November marks the start of the most competitive season of the year for online retailers. Between Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and Christmas shopping, consumers are more inclined to buy, but they’re also bombarded with hundreds of offers at the same time. Those who prepare in advance stand out; those who leave everything to the last week pay more per click and convert less.
At Pelican Bay Agency, we monitor campaigns from various industries at this stage every year, and certain patterns keep recurring. Here, we share what really makes a difference.
1. Start with planning, not advertising
Before you create any campaign, define three key points:
- Clear objective: sales, lead generation, bookings, or brand awareness? Each objective requires a different structure and set of metrics.
- Specific offer: discounts, bundles, freebies, or special terms. A vague offer is unlikely to yield results.
- Calendar: Black Friday—which falls on November 27 this year—is just the highlight. The build-up should begin at least two weeks earlier.
2. Get the audience excited before Black Friday
A common mistake is to start investing only on the day of the promotion. At that point, the cost per click goes up and competition is at its peak. A more effective approach involves three phases:
- Warm-up (early November): content, teasers, and brand awareness ads to increase your remarketing audience.
- Peak (Black Friday week through Cyber Monday): conversion campaigns, with a clear offer and a real sense of urgency.
- Extension (December): Focus on Christmas, gift ideas, and delivery deadlines.
3. Google Ads: reaches people who are already searching
During peak season, purchase intent is high, and search is the channel where that intent is most visible. Here are some best practices:
- Review the search campaigns and add seasonal terms, such as “Black Friday,” “Christmas deals,” or “gifts for…”.
- If you run an e-commerce business, make sure that the product feed (Google Merchant Center) is up to date, with correct prices and stock levels. A price that doesn’t match the website could lead to the ad being rejected.
- Use ad extensions (promotions, additional links, and highlights) to take up more space in the search results.
- Define flexible budgets: On peak days, increase your investment in the campaigns with the best return, rather than spreading it across all of them.
4. Meta Ads: Ad Creatives and Remarketing
On Facebook and Instagram, the challenge is to grab people’s attention in a crowded feed.
- Focus on short videos and vertical formats (Reels and Stories), with the offer visible within the first few seconds.
- Create remarketing audiences using website visitors, social media interactions, and customer lists.
- Test Test and messages at the same time, and don’t wait until the last day to analyze what works.
- Avoid making sudden changes to your campaigns during the learning phase, so as not to compromise delivery stability.
5. Email marketing: the channel with the best return
Your subscribers are already familiar with the brand, which makes email one of the most profitable channels on Black Friday. Plan a series of emails instead of a single send:
- An email announcing to the mailing list, with early access for subscribers.
- A shipment on the day of the promotion, with a direct subject line and a clearly visible call-to-action button.
- A reminder as the offer comes to an end.
- A follow-up for those who opened the email but didn’t make a purchase.
6. Get your website ready before traffic starts coming in
There’s no point in investing in ads if your website isn’t ready. Before launching your campaign, check the following:
- Loading speed, especially on mobile phones, where a large portion of purchases take place.
- Checkout process Simple, with just a few steps and a variety of payment methods.
- Landing pages specific to the campaign, rather than sending traffic to the homepage.
- Configuration Check: confirms that conversion events, Google Analytics 4, and pixels are working correctly.
7. Measure, adjust, and learn
During the campaign, track the metrics that really matter on a daily basis: cost per acquisition, conversion rate, return on investment, and average order value. At the end, take note of what went well and what you can improve. This analysis will serve as the basis for next year’s planning.
Black Friday and Christmas are an opportunity—but only for those who come prepared. With planning, well-coordinated channels, and a website ready to convert, you can take advantage of the peak season without wasting your investment.
Do you need help setting up your campaigns? The team at Pelican Bay Agency can help you with strategy, creation, and campaign management. Get in touch with us and let’s talk about your goals.
