Summary
Adjusting seasonality adjustments in Google Ads allows advertisers to account for expected fluctuations in conversion rates during specific periods, such as holiday sales or promotional events. This feature helps fine-tune automated bidding strategies like Maximize Conversion Value, ensuring that the bidding system reacts appropriately to temporary changes in conversion behavior and optimizes performance accordingly.
Understanding Seasonality Adjustments
Seasonality adjustments in Google Ads are a tool designed for advanced bid strategies that utilize machine learning, such as Maximize Conversions, Maximize Conversion Value, or Target ROAS (Return on Ad Spend). These adjustments let advertisers inform Google Ads about short-term periods where conversion rates are expected to significantly rise or fall. By doing so, the system can better adapt its bidding decisions during these periods.
Key Features
- Applicable only for short-term changes in conversion rates (e.g., a weekend sale, holidays, or a flash promotion).
- Customizable for specific dates, times, and campaigns.
- Does not impact long-term learning by Google's machine learning algorithms, as adjustments are temporary.
How Seasonality Adjustments Impact Maximize Conversion Value
The Maximize Conversion Value bidding strategy focuses on generating the highest total conversion value (e.g., revenue) within a given budget. The addition of seasonality adjustments improves this strategy in the following ways:
1. Anticipating Conversion Rate Spikes
During periods of promotions or seasonal demand, conversion rates often skyrocket. Without seasonality adjustments, Google Ads’ machine learning system might underestimate the potential for increased value and miss opportunities to bid more aggressively. For example:
- Scenario: An e-commerce store anticipates a 30% higher conversion rate during Black Friday due to heavy discounts.
- Solution: By configuring a seasonality adjustment for the Black Friday dates, the Maximize Conversion Value algorithm can increase bids during the event, capturing higher-value conversions.
2. Preventing Overbidding During Low Conversion Periods
Conversely, there may be times when conversion rates drop temporarily, such as after a promotion ends or during off-peak hours. Seasonality adjustments allow you to signal lower expected performance to the system, prompting more conservative bidding. For example:
- Scenario: A restaurant sees significantly lower reservations on weekdays compared to weekends.
- Solution: Setting seasonality adjustments for weekdays ensures that the Maximize Conversion Value strategy doesn't overspend on low-value conversions.
Best Practices for Using Seasonality Adjustments
To effectively use seasonality adjustments and improve the performance of Maximize Conversion Value, follow these best practices:
1. Be Specific About Timing
Seasonality adjustments should only be used for defined, short-term periods. For instance, a one-day flash sale or a week-long holiday promotion is ideal. Long-term changes in conversion rates should not be addressed with this tool, as Google’s machine learning will adapt automatically over time.
2. Define the Scope
Apply adjustments only to campaigns, ad groups, or keywords directly impacted by the expected conversion rate changes. For example, if your promotion only applies to a specific product category, limit the scope accordingly.
3. Estimate Conversion Rate Changes Accurately
Analyze historical data to determine how similar events impacted conversion rates in the past. This helps in providing accurate percentage changes when configuring adjustments, preventing under- or overestimation.
4. Monitor and Adjust in Real-Time
Closely monitor the performance of your campaigns during and after the seasonality adjustment period. Use real-time data to make corrections if needed, ensuring the system is optimizing for the right conversion values.
5. Use in Conjunction with Other Strategies
Combine seasonality adjustments with other campaign optimization practices, such as ad copy tailored to the promotion or landing pages designed for the event. This ensures a cohesive strategy that maximizes results.
Conclusion
Seasonality adjustments are a powerful tool to optimize performance for short-term fluctuations in conversion rates. When used alongside Maximize Conversion Value bidding, these adjustments enable advertisers to capture more value during high-conversion periods and conserve budgets during low-conversion times. Proper planning, historical data analysis, and precise implementation are key to leveraging seasonality adjustments effectively.
References
- [About Seasonality Adjustments, 2023] Google Ads Help. (2023). "About Seasonality Adjustments."
- [How to Use Seasonality Adjustments in Google Ads, 2020] WordStream. (2020). "How to Use Seasonality Adjustments in Google Ads."
- [Using Smart Bidding Strategies in Google Ads, 2023] Optimize Smart. (2023). "How to Use Smart Bidding Strategies in Google Ads."
- [Google Ads Bidding Strategies, 2022] CXL. (2022). "Google Ads Bidding Strategies."