We’ve all heard the old phrase, “Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.” This concept is certainly nothing new, and yet it continues to come up whenever we consider our options for new ad material. No matter what we do or how many times we try to manage Google Ad campaigns on our own, there’s simply no way all those bots and false accounts without a plan for consistent action and analysis. There are many ways to approach this subject, but for now we would like to use this moment to highlight the importance of dayparting.”
When we forget to prioritize the most critical aspects of digital marketing, we’re essentially going all in on that not-so proverbial old trap. Investing in a lone basket of eggs, running off into the sunset, and hoping we don’t trip and fall in the process.
There are many ways to optimize our campaign programming; from isolating our Target Audience, focusing on Location, etc. These are certainly two of the most common factors. Dayparting is another. We want to make sure that every dollar you spend is being used as wisely and effectively as possible, and that begins with identifying precisely which options will ensure the best possible bang for your buck.
So, how does it work?
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Dayparting is the practice of ensuring that your ad campaigns are displayed at specific hours of the day. The whole point of running an ad campaign is to increase audience awareness. This creates an element of recognizability, which will prove crucial to future sales. It also offering your audience the opportunity to explore a new avenue of business at their convenience. We want to maximize our visibility quickly and efficiently. As tempting as it is to invest that precious PPC budget as quickly as possible, we don’t want to burn it without an educated plan for trial and error.
When you fail to set up dayparting, you are leaving the door open for bots of all kinds to eat up your PPC costs. This steals those clicks away from the real people who might otherwise have seen you digital ads.
This is unfortunately something we hear quite a lot. For those of you who haven’t heard of dayparting before, this might be due to all the campaigns you’ve run on Facebook. There’s nothing wrong with Facebook Ads in general, but their ad service does not offer dayparting stats as part of their introductory pitch. You would set up a “lifetime budget” for your Facebook Page business account, which is not something we would recommend to anyone new to the marketing management.
There are a few other reasons why you may not have heard of dayparting before, but none of that really matters at the moment. Now that you know what to focus on, let’s take a look at how dayparting will positively affect the other factors of your business promotions.
What if you could optimize your PPC campaign to better contact the very customers you wish to attract? Sounds crazy, right? Well, as you work hard to apply everything you’ve learned, you’ll notice that there are often a handful of customer types who will frequent your business more than others. For instance: If you happen to own a sandwich shop, you’ll notice that Google Ads will draw the attention of students, families, office workers, and any work-from-home employees within a 10-15 minute walking radius of your business. If you happen to own a bar with high-end catering a stone’s throw away from the DOCO plaza, your customers will inevitably consist of locals, corporate types, and privileged young party-goers.
What do both of these businesses have in common? Well aside from the obvious fact that they’re both in the food service industry, you’ll notice that both of these companies are catering their Google ads to reach people during business hours.
The key to successful dayparting within industries is ensuring that all your ad campaigns go Live during high-traffic periods. This doesn’t mean you have to keep your ads running during every open hour of the day, but you will want to isolate the hours when customers are likely to search for you the most! And while it’s also true that peak hours will often prove more expensive, you will actually be saving money because you are increasing the odds of reaching real live people.
Another perk to dayparting is improved visibility! Imagine for a moment that you own a coffee shop. Your ad just reached a new customer, fresh out of the office, offering them “a free cup of coffee with their first order.” While certainly interested, they’re just not in the right mindset to appreciate your offer at this time… so they hit the back button and go about their day.
With dayparting, you can program your ads to recognize these near-misses and try again later. The ad will pop up on their feed come Monday morning, when they’ll be far more likely to consider a visit to your shop. This is something our team can guide you through, and it helps keeps the magic alive by creating positive recurring connections with your customers.
As incredible as dayparting can be, it’s just as important to note that this method is not an overnight fix. It’s not guaranteed to work for every brand either. If your business runs exclusively online or through the offering of freelance services, dayparting could be a luxury that simply won’t work for your current budget. Dayparting has been known to drive up PPC costs, which is why it is so important to isolate high-traffic portions of the day before we greenlight those campaigns for publication.
If you happen to be an independent contractor running a small business on the side, your services would likely be accessible to the public at all times. If this is the case, then dayparting is not for you. It wouldn’t hurt your chances either… but the choice to invest in that PPC strategy would not prove detrimental to your particular line of work.
However, if you run a physical business, you should consider adding an efficient, data-driven dayparting strategy to your Google ads ASAP. Without it, your Google ads are treading water in a sea of options that will never serve your business. Instead, your PPC costs will get eaten up by bot after bot after bot before finally reaching a real wallet-bearing customer.
If your business fits that description, then you should consider adding dayparting strategies to your existing campaigns ASAP. If you have any questions about how to get started, please feel free to contact us. We want to make sure that your business is reaping every benefit it can from your hard-earned resources.
Dayparting is an effective PPC strategy that can increase the visibility of your ads. While there are indeed so many layers that play a part in a successful PPC campaign, effective dayparting will ensure that every PPC click does not go to waste. You’ll be saving those PPC budget costs to cover high-traffic hours, where conversion rates are more likely to improve.
It’s a lot to work out in the beginning, but it is absolutely something you can manage! With a little research, experimentation, and lots of patience, you’ll be ready to optimize those ad costs in no time. Dayparting, when done correctly, will reduce the likelihood of wasting your budget, while simultaneously boosting your ads when they’ll have the best possible chance of working in your favor. And after all the work your staff has effectively poured into your business, you deserve every chance to ensure your success.