Using Sponsored Advertising for Small Business Saturday

One of the best things about AdWords is that it lets the little guys compete directly with the big guys. Obviously there are limitations, but putting a valiant effort towards a small campaign can yield a huge return-on-investment. Here are some tips for getting a campaign up and running for Small Business Saturday...and you can even have it up and running today. The next few days there will be fierce competition in the online retail space, so your Small Business Saturday campaign is going to be small and incredibly targeted.

1. You probably already have $100 or $150 gift cards for AdWords lying around...use one. We have some to give out if you are in dire need.
2. Determine what you want to spend. This is a very short campaign, so be sure to set a realistic budget that will allow for an actual return.
3. Create your campaign and set the daily budget to whatever your number was for number 2 divided by the amount of days the campaign is set to run. Example...a $300 budget over the course of 2 days would yield a daily budget of $150.00...make sense?
4. Create your ad groups. Your campaign is Small Business Saturday, your ad groups should be more specific so that you can serve ads related to the keywords. The keywords in your ad group should be closely related to each other, then those should be closely related to your ad copy and landing page.
5. Build out your keyword list. Remember, small campaign, don't bid on terms that will eliminate your budget such as "black friday deals". The purpose of your campaign is to get people through your doors on Small Business Saturday. Here are some example keywords.
   • local small business Saturday sales
   • small business saturday sale in name of your town
   • local small business deals
   • local small business sales
   • local stores open on small business saturday
   • shopping in name of your town
6. Write your ad copy. Remember your goal...get people through the doors. Consider language using, "Support Local Business", "Visit us on Small Business Saturday", "Small Business Saturday Deals Right Here in Name of your Town"
7. Choose your landing page. Send visitors to something related to the ad...if you can create a new page that is all about the sales you are able to offer, do it. These people might already be out-and-about, so make it mobile friendly. Address with link to directions, clickable phone number.
8. Set up your Geographic targeting under settings. Your ad should only be shown to people within the realistic shopping radius of your facility. Reminder, you are trying to get people through your doors not compete with Amazon for online sales.
9. You are ready to launch. Make sure you are at your store on-time with a huge smile. Don't forget to wish everyone a happy holiday!

There you go...the basic Small Business Saturday AdWords campaign. If you don't have time to get to work on Thanksgiving day, bookmark this, come back and get set up Friday morning! Questions? Feel free to email us info[at]protocol80.com...our office is closed on the 28th and 29th, but we'll always have technology with us.

Too short of notice? It's not too late to get something for the rest of the shopping season. Give us a call at 814.596.0020 and download our PPC ebook for more tips!

Happy Thanksgiving!