---
title: Google Ads Black Friday Tips to Maximise ROI
description: "Practical Google Ads Black Friday tips from a UK PPC consultant: audience targeting, budget strategy, bidding, tracking and ad copy that converts."
url: "https://steviemorris.com/ppc-paid-ads/unlock-success-with-my-google-ads-black-friday-tips-for-2023/"
canonical: "https://steviemorris.com/ppc-paid-ads/unlock-success-with-my-google-ads-black-friday-tips-for-2023/"
type: article
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category: ppc-paid-ads
location: 
primary_keyword: Google Ads Black Friday tips
keywords:
  - Google Ads Black Friday
  - Black Friday PPC strategy
  - Google Ads bidding strategy Black Friday
blueprint: 0
audience: UK business owners
date_published: 2026-06-30
date_modified: 2026-06-30
author: Stevie Morris
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  - Article
  - FAQPage
  - BreadcrumbList
record_id: article__unlock-success-with-my-google-ads-black-friday-tips-for-2023
word_count: 1601
---

# Google Ads Black Friday Tips: How to Win the Busiest Shopping Weekend of the Year

To win Black Friday on Google Ads: tighten audience targeting, increase budget on top campaigns, use automated bidding, verify conversion tracking before the rush, and lead with urgency-driven copy. Start preparing at least two weeks in advance.

## Why Black Friday Demands a Different Google Ads Approach

Black Friday is not a normal week. Competition spikes, CPCs climb, and shoppers make decisions faster than usual. The advertisers who win are the ones who **prepare early** — not the ones who scramble to react on the day.

This guide covers the five areas that matter most: audience targeting, budget allocation, bidding strategy, conversion tracking, and ad copy. Get these right and you give yourself a genuine edge over advertisers who treat it like any other campaign.

## 1. Black Friday Audience Targeting: Reach the Right People

1. **Segment your audiences** — Don't lump all users together. Create separate ad groups for cold audiences, warm visitors, and past customers — each deserves different messaging and different bids.
2. **Run remarketing campaigns** — People who visited your site or abandoned a cart are your warmest prospects. Remind them of what they looked at and give them a clear reason to come back now.
3. **Expand from your best customers** — Upload your best customers as a Customer Match list, then lean on optimised targeting and automated bidding to find new prospects who share their characteristics — Google retired standalone lookalike ("similar audiences") targeting in 2023, so this expansion now happens inside the campaign rather than as a separate audience you build yourself.
4. **Schedule ads for peak hours** — Use dayparting to concentrate budget during the hours when your audience is most active — typically evenings and early morning on Black Friday itself. Check last year's hourly data if you have it.
5. **Prioritise mobile** — 83% of Black Friday online purchases in 2022 were made on mobile devices. Ensure your landing pages load fast on mobile and your ads are designed to convert on small screens.

## 2. Budget Allocation: Concentrate Spend Where It Counts

- **Review last year's data first** — Which campaigns, ad groups, and keywords delivered the best ROAS or CPA? Start there, not with gut instinct.
- **Set clear daily spending caps** — Decide upfront [how much you're willing to spend](/ppc-paid-ads/how-much-to-budget-for-google-ads-uk-2/) per campaign per day. Black Friday can drain budgets fast.
- **Focus on high-value keywords** — Don't spread budget thin across every keyword. Double down on what already converts.
- **Include long-tail keywords** — They're often cheaper and carry stronger commercial intent. A searcher using a specific product query is closer to buying.
- **Build in daily check-ins** — Reallocate mid-event if one campaign is outperforming and another is burning money with no returns.

## 3. Bidding Strategy: Let the Machine Work — But Watch It Closely

- **Use automated bidding** — [Target CPA or Target ROAS strategies](/data/how-to-set-google-ads-targets-cpa-roas-2/) use machine learning to optimise bids in real time across thousands of signals you can't manually replicate. They need conversion history to work well — at least 30 conversions in the past 30 days is a reasonable baseline.
- **Adjust bids by device** — Given mobile's dominance during Black Friday, consider increasing mobile bid adjustments if your site converts well on mobile.
- **Daypart your bids** — Apply bid modifiers to the hours that consistently outperform in your account.
- **Prioritise your best-converting keywords** — Use portfolio bid strategies with CPC caps where you need to maintain control over spend.
- **Monitor every morning** — Automated bidding is not set-and-forget during Black Friday. Check performance daily and adjust targets if spend is running away or results are off-track.

## 4. Conversion Tracking: Fix It Before the Rush

If your [conversion tracking](/analytics/conversion-tracking-explained-common-mistakes-2/) breaks during Black Friday, you're flying blind — and you won't know until it's too late. **Audit your tracking at least a week before the event.**

There are three main ways to track conversions in Google Ads:

**Conversion tracking codes** placed on your confirmation or thank-you page are the standard method. **Importing from Google Analytics** works well if you're already tracking goals there. **Phone call tracking** is essential if calls are a meaningful conversion for your business.

Use Google's Tag Assistant to verify tags are firing correctly. If you run an e-commerce site, also confirm that transaction values are being passed through accurately — this is what powers smart bidding to optimise towards revenue rather than just volume.

## 5. Ad Copy: Write for Urgency Without Being Vague

- **Lead with the specific offer** — "50% off sitewide — Black Friday only" beats a generic headline every time. Name the deal.
- **Create genuine urgency** — "Ends midnight Friday" or "Limited stock remaining" works when it's true. Don't use fake scarcity; savvy shoppers see through it.
- **Keep it tight** — [Short, punchy copy](/ppc-paid-ads/crafting-high-converting-ppc-ad-copy-dos-and-donts/) outperforms long descriptions. Get to the point in the headline.
- **Use your keywords** — Include the searcher's query in your headline where natural. It improves relevance, Quality Score, and click-through rate.
- **Tailor by audience** — Past customers may respond to loyalty messaging; new visitors need social proof and clarity about your offer.
- **Add social proof** — A review score, number of orders fulfilled, or a short testimonial in your description builds trust quickly against competing ads.

## Black Friday Campaign Optimisation Checklist

1. **Review and refine your keywords** — Remove underperforming terms before the event starts and add any new high-intent seasonal phrases you're missing.
2. **A/B test your ad copy** — Run at least two variations per ad group so Google can identify what resonates. Don't go into Black Friday with a single untested ad.
3. **Layer in-market audiences** — Add in-market segments relevant to your category as observation or targeting. Shoppers actively researching a purchase are more likely to convert.
4. **Schedule budget increases in advance** — Use Google Ads' scheduled budget changes to automatically increase budgets on the day — you don't want to miss traffic because you forgot to log in.
5. **Use all relevant ad assets** — Sitelink, promotion, callout, and structured snippet assets (Google renamed ad extensions to assets in 2022) increase your ad's presence on the page and improve click-through rate.
6. **Monitor and reallocate on the day** — Check in at least twice during Black Friday. If a campaign is spending hard with poor results, pause it and move budget to what's working.

### Start at Least Two Weeks Out — Four Is Better

> The worst thing you can do is try to set up a Black Friday campaign the week before, or on the day itself. Smart bidding needs time to gather data, audiences need time to build, and ad copy needs to be reviewed and tested. Give yourself at least two weeks. If you're starting from scratch or running a large account, four weeks is the safer target.

### Related services

- [Get a PPC audit](/ppc-audits/)
- [Talk to a PPC consultant](/ppc-consultant/)
- [PPC management](/ppc-agency/)

## Frequently asked questions

### How much should I increase my Google Ads budget for Black Friday?

There's no universal figure — it depends on your margins, your competition, and how much conversion history your campaigns have. At minimum, identify your best-performing campaigns and give them room to scale. Monitor daily spend closely and be prepared to reallocate mid-event rather than spreading extra budget evenly across everything.

### When should I start preparing my Google Ads for Black Friday?

At least two weeks before, ideally four. Smart bidding strategies need conversion data to work effectively, audiences need time to build, and you need enough runway to test ad copy and get it approved. Leaving it to the last minute is the single biggest mistake I see.

### Should I use manual or automated bidding during Black Friday?

Automated bidding — Target CPA or Target ROAS — generally outperforms manual during high-volume periods because it processes thousands of real-time auction signals simultaneously. The caveat: it needs sufficient conversion history to function well. A common benchmark is at least 30 conversions in the past 30 days before switching.

### How do I stop competitors eating my Black Friday budget?

Focus on conversion efficiency rather than impression share. Use negative keywords to filter irrelevant traffic, concentrate budget on your highest-ROAS campaigns, and avoid chasing clicks on every keyword. Competing on impression share across the board rarely produces good returns — it mostly inflates your costs.

### What ad copy works best for Black Friday Google Ads?

Specific, urgent, and honest. Name your offer clearly — percentage discount, free delivery, limited stock — and give a real deadline. Generic copy like 'Great deals this Black Friday' is outcompeted immediately by specific headlines that name the discount and create genuine urgency.

### Is Black Friday worth it for small businesses running Google Ads?

Yes, but be selective about where you compete. You don't need to fight for every keyword. Focus on your own brand terms, your best product keywords, and remarketing to existing visitors. Smaller budgets can still deliver solid returns by targeting smarter rather than simply spending more.

## Need Help with Your Black Friday Google Ads?

I work with UK businesses to build and manage Google Ads campaigns that deliver real results — not vanity metrics. If you want a second pair of eyes on your Black Friday setup, or need someone to manage it entirely, get in touch.

**Call 07410 907 104**