Winning Black Friday Cyber Monday BFCM Google Ads Strategy

In this blog post, I’ll share the exact Google Ads strategy we use at Growth My Marketing Agency to scale our e-commerce brands during the crucial Black Friday Cyber Monday (BFCM) period in Q4. This time of year generates a massive amount of revenue for brands, so it’s essential to get our approach right.

Why the Same Strategy Works

Interestingly, our strategy remains consistent with our Q4 approach. You might wonder why we don’t create new campaigns specifically for BFCM. The reason is simple: new Performance Max (PMAX) campaigns require a 4 to 6-week learning phase to reach optimal performance. If we were to launch new campaigns for BFCM, they wouldn’t perform at their best during such a short sales window.

Instead, we make targeted adjustments to existing campaigns, which allows us to avoid the performance lag associated with new campaigns. After BFCM, we can also implement a data exclusion to erase any memory of this busy period, keeping our ongoing Q4 campaigns on track.

Key Campaign Changes

Now, let’s dive into the specific changes we’ll make:

Seasonality Adjustments

‍
We will implement two seasonality adjustments in our Google Ads account:

1. One for budget increases to capture the higher demand.
2. Another for anticipated increases in conversion rates.

How to Set Seasonality Adjustments

‍
Navigate to the “Tools” section, find “Adjustments,” and input your expected changes for both budget and conversion rates.

Ad Copy Adjustments

‍
Update your ad copy to highlight BFCM offers. For search campaigns, I recommend creating new ads that can easily be toggled on and off. For PMAX campaigns, modify the existing ad copy to focus on BFCM deals.
Use fewer headlines and descriptions—about five headlines, two long headlines, and two descriptions—to minimize testing time.

‍
Downloading Existing Ad Copy

‍
Before making changes, download your existing ad copy from Google Ads Editor to ensure you can revert post-BFCM.

Visuals

‍
Update your PMAX images and videos to reflect BFCM promotions. Ensure your visuals include lifestyle images and graphics that showcase your deals.

Site Links and Extensions

‍
Update site links, callouts, and price extensions to emphasize your BFCM offers, enhancing your ad visibility and click-through rates.

Data Exclusion

‍
After BFCM, use a data exclusion to prevent this busy period from skewing the performance of your existing campaigns. This helps maintain consistent performance throughout Q4.
To add a data exclusion, go back to the “Adjustments” section and input the BFCM dates.

Choosing Offers

Decide on your promotional strategy—whether it’s specific product discounts, sitewide sales, or bundle offers. Our most successful approach is to offer sitewide discounts, using price drops set directly in Shopify.

Aim for at least a 25% discount to remain competitive during this heavily price-driven shopping period. Note that free shipping doesn’t count as a BFCM offer.

Final Thoughts

In summary, our BFCM strategy focuses on optimizing existing campaigns rather than launching new ones. Adjust your seasonality settings, ad copy, and visuals, and implement data exclusions post-BFCM for the best results.

If you’re an e-commerce brand looking for assistance in running your Google Ads, feel free to reach out. Click the link for schedule a call, and we’d love to help you improve your performance!