9 Ways to Recession-Proof Your PPC Marketing Strategy

When an economic recession seems possible, having a PPC plan that involves continued audience building, strategic SEO tactics, and a consistent online presence can help your efforts stay afloat. Here, we tapped the experts to offer up their best recession-proof paid search advice.

First things first: As of now, the U.S. isn’t officially experiencing a recession.

However, with reports of one potentially looming on the horizon (J.P. Morgan estimates the probability of one happening this year at 60%), some consumers and marketers are understandably nervous.

It’s natural to fear a possible economic downturn, of course. But if the last several years and a global pandemic have taught us anything, it’s that plans and protocols can change in a flash.

While it’s true that we can’t control all the unknowns and variables in our daily lives, we can do our best to prepare.

Regardless of what the future brings, there’s reason for hope. History tells us that, during past recessions, increases in online marketing ad spend have been associated with success, even during difficult times.

Though ad spend isn’t slated to grow as much this year as previously predicted, it’s still on track to climb by more than 3%.

Evidence shows brands that pulled back on their advertising efforts during recessions saw decreased returns on existing efforts and a greater risk of being lapped by competitors.

If you’ve been thinking of pausing your pay-per-click (PPC) campaigns in anticipation of a possible economic recession, you may want to read what our expert has to say first.

We chatted with digital marketing extraordinaire Steve Dang, also known as HawkSEM’s VP of Growth and Strategy, about ways you can recession-proof your digital marketing strategy so your business continues not just to survive, but to thrive, no matter what’s next.

Before you leave your market share open to being snagged by the competition, we recommend seeing what optimizations and changes you can make first. (Image: Rawpixel)

9 ways to recession-proof your PPC marketing strategy

“During economic slowdowns or recessions, priorities can often change for companies and organizations,” says Dang.

“Instead of focusing as much on growth and expansion, for example, companies might instead focus on defending their current sales level and preserving profit margins.”

He adds that companies may also start to see some economic sensitivity on the part of their users and customers, depending on the type of goods or services they offer.

Looking to batten down the hatches of your digital marketing? Here are our top tips for making your paid search plans recession-proof.

1. Invest in what’s working, scale back what’s not

Now is a great time to take stock of your current paid search marketing campaign metrics to analyze what’s resonating with your target audience (i.e., what’s bringing you the best return on ad spend or ROAS) and what needs a second look.

“While there is no foolproof way to make one’s business or marketing campaigns recession-proof, running lean, efficient, and optimized marketing campaigns will make certain companies and organizations more economically resilient than others,” Dang says.

If you or your company’s higher-ups are in talks about adjusting priorities, the marketing budget may get put on the chopping block.

But before you leave your market share open to being snagged by the competition, we recommend first seeing what optimizations and changes you can make.

Right off the bat, a few cost-effective tweaks you can implement with your PPC ads to help preserve ad spend include:

• Disable search partners (unless you highly rely on it)
• Pause broad match terms
• Exclude any age ranges outside of your target market
• Limit to specific geographic regions
• Limit the time of day/day of week ads are serving
• Focus on building out your negative keywords list to weed out unqualified traffic
• Pause Google Ads campaigns that are low-converting or high-spend

2. Measure and monitor

Seasoned pros know a digital marketer’s work is never truly done.

That’s because, at least in our eyes, a campaign can always be better — more targeted, more optimized, more successful.

While you always want to measure and monitor paid search initiatives, it’s especially crucial during times of uncertainty.

Dig into the data and look for changes that may be occurring due to a possible recession:

• Is a campaign or keyword seeing increased or decreased traction?
• Has your audience’s behavior deviated from the norm in some way?
• Is a formerly successful campaign taking a downward turn unexpectedly?

Once you zero in on these trends or changes, you can create a plan to pivot your paid search accordingly, whether through ad copy verbiage, a more action-oriented landing page, or something more.

3. Focus on branding

Branding is another common thing many companies tend to cut or pull back on during economic downturns.

However, the financial crisis in 2008 showed us that investing in branded terms remains crucial.

For starters, most recessions last a little over a year or so. If you make huge changes now, you’ll be looking at a heavier lift once the economy balances out (as it always does).

Some industries are affected more by these spending shifts than others. Business owners, especially those with small businesses, have to do what it takes to survive.

That said, brand keywords are usually the most affordable — and if you’re one of the millions of companies that still have a relevant product or service to offer, then you want to think in the long term.

By keeping brand advertising initiatives in your marketing plan, you’re more likely to retain (and grow) your market share, allowing you to continue to scale.

This is also an opportunity to show the human side of your business through your messaging, tone, and how you show current and potential customers that you understand their concerns.

4. Keep building your remarketing audiences

Just like focusing on your brand is important, so too are the audiences that have already interacted with you.

“Economic contractions or slowdowns invite companies and organizations to more deeply scrutinize their relationships with past customers, as it is often cheaper to get previous purchasers to purchase again from them than to go out and acquire entirely new customers,” Dang explains.

While the nature of remarketing is shifting with the eventual demise of third-party cookies, marketers have been given enough heads-up about this change to find formidable alternatives that still make remarketing effective.

Gathering zero-party data (info site visitors willingly and proactively share with you) and first-party data (anonymous info gathered from people visiting your site or app) can still tell you plenty about your audience.

Lastly, marketers can continue to use pixels across sites like Meta (aka Facebook and Instagram) and Amazon.

These pixels can be included in ads on sites like Amazon and Facebook to gather data about actions someone has taken in the days after viewing or clicking an ad.

5. Adjust your messaging and targeting

Whether you’re aiming to speak to returning or new customers in your search engine marketing (SEM) campaigns, now may be a good time to revisit your messaging.

While you don’t need to take a more somber approach to the tone you use to write ad copy and other messaging, you also don’t want to ignore people’s possible concerns or fears.

Again, this goes back to your specific product or service. If you’re in the healthcare or FinServ space, for example, you may consider creating a campaign that focuses on reassurance and trustworthiness.

You can illustrate this through third-party testimonials, data, or other proof points.

Consider your audience’s potential concerns and behavior changes so you can be proactive rather than reactive.

If a lot of your messaging hinges on big spenders, for instance, brainstorm how you might tweak your copy to take into account those who may be tightening the proverbial purse strings.

Ask yourself: How can you keep your audience engaged and illustrate that you understand where they’re coming from?

SEO and paid search are two sides of the same coin. As such, they shouldn’t be operating in silos. (Image: Unsplash)

6. Leverage SEO to benefit your paid search endeavors

We like to say search engine optimization (SEO) and paid search are two sides of the same coin. As such, they shouldn’t be operating in silos.

We’ve talked before about all the ways your SEO strategy and paid search efforts work well together and can complement one another. For starters, both of these marketing methods involve locating those “money keyword” search terms that will help the most qualified people connect with your brand.

Not only that, but having your brand surface in both paid and organic Google search results only boosts the credibility of what you have to offer in the eyes of many searchers.

And having a strong SEO foundation can keep your brand visible, competitive, and a thought leader in your space, regardless of the economic climate.

Along with keywords, content marketing can benefit your paid search efforts and overall brand as well.

For example, if you create a long-form piece of content like a market research study or whitepaper, you can then promote that content via ads. Once someone hits your landing page, you can offer the content in exchange for completing a form fill.

It’s a win-win situation: You get info on potential leads, and your site visitor gets a helpful, educational piece of collateral.

When every ad dollar counts, there’s a smaller margin for trial and error. That’s why a lot of businesses opt to put their program in the hands of a PPC agency with the experience to create and optimize high-performing campaigns that get it right the first time.

7. Stay active on social media

If you’ve got a lot on your plate or are operating with a leaner team than normal, our expertise tells us social media is still worth the investment.

That’s because this marketing channel is a relatively low lift — and a budget-friendly one, too. Just like the traditional marketing method of SEO can help fuel paid search, a consistent social media strategy can as well.

Particularly if you have a business profile or run ads on platforms like Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Facebook, you can use insights gathered from these apps to inform your PPC campaigns.

Keep an eye on the competition and test out new ads to see if you’re on the right track.

Lastly, we’re going to circle back to brand awareness. Especially during uncertain times, keeping your brand awareness in check can keep you top of mind and relevant.

8. Sync up with sales (and CSMs)

Your sales team is one of the most powerful marketing tools you have at your disposal. And it’s one you may not be taking full advantage of.

Sales teams are often the ones on the frontlines, hearing directly from prospects and customers about their needs and pain points. These insights can be extremely beneficial when you’re recession-proofing your PPC plans.

Gather transcripts from sales calls or, even better, chat directly with your sales team to see what trends they’ve noticed.

If you have one, the same can go for your customer experience or CSM team. What objections are they seeing? What new issues or questions are cropping up repeatedly?

Knowing where your audience’s heads are can help you craft better messaging in ads and landing pages to overcome these obstacles.

9. Make sure your site is optimized

Here’s a spooky scenario: You’ve created an eye-catching, effective paid search ad that garners clicks. But when that visitor lands on your site, they’re met with a “meh” experience that causes them to bounce.

Paid search isn’t all about the ad. You’ve got to have a stellar site and top-notch landing pages to turn a click into a lead or a closed deal. And a speedy, optimized website is how you do it.

One of the first things to check is that your landing page mirrors the voice and verbiage of the ad that brought them there. You want that ad-to-site experience to feel seamless.

Next, you want to conduct a type of “wellness check” on your site. Pinpoint things like sluggish load speed, pages that render poorly on mobile, and 404 errors.

Optimizing your website is a smart move in all business climates, but it’s especially important when you’re being extra mindful of ad spend and want to garner the highest conversion rates possible.

The takeaway

The way you approach PPC during more uncertain times will depend largely on the space you operate in, what your competitors are doing, and what your goals and priorities are for the year.

But no matter what niche you’re in, it’s almost always a great time to focus on the human side of your brand.

When times are tough, companies that retain clients and grow their businesses are often the ones that emphasize empathy and understanding.

“At the very least, recessions tend to be an opportune time for companies and organizations to deeply evaluate their strengths and weaknesses,” says Dang. “More often than not, recessions will help expose different weak points or links within their operation.”

Consider this an opportunity to double down on what’s working and cut out what’s not.

“Taken as an optimization exercise, recessions can help companies and organizations become stronger and emerge on the other side much more able and equipped to compete and take share,” he adds.

Being proactive can also mean offering to create a revamped strategy that’ll put your client or business ahead of the curve in the event that a recession does officially hit.

That way, you can offer comfort and peace of mind in knowing that, regardless of what the future brings, their paid marketing efforts are set up to stand the test of time.

This post has been updated and was originally published in September 2022.