Managing Search Ads in response to COVID-19

• Use ad scheduling to control the days and times when your ads appear.
• Proactively communicate any business changes to your users–such as reduced hours of operation–by updating your Google My Business page.
• Add a new pinned asset to your responsive search ads that highlights changes to business hours or shipping time updates.
• For Search Ads 360 users, consider using an inventory feed to generate and manage Search campaigns, ad groups, text ads, keywords, and sitelinks. As your inventory data updates, Search Ads 360 inventory management will update these generated campaigns and other items.
• Review products and services that are affected by demand issues and adjust your campaigns accordingly. For example, mark online or local products as “out of stock” across channels if you’re unsure of real-time inventory or restocking times, and pause corresponding ads as needed.

• Changing patterns of demand means some campaigns may perform better than others. This may require you to optimize your budget allocation. Use Recommendations, shared budgets, Performance Planner, and other tools to efficiently allocate your budgets.
• For Search Ads 360 users, use budget management to plan, report on budget targets, and determine optimal budget allocation across budget groups.

• Use Smart Bidding to bid at auction-time and query-level, and automatically react to changes in the market.
• For Target CPA and Target ROAS bid strategies, adjust your cost per acquisition and return on ad spend targets as needed to manage spend and meet your goals.
• Maximize conversions and Maximize conversion value campaigns will aim to maximize conversions and conversion value within your budget. Use this budget to indicate your new spend goals.
• If you have similar goals across campaigns, consider combining a portfolio bid strategy with a shared budget. This makes it easy for you to maximize performance and spend across multiple campaigns.
• For Search Ads 360 automated bid strategies, consider enabling auction-time bidding to allow for faster reaction time and the inclusion of real-time signals (Google Ads media only).
• Where eligible, use Search Ads 360 budget bid strategies with auction-time bidding. This can help you hit your custom spend targets.

• Ensure remarketing lists for search ads, similar audience, and Customer Match lists are applied.
• If you use manual bidding, use reporting to optimize your bids based on what audiences would still drive conversions–even when reducing costs.
• If you use Smart Bidding, it will optimize to your specified goal while considering the performance of any applied RLSA, similar audience, and Customer Match audience.

• Review your optimization score to identify areas that can drive performance with budget, audience, creative, keyword, and other recommendations.
• Use Performance Planner to adjust targets based on your budget goals.

• Conduct a thorough creative review of your search text ads, extensions, and landing pages. Pay attention to tone, highlight any business changes, and check that your message is helpful.
• For Search Ads 360 users, use ad builders to make changes to your ad copy at scale.

• Use Performance Planner or Search Ads 360 budget management to understand the targets and budgets required to maintain the same volume.
• Use Smart Bidding to optimize bids based on the likelihood of a conversion and drive greater efficiency.
• If “repeat converter” traffic is shrinking in your search audiences, try adding similar audiences to find people who may be the next most likely to convert.

Recommendation

How to execute in Google Ads

Prioritize your tasks

• Prioritize tasks by using tools like optimization score. This can help you discover relevant optimization recommendations and their estimated impact.
• Use the Google Ads mobile app (iOS, Android) to help keep you connected to your campaigns.

Maximize your coverage

• Evaluate your budgets and targeting to make sure that the right message can reach the right user.
• Use Performance Planner or Search Ads 360 budget management to understand incremental opportunities and plan budgets for the coming months.
• Use budget recommendations in the Recommendations page to help you optimize your budgets every one to two weeks as demand shifts over time.
• Use Dynamic Search Ads to help show ads on new searches your keywords may be missing.
• View keyword recommendations to help you identify new opportunities.
• Consider opting in to search partners to find additional, qualified search traffic.

Reach new audiences

• Create audiences such as “Recent Purchasers,” “Recent Cancellations,” or “Recent FAQ Customer Service Visitors” to reconnect with site visitors who may be ready to buy.
• Add similar audiences to find people who may be the next most likely to buy if you see repeat traffic shrinking.
• Reach people based on their interests and recent purchase intent by using relevant affinity and in-market audiences.
• Use combined audiences to create niche audiences that better represent segments of your customer base.
• Monitor the performance of each audience by applying them to your campaigns and using the Observation setting.
• Consider using custom ad text and landing pages to ensure your audiences receive brand-appropriate messaging.

Tailor your creative

• Tailor your creative to highlight new information for the right people at the right time.
• Make sure you’re sensitive to how certain words may make your audience feel. Stay up to date on policy guidelines related to COVID-19. 
• Avoid words with double meanings like “protection,” “checkup,” “prevention,” or “virus.” For international campaigns, be aware of local terms that have been used to reference COVID-19 and regional disruptions.
• Edit your ads as needed to let customers know if you offer services like delivery, in-store, or curbside pick up.
• Review shipping settings and estimated delivery time to ensure your ads accurately reflect current capabilities.
• Use sitelink extensions to make information stand out and take people to the right page on your site.
• Use responsive search ads to help your ad content adapt to shifting search terms. 
• If you’re already using responsive search ads, look for ad groups that may have an opportunity to improve Ad strength.
• Use dynamic ad extensions to make your ads more relevant without adding any additional work.
• Use call ads to connect with people who can’t go to your physical location. Enable an ad schedule that drives calls when you have someone there ready to answer the phone. You can also include an optional “Visit website” link that can be added if call centers are closed or have limited capacity.

Choose and optimize your bid strategies based on goals

• Use Target CPA and Target ROAS bid strategies to optimize within a specific cost per acquisition or return on ad spend target, and use this target as a lever to manage spend. For example, an increase in CPA targets or a decrease in ROAS targets will typically increase bids and spend, and vice versa.
• Use Maximize conversions and Maximize conversion value bid strategies to maximize conversions and conversion value within a specific daily budget.
• For Search Ads 360 automated ROAS and CPA bid strategies, consider enabling auction-time bidding to allow for faster reaction time and the inclusion of real-time signals (Google Ads media only).
• Use Search Ads 360 budget bid strategies to hit custom spend targets. Where eligible, combine this bid strategy with auction-time bidding.