What’s happening right now is impacting us all, and over the last few days, I’ve read and heard plenty of different stories about what’s happening to businesses in our country.

Some, clearly, are struggling.

Others are absolutely thriving; this strange, odd situation happening to fall in their lap and allow them to take advantage.

Whichever side of the coin you’re on, what’s clear is that we live in strange and unprecedented times.

What’s also clear is that while we can’t control very much of what is happening, it falls upon all of us to take control of what we can, which is why we all need a plan for the days and weeks ahead.

And if you’re running Google Ads, here are just a few things I’d recommend:

Review all keywords and match types

Some businesses are going to have more traffic; some are going to have less.

Wherever you sit on the spectrum, ensuring that your traffic is ultra relevant is going to be important.

If your traffic volume is lower, then rather than pull the plug on your ads and completely shut down new leads coming into your business, I’d recommend changing your match types to “exact match”, so you’ll still show for specific searches, but you’ll eliminate some wasted spend.

Pausing your account isn’t just a bad idea in terms of getting in front of the people who are interested in your product/service, it also doesn’t sit well Google.

After 45 days of no activity, your account officially become “lapsed”, which means that when you return, you’re starting from scratch, and Google will forget everything that made them you think you were a good advertiser.

If your traffic volume is higher, then it’s important to review each keyword and understand why your traffic is increasing; has this particular situation caused a surge in demand for something you can provide?  If so, what other keywords could you try?

Maintain your remarketing presence

Remarketing is a great (and low cost) way to ensure that the people who’ve recently expressed interest in what you sell continue to see your brand over the next few weeks.

The last thing you’ll want is to have to start from scratch when we come out the other side of this, and the way to ensure that doesn’t happen is to keep all current prospects as warm as you can.

Remarketing on Facebook and Google can keep you in their consciousness, without it costing you the earth.

Failure to do this could see them forgetting you and going elsewhere when they’re ready to buy.

Make sure you’re on mobile

We all know that mobile usage has increased drastically in the last couple of years, but I had it confirmed from Google that it has spiked dramatically in the last week alone.

What that means is that if you want to get in front of your audience, you need to be thinking of mobile.

Understand whether search intent is shifting

In some industries, people are putting a pause on buying stuff.  But it’s just that, a pause.

They’re still interested, and they’re still looking – they just might not be ready to buy right now.

In order to help ensure that you still capture them as leads and build a relationship with them, it’s important to work out their search intent.

Are they just browsing?  If so, can you tempt them in with a brochure, rather than driving them straight to quote?

Are they looking for specific information?  Can you deliver them it in a lead magnet, or remarket to them with long-form content on Facebook?

Do they want to crack on in the current circumstances, but need assurance from you that it’s safe to do so?  I.e. can you provide a quote without a face-to-face visit?

Thinking through these things will help ensure you continue to engage with the right people during this crazy time, giving you the best possible chance of bouncing back when this is all over – I hope it helps.

And if you need anyone to talk to, or think I can help in any way, just let me know.

Tash