Managing PPC Traffic Spikes for Major Events

"The CTR numbers are looking fantastic this month!"

(Except for the ones that actually matter)

PPC traffic can be impacted by all significant events in the calendar, from Black Friday to new product launches. Your placements will receive more clicks, your website will receive more views and you’ll feel secure in the knowledge that your targets are safe for another month.

Unfortunately, that positive feeling could turn out to be short-lived, as you discover that not only does this traffic not lead to conversions in the way you’d expected, but the reality is far worse. Click fraud has just claimed another victim. 

Invalid clicks can quickly deplete your budget during short-term event-based traffic surges and continue to impact your spending over time, all while failing to deliver additional conversions. This ultimately leaves your performance metrics looking less than impressive.

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What causes sudden PPC traffic spikes?

Sudden spikes in PPC traffic can occur for various reasons, including changes in bidding strategies, seasonal fluctuations, new product launches, competitive actions, or even technical issues and outages affecting your customers' access to your services.

It’s important to look at historical data and use these learnings to forecast and protect your PPC campaigns accordingly. This way, you can benefit from these jumps and achieve good results.

You should also be aware that click fraud is much more prevalent during these times, for obvious reasons. Be alert: it wastes your ad money, and you don’t get real results from it.

Tips:

• Use smart ways to manage your ads. Change your bids, set your budgets, and check your results frequently.
• Use tools like Google Analytics, Google Search Console, and TrafficGuard. They are good for managing your PPC traffic well.
• Use machine learning. It can help you see changes and change bids when necessary.

Managing a lot of traffic is important for using your ad budget smartly, especially when your business grows. TrafficGuard can help you with this. It provides protection in real-time. With this help, you can concentrate on getting quality clicks and increasing your return on ad spending.

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The Challenge of PPC Traffic Spikes During Major Events

Running PPC campaigns during big events like Black Friday, a major sports event, or a tech product launch can be tough. 

During these peak times, many loyal, already-acquired customers navigate to your site, making it challenging to manage your advertising efforts. As a result, you might find yourself spending on clicks from customers who would have returned regardless, rather than attracting new prospects. Additionally, as competition intensifies, you may notice your costs per click (CPC) increasing.

Another more serious risk is click fraud. This happens when bots or competitors exploit the system, clicking on your ads and PPC placements to drive up your costs with no intention of converting.  

It’s important to understand where your traffic is coming from so that you don’t fall victim to this type of fraud; if you don’t use a sophisticated tool for ad fraud protection, you could end up paying for clicks that result in no sales. 

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Case Studies of Traffic Spikes: Factors and Outcomes

Traffic spikes can occur for various reasons, often driven by heightened demand during major events.

For example, when a popular artist announces a new tour, fans rush online to secure tickets. Google’s algorithms may serve ads based on the search signals from users looking for tickets or merchandise.

However, many of these users may not be new prospects; they could be loyal fans already familiar with your brand. Serving additional ads to these users adds little value, as they would likely return to your site through organic search results. If you don’t serve ads during this spike, these customers will still visit the site, inflating your PPC costs for clicks that would have occurred organically.

Similarly, a sudden outage from a major telecom provider can trigger a surge in traffic as customers seek solutions. Again, Google may display ads based on user searches, but many clicks will come from existing customers looking for support or updates, not new leads.

In both scenarios, the increased traffic will see spikes in CTR on the campaign, but it often consists of users who would visit your site regardless of your ads. 

This problem is compounded if the campaign manager is using automated bid optimisation functions, whether scripted or from Google Ads Manager, which may lead to increased investment in campaigns driven by these CTR spikes, redirecting resources away from other, potentially more valuable campaigns.

This highlights the importance of effectively managing your ad spend. Focus on new customer acquisition and highly engaged prospects rather than paying for repeat visits from established customers. 

To optimise your PPC strategy during peak times, employing advanced traffic monitoring and audience exclusion tools is crucial. These tools ensure that your budget is spent wisely, enabling you to capture valuable new prospects while safeguarding against unnecessary expenditures.

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The Impact of Major Events on PPC Campaign Traffic

Big events can drive a lot of eyeballs to your ads. They can also bring in different types of visitors; not all of whom will be welcome. 

While it may seem good to have more people looking at your ads, it might lower your conversion rates because not everyone who comes is genuinely interested in your offer.

Many people are just browsing. Some may want information but have no intention of buying anything. In the worst case, bad actors and bots will create fake clicks when things get busy - not only does this waste your money, but it will mess with your performance data.

For the sake of your budgets, and your metrics, it’s important to reduce this invalid traffic. Focus on people who are likely to take action. Tools like TrafficGuard can help you with this by continuously monitoring your campaigns, eliminating invalid traffic, and maximising your ROAS. 

Further reading: Click Fraud Strategy to Improve ROAS and Combat Invalid Traffic

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PPC Optimisation During Traffic Spikes 

Managing sudden boosts in PPC traffic needs good planning and quick actions. Here are some tips to help you use your budget smartly:

• Bid Adjustments: Change your bids as needed. Raise them for good chances and lower them if you do not get many sales.
  
  
• Keyword Optimisation: Find keywords that fit your goals and target audience. This will help your ads connect with people who want to take action.
  
  
• Ad Scheduling: Show your ads when your audience is active. This can help you save money on clicks from users who look around during slow times.

TrafficGuard's AI fraud protection helps you expose invalid clicks fast. It works in real-time, so your budget lasts longer, giving you more opportunities to get in front of the users that really matter. 

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Managing PPC Campaign Traffic Spikes

Managing traffic surges can be easy. Here is a simple plan to help your campaigns work well during big events:

Step 1: Forecast Traffic Increases (where possible)

Look at data from past events to predict traffic trends in the future. Tools that use machine learning make it easy to see clear details from the past which will help you avoid getting caught unprepared

Step 2: Allocate the Budget and Adjust the Bids

Once you figure out the traffic you need, put your budget into the best campaigns and keywords. Adjust your bids quickly. This will help you manage your spending and stay ahead of the competition.

Step 3: Targeting and Segmentation

• Focus on the audience that matters the most.
• Check IP addresses and see where your traffic comes from.
• Look for any strange activity to keep safe.
• The main goal is to make your ads useful for users who are likely to act.

Step 4: Real-Time Monitoring and Adjustments

TrafficGuard’s advanced real-time analytics continuously monitor clicks, automatically activating rules to block invalid traffic without the need for manual oversight. This proactive approach ensures that your campaigns are optimised in real-time, minimising wasted ad spend on non-valuable clicks. By focusing on protecting your budget from unnecessary costs, TrafficGuard helps you allocate resources effectively and drive genuine conversions.

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Are you Ready?

Try TrafficGuard’s advanced tools to protect your ad spend and improve ROAS for free! Start your Free Trial.

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Frequently Asked Questions

How Do Major Events Affect PPC Traffic?

Big events usually cause more people to search online. This means more visits to websites and higher competition for ads. It is important to change your strategy to manage these shifts. By doing this, you can keep a good return on investment (ROI).

What Are the Main Challenges of Managing PPC During Events?

Higher costs for each click, fewer conversions, and click fraud are common problems. You need to watch your campaigns carefully. Tools like TrafficGuard can help get rid of fake traffic and mitigate these issues. 

Can Small Businesses Compete with Large Companies During High-Traffic Events?

Small businesses can do well during busy times. They can use specific keywords to help. It is also key for them to target local customers. They need to make themselves more visible for important search terms.

How Early Should You Prepare for a Traffic Spike?

Get ready for your big event 4 to 6 weeks ahead of time. This gives you enough time to create your budget. You can choose your keywords and improve your ad text. Planning like this will help give your campaigns the best chance of success. 

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