Part 1: Optimization Strategies & Tips for the Holiday Season

Tuesday, November 18, 2008 | 3:04 PM

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With the holidays fast approaching, now is a great time to maximize your Google Grants account to take advantage of the season. Whether you're looking for funding from individuals contributing end-of-year donations or want to promote your organization's holiday programs or merchandise, you should customize your campaigns to meet these goals.

Here are a few strategies to consider when optimizing your campaigns for the holiday season:

Build new campaigns
Create a brand new campaign with custom, holiday-specific ads and keywords. Be sure to set end dates for your holiday campaigns so that they run only when they're relevant.

Refresh existing campaigns
Customize an existing campaign by adding a custom ad to your existing ad text(s). This can help you test the effectiveness of seasonal ads for your organization.

Target all campaigns
Whether creating a new campaign or adding to an existing campaign, be sure to make your holiday ads and keywords as specific and relevant as possible. Use multi-word keywords that connect your organization's work with the holiday season. For example; 'children's holiday giving', 'holiday clothing drive', or 'Thanksgiving food drive'.

Many grantees have had success writing customized ad text and keywords focused on end-of-year giving, holiday programs (including holiday meals or drives), or holiday items for sale, so we recommend that you test these strategies for your own account. More tips will follow next week in Part 2 of this series.

Be sure to share your learnings and any new best practices in the Google Grants Help Group.