[Breakdown] 3 levels of optimizations we’re running for clients in the next 3 weeks

The easiest way to make a lot of sales during BFCM is to optimize your campaigns for BFCM.

It sounds obvious…

But from what I've seen in the last 5 years, very few actually do it properly.

For our clients, this is one of the immediate levers we pull in Q4.

Because it’s a low-hanging fruit.

You plug in these optimizations, and you make more sales.

It’s that simple.

The thing is, there are different levels of optimization you can apply.

A lot of brands will stop at the basic level.

They include “Black Friday Sale” in their headlines, add some urgency to the copy, or throw in a countdown timer.

That’s cool, you’ll make more money.

But if you want to absolutely crush it during BFCM…

And I mean really squeeze every dollar out of this period…

You need to go deeper.

There are actually three dimensions you can optimize across.

Let me break them down.

Dimension 1: Campaign Setup

During BFCM, you're going to get a massive surge in demand.

That’s a great thing, but it also creates a big challenge.

Your regular campaigns are designed to handle consistent volume without sudden spikes or drops.

BFCM is the complete opposite of that.

You'll have days where your metrics explode overnight.

And if your campaign isn't set up to handle that…

You either miss out on a huge chunk of available traffic.

Or you mess up the algorithm as it drowns in conversion data it wasn't prepared for.

This is exactly why you need a dedicated setup for this period.

Here's what that looks like:

• Launch new campaigns to capture new keywords (example: “[product] Black Friday”)

• Set up dedicated bidding strategies and budget allocations

• Create new sales feeds

• Develop different strategies for sale and non-sale products

The goal is to maximize visibility and minimize the risk of overspending on poor traffic.

This is the first dimension to nail.

Dimension 2: Creative & Messaging

Once you've set up your campaigns to capture the traffic surge, your next job is converting that traffic into sales.

You're going to have way more eyeballs on your ads during BFCM…

But so will your competitors.

So you need to be as aggressive as possible.

When I say aggressive, I mean plaster BFCM-related messaging all over your ads.

Now, you might be thinking:

"I'm already doing this! I'm mentioning the sale in my ad copy, my product titles, and my creatives."

That’s a good start.

But you can take it up a notch by stacking the number of “deal indicators”.

Let me give you an example with Shopping Ads.

Most brands will add "Black Friday Sale" to their product title.

That’s one signal.

But you can stack multiple elements on the same listing.

You can add strikethrough pricing in your ad with "X% off" displayed next to it.

Or activate GMC promotions so you get that "Special offer" tag. 

Now your listing has THREE separate visual indicators that you're running a sale.

Any ads that only include one of these elements will look weaker next to yours.

The same principle applies to your Search Ads, PMax, or Demand Gen.

Dimension 3: Time

One of the biggest unlocks you can make is to tailor dimensions 1 and 2 to different phases of the BFCM period.

Demand for BFCM starts around a month before the sale and a few days after it ends.

And customer intent shifts radically over time.

• Pre-BFCM: People are researching what to buy when the sales drop.

• BFCM launch: People are ready to buy and searching for the best deals on the products they’ve been eyeing.

• The final days of BFCM: More urgency takes over. People buy out of FOMO before the deals run out.

• Post BFCM: People who missed the sale but still want the product.

Now, when you look at these phases... there's a clear pattern.

These people are looking for completely different things.

And any decent marketer will know this…

To effectively convert them, you need to match your message to what they want in that moment.

This doesn't mean you have to change your offer for each phase.

But you should reposition how you present that offer.

Say "Our biggest sale of the year is live" during your BFCM launch.

Then switch it to "Sales end tonight" on the final day.

That’s going to help you squeeze much more revenue out of each period.

So here’s the playbook (for brands serious about crushing BFCM this year):

• Optimize campaign setup

• Optimize creative & messaging

• Optimize those two for each BFCM phase

If you're curious how to do this for your own business, then...

Grab a call with us here.

We’ll give you an account audit and show you how you can take full advantage of BFCM.

Jackson

Founder and CEO of Echelonn

How we can help:

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