How to drive Black Friday traffic to your business

The biggest sale and busiest shopping day of the year, Black Friday tends to mark the beginning of the final stretch of the Christmas shopping season. Much like we have the Boxing Day sales in the UK, Black Friday started in the US as a major sale the day after a national holiday – Thanksgiving.

In 2010, Amazon introduced Black Friday offers to their UK customers and since then, more and more retailers have taken part, making it a significant time for UK businesses and retailers. In recent years, the sales period has also expanded with many retailers running promotions all the way through November and right up to Christmas.

Many customers view Black Friday as an excellent time to get some deals, especially due to increasing financial pressure. According to a report by Mintel, the Cost of Living Crisis meant more people took part in the Black Friday sales and 52% of shoppers said they relied more on promotions. The total sales therefore reached £13.3 billion, up 7.3% year on year.

Black Friday is a great time to drive sales and traffic to your business but it is also competitive so having a good marketing and campaign strategy is essential. Here at Click Consult, we offer a range of digital marketing services and are experienced in creating Black Friday campaigns. Below we have provided some of our top tips on how to optimise sales with SEO, PPC, social media, influencer marketing and more.

SEO

Conduct Black Friday-specific keyword research

This is arguably the most important part of your SEO strategy as it forms the foundation of any content you create. You can use tools such as SEMrush or Google Trends to help you find seasonal keywords to include in your content.

To increase chances of appearing on search engine results pages (SERPs), as well as short tail keywords such as ‘Black Friday deals’, you should also look to research long-tail keywords. For example, if you’re a children’s clothing brand, you could target ‘2024 Black Friday discounts on children’s clothing’ or ‘Best Cyber Monday deals for school shoes’ to reach a specific audience.

Create dedicated Black Friday landing pages

Adding a Black Friday landing page to your navigation can be very useful for customers looking to find deals. While pop ups can be effective, they can also slow down the site or get in the way of browsing. Instead, you could colour your Black Friday landing pages differently to catch the eye of potential customers.

Complete a Technical SEO health check

Before an important time for sales, such as Black Friday, it’s a good idea to check that your website is running smoothly and isn’t encountering any technical issues. Sorting out any problems before a mass of people visit your site will reduce the risk of potential customers navigating away from your site because it’s taking too long to load.

As part of a Technical SEO health check, you can ensure there are no broken links or 404 errors on your site using tools such as SEMrush and Screaming Frog. You can also check your website is mobile-friendly as many customers will likely be browsing from their phone or tablet.

Update your internal links

If you create new content for Black Friday, it’s important that you include internal links to it from other pages. This will encourage users to spend longer on your site, driving more traffic to your Black Friday content and hopefully resulting in more conversions.

Using keywords for hyperlinks such as ‘Black Friday electronics sales’ instead of something more vague like ‘click the link’ will also help your page to rank higher on Google search results.

Optimise existing pages

There’s a lot to be gained from refreshing existing content. You can update your existing meta titles and descriptions, H1 tags and image alt texts to include seasonal keywords. It’s also important that your content is helpful for the customer and aligns with Google’s EEAT guidelines. By using expert quotes or data, you can further show your expertise, helping pages to rank on SERPs.

PPC

Have a back up campaign

If you have top sellers, it’s important to monitor stock levels and ensure you have a back up campaign strategy ready to be deployed in your Adwords Google Ads account in the event of a stock shortage. If stock is running short, pushing it in a sale diminishes the return from that product line, and in the case of Black Friday might mean you have no stock available for the Christmas rush in the second week of December. A back up campaign can therefore offer a safety net.

Target the appropriate stage in the buyer’s journey

You will of course have PPC campaigns targeted at each specific stage of the buyer’s journey, but for Black Friday it is well worth studying the previous years’ data to gain an appreciation of how those other intention level campaigns performed from Black Friday to Cyber Monday. It may be a good idea to lower intention level campaigns and focus your budget entirely on purchase level queries instead (which are likely to have a higher CPC at this time and require more budget anyway).

Set up alerts

It’s a good idea to set up alerts so you can avoid maxing out your budget, placing lower in the ad order than you expected, or not meeting spend. As an annual event, there are few opportunities to capitalise on the revenue increases Black Friday can deliver. You want to ensure, therefore, that your brand makes the most of it – and that means keeping a close eye on each aspect that could be influenced by such an unpredictable weekend.

Try retargeting last year’s bargain hunters

Create segments to target with remarketing campaigns. While returning customers may not be looking for the same product they purchased last year, they have marked themselves out as being keen on a bargain and interested in your brand. Therefore, you may be able to advertise related products they may be interested in and turn last year’s buyers into repeat customers.

Maximise negative keyword use

With Black Friday also comes an increase in bounce rate and cart abandonments. To reduce bounce rate, you can maximise your use of negative keywords – a word or phrase that prevents your ad from appearing in certain search results. For example, if you sell board games only, you might want to use a negative keyword strategy to prevent your ads from appearing on searches relating to computer or video games. This can help to ensure that you are only targeting the most relevant search terms.

Paid social

Generate awareness around your brand

Ahead of Black Friday, it’s a good idea to make potential customers aware of your brand. You can run paid social campaigns designed to introduce your business to new audiences – video ads can work well for this! Using high-quality visuals and effective storytelling to communicate your brand’s products or services on platforms like Instagram, Facebook and TikTok allows for extensive reach and recognition before the sales event.

Utilise carousel ads

Carousel ads are a powerful tool for showcasing multiple products or features in one ad. Each slide can have its own image, video and link, allowing users to swipe through different offers. This is especially effective for Black Friday, as you can highlight a variety of products, discounts or categories which helps potential customers explore more options without leaving their social feed. The interactive nature of carousel ads encourages engagement and increases the chances of driving traffic to your site.

Target previous customers

Retargeting past customers is one of the most cost-efficient ways to drive sales during Black Friday. You can use customer data from your email list or website visitors to serve ads specifically to those who have already shown interest in your brand. Previous buyers are more likely to convert again, especially with exclusive Black Friday deals. You can even show them personalised offers, like discounts on products they’ve previously viewed or complementary items based on their purchase history.

Promote time-sensitive offers

Black Friday is all about urgency, so using time-sensitive offers can motivate quick decisions. You can create a sense of scarcity by running flash sales, limited-time discounts or offers with countdown timers. Ads that emphasise ‘while stocks last’ or ‘only available for a limited time’ also tend to drive more immediate action.

Test ads beforehand

Rather than diving straight into the deep end, it’s worth testing the waters first. You can A/B test two versions of a webpage with different ad creatives, copy, targeting options and calls to action (CTAs) to see which combinations perform best. This allows you to refine your strategy, so when the event arrives, you’ll have a better idea of which ads will generate the highest engagement and conversions.

Social media

Engage in real time

During Black Friday, real-time engagement is crucial for maintaining a connection with your audience. By responding promptly to comments, questions and direct messages on your social media channels, you can encourage more trust, leading to faster conversions. This also allows you to address customer concerns or inquiries about deals and availability quickly, preventing potential buyers from abandoning their carts.

Research social media trends

Knowing what’s trending on social media can give your brand a major advantage, allowing you to align your content with what’s currently captivating audiences. You can use social listening tools such as Hootsuite or Brandwatch to look at popular hashtags, trending topics and viral content formats. For example, interactive polls, countdowns and ‘deal reveal’ posts often gain traction around Black Friday. You can tailor content to these trends to increase visibility and engagement.

Run flash sales, competitions and giveaways

Create excitement around your Black Friday promotions by running flash sales, competitions or giveaways. Flash sales, which offer limited-time discounts, create urgency and drive immediate purchases. Competitions or giveaways that require users to like, comment or share posts can boost engagement, extending your reach and brand awareness.

Make it easy to shop

Making the shopping experience as easy and convenient as possible will help to drive conversions. Platforms like Instagram and Facebook offer shoppable posts, allowing you to tag products directly within posts and stories so users can go from viewing to purchasing with minimal effort. You could also set up a dedicated Black Friday highlight reel on Instagram so users can browse deals with shoppable story links. If your product is on TikTok Shop, you can create a shoppable video with a direct link to buy.

Establish a clear content plan

It’s a good idea to create a clear content plan that outlines when and how you’ll share key information about your deals. Start by mapping out a content calendar that includes pre-sale teasers, countdowns, product showcases and day-of reminders to create excitement and maintain momentum. You can also determine which formats – such as videos, carousel posts or live streams – will best showcase your offers, and schedule these strategically across different platforms to reach your audience at peak times.

Consistent, well-timed posts ensure your deals stay top of mind, while a clear plan will allow you to balance promotional content with engaging posts that keep your audience invested in the lead up to Black Friday.

Influencer marketing

Choose influencers who align with your brand

Collaborating with influencers can be a great way to reach a wider audience. However, it’s important to select those whose values, tone and audience align with your brand. Not only will the influencer be more likely to understand your product’s unique benefits, their audience will likely consist of people who are interested in the area your brand specialises in. For example, a tech brand would benefit from partnering with a gadget reviewer, while a beauty brand would do well with skincare experts.

Ask influencers to share unboxings or ‘sneak peeks’

Unboxing videos and sneak peeks tap into followers’ curiosity and excitement, making them ideal for pre-Black Friday content. By showcasing your products ahead of the sale, influencers can generate buzz, urging followers to plan purchases for the big day. Plus, by offering a ‘first look’, you can create a sense of exclusivity and anticipation that drives engagement and encourages audiences to buy.

Encourage user generated content

User-generated content (UGC) is a powerful trust-builder, as followers love seeing real customers enjoying products. Encourage influencers to invite followers to share their own Black Friday purchases using a branded hashtag. This can create a ripple effect, as each UGC post introduces your brand to new audiences. You can then repost top UGC posts on your brand’s channels to not only amplify social proof but also incentivise future customers to get in on the action, boosting reach and engagement.

Offer affiliate links or limited-time promo codes

Providing influencers with personalised promo codes or affiliate links is a fantastic way to create urgency and track conversions. Limited-time offers feel exclusive and encourage followers to act fast to secure the deal. Affiliate links also motivate influencers to actively promote your products, as they earn commissions on every sale.

What’s more, this strategy allows you to measure the return on investment (ROI) of each influencer, so you can decide whether to partner with them for future campaigns.

Collaborate with an influencer on a livestream

Livestreams bring a real-time, interactive element to Black Friday promotions, and collaborating with influencers can encourage their followers to join. During the stream, influencers can review products, answer questions and highlight special Black Friday offers.

Digital design

Use bold, eye-catching colours

Bold, contrasting colours like black, red and yellow are perfect for Black Friday promotions. Black and red convey urgency, while yellow or neon accents can highlight crucial elements, such as discounts or CTA buttons. Make sure you choose a palette that fits your brand but also stands out to potential customers.

Keep text minimal and direct

Black Friday is all about quick decisions, so keep your text short and action-oriented. Too many words may be confusing to your audience so stick to punchy phrases like ‘50% Off Today Only’ or ‘Shop Now’. This clarity helps drive instant engagement, keeping the focus on the main offer and therefore increasing conversions.

Make sure the design is mobile-friendly

Many shoppers browse and buy on mobile, so make sure your designs are optimised for smaller screens. You should use a responsive layout with scalable images and larger, readable fonts and simplify navigation with prominent, easy-to-tap buttons, especially for CTAs. Ensuring a seamless mobile experience not only makes your site more enjoyable to navigate but also significantly boosts the likelihood of converting mobile visitors into buyers.

Create animated ads

Animated ads grab attention faster than static visuals, making them ideal for Black Friday marketing. Simple animations, like a flash effect on discount numbers or a countdown timer, create excitement and urgency without overwhelming the viewer. As long as your animations are subtle and purposeful, this will help your ad to stand out from competitors.

Add limited-time or exclusive tags

As mentioned above, creating a sense of urgency is key on Black Friday, and exclusive tags like ‘Today Only’ or ‘Limited Stock’ amplify this effect. Small design elements indicating scarcity encourage faster decisions by reminding shoppers of the time-sensitive nature of the offer. Labels such as ‘Members Only’ or ‘Just for You’ can also communicate exclusivity, maximising the chance of a quick, impulsive purchase.

During the Black Friday period, people will likely be actively looking for a good deal, perhaps with brands they’ve never shopped with before. It is therefore a perfect opportunity to increase awareness of your brand and hopefully drive sales. By taking our tips into account, you can ensure that every aspect of your campaign strategy is as effective as possible in achieving your goals and fulfilling your key performance indicators (KPIs).

Combining organic and paid strategies can be an excellent way to reach a wider audience with your products and services. If you’d like more information on how we at Click Consult can help you with this, don’t hesitate to get in touch today.