or “percentage off” in the ad copy. And for jewelry specifically, which can be expensive, using “discount” or “pricing” that suggests a good deal is smart.
When it comes to search advertising for last-minute-giving Valentine’s Day, it’s never too late to get started. If you, like the majority of shoppers on Valentine’s Day, wait until the last minute, just make sure you time your ads accordingly and choose the right words to ensure the best click-through rate. A great way to start is to test out some of our ad copy combinations – it’s fast and easy to create a Valentine’s Day search campaign you’re sure to love.