How Coronavirus Affects Business and Pay-Per-Click Advertising

The Covid-19 pandemic is unlike anything in living memory. Despite all the marvels of the digital age, the global economy is taking a massive hit, in all industries. Many companies have shut their doors, and some may never reopen. The world is yet to learn the true scale of how coronavirus affects business, but its impact is already being felt, just a month after it reached the Western world.

When we consider Google Ads, data analysts project a decline in ad revenue in several key industries, especially travel, as people stop moving and continue self-isolating to help stop the spread of the virus.

In this article, we’ll see how coronavirus affects business and how your business can respond to the dynamic changes during this unpredictable period.

How is Google Responding to COVID-19?

Search interest in coronavirus has skyrocketed for the last couple of weeks. Interestingly, the search data indicates that people aren’t just looking to know more about the virus itself, but also products related to the pandemic.

As the world’s leading search engine, Google is helping people learn many things, such as information on symptoms, vaccine information, and travel advice. Google has also taken steps to block all ads that seek to capitalize on coronavirus.

Don’t worry because these preventative measures won’t derail every PPC campaign in Google Ads.

As long as you don’t include any messaging or ad copy that makes claims to be able to prevent, treat, or cure coronavirus, then your ads will probably be fine.

3 Immediate Steps to Take with Your PPC Accounts  During the COVID-19 Outbreak

A lot of people are worried about how coronavirus affects business. Here are some strategies you can implement now to protect your advertising account from taking a hit:

1. Review your accounts to gauge the impact

Assess your accounts to see if there have been any significant changes to key traffic metrics. By looking at clicks and impressions in Google Analytics and Google Ads, you can determine if the market changes are causing any drop-off. If there is a fall, it may result in fewer conversions.

2. Adjust your strategy to work accordingly

The new government directives include enforced closures, work from home policies, and a huge public emphasis on washing hands and social distancing. Just as people are adapting, so too must advertisers. Look for ways to pivot, so that you can continue connecting with customers, even if they aren’t following normal behavioral patterns of online use or engagement.

3. Add negative keywords to filter irrelevant search traffic

Being an advertiser you must consider blocking terms like coronavirus, covid-19, for your display campaigns. This is to avoid displaying your ads next to stories around that topic. Adding those terms as negative keywords will help restrict the ads from showing.

 

Trends in PPC Advertising Due to COVID-19

Over the past few weeks, we have noticed some trends in search behavior and online advertising concerning coronavirus:

Virus search trends

Global pandemics have happened before, but not quite on this scale. Swine Flu and Zika outbreaks made international media headlines in 2009 and 2016, respectively, but caused a little impact in comparison to coronavirus. Even Ebola, which had a 40% death rate, only triggered a temporary spike in search interest in 2014.  But Coronavirus is dominating search results right now.

Cleaning products are trending

A by-product of the pandemic is a surge in search interest for cleaning products and personal protective equipment, such as masks, gloves, hand sanitizers etc. Of course, this is only good news for businesses who were already stocking and selling those products.

Ecommerce retailers are in high demand

As lockdown restrictions tighten, more people are self-isolating in the safety of their own homes. Physical stores are closing, but online stores have never been busier. People still need to buy essential goods and are more likely to shop online for other items too. Google Shopping, along with any Ecommerce Search campaigns, are likely to see an increase in search volume over the weeks and months ahead.

People are using more keywords related to health

Your Ads account may have nothing to do with coronavirus, but that doesn’t mean the pandemic won’t impact it. Anyone advertising in the health industry may see an uptick in traffic if they are targeting common terms, like symptoms or prevention. This is because a lot of people will be looking up things like:

• What are the symptoms of COVID-19?
• How can you cure COVID-19?
• How can you prevent COVID-19?

 

7 Businesses that Benefit from the Rise of COVID-19

Already, we can see how Coronavirus affects business in different ways. While this situation is a nightmare to some companies, others are profiting from the pandemic.

1. Nonprofits and charities

A crisis can bring out the best in people, and coronavirus has been great for charities and non-profit organizations. Research from Google Ads shows:

• 10% increase in search ad impressions.
• 23% increase in search ad conversions.
• 20% increase in search ad conversion rate.

 
Some Google grant programs allow non-profit organizations to advertise for free, but it can be tricky to ensure they remain compliant. Now, they are generating traffic with ease, so they may not mind paying to advertise.

2. Health and medical

As more people turn to the internet for answers on health concerns and over-the-counter medication, advertisers in health and medicine are enjoying a better return on their advertising spend (ROAS).

3. Business management

Many companies are restructuring to enable more employees to work remotely. As a result, we can see significant changes in search behavior around office supplies:

• Search traffic increased by 90%
• Paid search ad clicks increased by 35%
• Search conversion rates increased by 41%

 
Furthermore, with traditional retail shifting focus to operating online, there has been a huge spike for packing and shipping supplies, as search ad conversion rate grew more than 100%

4. Finance

While the stock markets are tumbling, more users are looking for help with their finances. The finance industry has loaded with expensive keywords and high cost-per-click (CPC) rates. Since the outbreak, there has been a notable drop in CPC rates, as well as impressive growth in click through rate (CTR).

5. Beauty and personal care

Demand for fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) has soared in the past few weeks, with soap and hand sanitizer leading the way. People are more interested in self-care during these hard times, and research shows a 41% increase in search volume for beauty and personal care. A lot of businesses in these spaces are booming, with higher visibility in search engine results pages (SERPs) translating directly into lower CPCs, and ultimately, much higher average conversion rates (CVR).

 

6. Greetings, gifts, and flowers

Social distancing can be a lonely, anxiety-ridden experience, particularly for elderly people or those who live alone. It is the acts of kindness and efforts to connect that will be remembered at the end.

Over the last three weeks, since coronavirus blew up in the US, people have become ever-more thoughtful about making kind gestures:

• 15% increase in conversion rate for Cards and greetings
• 30% increase in conversion rate for gift baskets
• 43% increase in conversion rate for floral arrangements

 

7. On-demand media

Most people that are doing work from home and having social distancing are finding it hard to pass the time. Naturally, in the digital age, we’re turning to our screens. The demand for on-demand media like Netflix and Amazon Prime has doubled in recent weeks.

7 Industries that are suffering from the COVID-19 Pandemic

Public health is the primary concern right now. Everyone gets it, but that doesn’t make it any easier for those operating in the hardest-hit industries.

If you want to see just how Coronavirus affects business in the worst way, keep an eye on these industries. Some businesses in these industries may struggle to recover if this pandemic goes on for too long.

1. Travel and tourism

Almost everyone is avoiding unnecessary travel now. Nobody wants to use public transport, get on a plane, or stay in a hotel. Businesses here are taking a major hit. If your one of them, you could try promoting cheaper fares or offer easy cancellations and adjustments for future travel.

2. Bars and restaurants

Restaurants and bars are being crushed, with many forced to close while the worst of this pandemic is happening. Meanwhile, some are innovating to switch to delivery or takeaway services. However, as many consumers are now cooking at home, these businesses are sliding down the SERPs.

3. Live entertainment

With restrictions on large groups, a lot of major events have been canceled like music festivals etc. Search volume for live entertainment has fallen by 24%, and conversion rates have dropped by 30%.

4. Conferences or event marketing

As with the entertainment industry, conferences are now a big no-no. For businesses that rely on event marketing, that’s a blow. Luckily, you can pivot to webinars and virtual conferences to keep interest alive, but it’s going to be a tough sell in the long term.

5. Sports and fitness

Almost every major sporting event on the planet has come to a halt, throwing professional football leagues and sporting calendars into a state of disarray. People’s fear of catching the virus soon meant gyms and spas were off-limits.

6. Building and construction

The economic downturn has put an unexpected spanner in the works for the building and construction industry. With long delays hitting future projects, conversion rates are plummeting.

7. Industrial and manufacturing

Manufacturing is another big casualty, with Europe’s ailing car industry already worrying about the long-term impact. PPC campaigns for industrial goods are dealing with higher CPC rates, and advertisers have to make do with an inevitable slowdown in search traffic.

The Checklist to Mitigate How Coronavirus Affects Business in 2020

If your business is feeling the pressure of COVID-19, it’s time to take action. You can make a few updates to your Google My Business profile to ensure your customer base has the most accurate information on what you’re doing during this pandemic. Here are a few tips to take on board:

Change your business hours

If you have been forced to close, or if you’ve decided to change the hours of operation, make sure you update your GMB profile, so people know exactly when to visit.

Manage your information to notify customers of issues

Share vital information about any extra precautions your business is taking, and whether you’re providing any extra services to the community. If you are dealing with delays in getting supplies or sending out deliveries, let people know.

Create a post to keep people informed about major changes

With timely updates, you can communicate directly with your customers regularly as the situation changes over the weeks ahead. For example, you can make posts to update customers about the products and services you have available, or to let them know if you are running any special discounts during the pandemic period.

Update your phone number

Customers may want to talk more on the phone, seeing as they may not be able to visit your premises. Make sure your phone number is correct so that customers can reach you.

Create dedicated pages for COVID-19

If you’re in an industry that is severely impacted by the crisis, like the hospitality industry, you may deem it essential to create a dedicated page or homepage post that details exactly how you are planning to handle the problem.

Larger brands can use the media/PR sections of their site for this purpose. In your statement, outline the current situation for your customers and keep this information up-to-date as the situation develops.

Keep product availability updated in real-time

For retailers, be sure to update the availability of popular items, as close to real-time as possible. You don’t want to frustrate customers by misleading them. You should do this for the product schema on your product pages and in your product feeds.

 

Wrap Up

The coronavirus pandemic could rumble on for a long time. We’re sure to be dealing with the immediate effects for at least another couple of months, and the lasting impact will reverberate throughout global economies and industries for the next year or two.

If you haven’t already embraced the digital age, now is the time to experiment with new ways of doing business. With PPC advertising and new approaches to reaching your customer base, even small businesses may be able to ride out the storm. Innovation is the key to survive this tough period.

You can learn more about managing successful PPC campaigns in our blog, How to Win the PPC Game in 2020? An Effective Strategy for Managing PPC Campaigns.