Paid Search Marketing: Still Worth It in a Downturn?

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• Google Ads revenue still grew 11.6% year-over-year in Q2 2022 despite general money worries.
• More than one-third of marketers put their efforts into 1–2 platforms during slow times to keep costs down.
• Keywords that show people want to buy and smart ways of setting bids give a better return on investment when marketing money gets smaller.
• When people change how they buy during slow times, ads need to focus on value and connect with feelings.
• Using what you learn from paid search with automatic content marketing helps your brand be seen even when you spend less on ads.

When the economy gets harder, companies often look at how to spend less. The marketing budget is often the first place they look. But smart paid search marketing doesn’t just keep going when things are slow; it can do well. With the right ideas, tools, and ways of working, you can make limited money go further, meet changing goals, and keep clients happy without losing results.

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Why Keep Paid Search Going When Budgets Are Cut

When businesses look for ways to cut costs, stopping ad budgets might seem easy. But for paid search marketing, stopping completely can hurt how visible you are for a long time. This is especially true when people worried about a slow economy are looking hard for answers.

Google Ads showed it was strong in Q2 2022. Revenue was up 11.6% from the year before (Alphabet Inc., 2022). This shows something important: many brands didn’t stop – they changed what they did. Even when things were not sure, companies saw it was good to be seen.

Think about it this way: every time your brand isn’t showing up for searches where people clearly want to buy, a competitor is. Stopping all spending can also mean losing data, stopping good performance, and resetting quality scores. All this makes it cost more to start using search ads again later.

Instead of stopping paid search, focus on being efficient and meeting your goals.

Change Paid Search Campaigns to Meet Current Goals

When the market changes, how you define success should change too. Normally, your goals might be getting lots of leads, making your brand bigger, or winning against competitors. But when times are unsure, it’s key to set new priorities to protect your marketing money and brand reputation.

Start by looking at your goals again

• Are you focused on getting leads for less money?
• Is the business trying to get more people interested or get more email signups?
• Is keeping current customers or showing up more for your best audience the main thing now?

Once goals are clear, set up your campaigns differently

• Move spending to keywords and campaigns that lead to sales.
• Get rid of ad groups you were just testing and focus on search words that bring in money.
• Use Google’s Smart Bidding, like target cost-per-acquisition (tCPA) or maximize conversion bidding. This lets the computer systems do more with less money.
• Build essential campaigns – simple, needed, and focused on getting a return on investment while still running.

Changing things around makes sure every dollar you spend helps you get real results.

Find and Get Rid of Things That Aren’t Working Well

A slow economy shows you need to get rid of waste and work better across all marketing. PPC campaigns often have old setups and automatic settings. These are good places to make better.

Start by checking your whole account for:

• Ad groups that do the same thing or keywords that are too similar
• Ad groups that got no customers in the last 30 or 60 days
• Display ads that don’t do well or automatic places that waste money
• People you are trying to reach who don’t turn into customers or interact

Also, make things better by:

• Looking at the Search Terms Report to find searches that don’t fit.
• Adding words you don’t want to show up for to stop people who won’t buy from clicking.
• Spending money only when it works best – focus on the hours or days when people are most likely to buy.
• Making sure extra ad info (like site links, callouts, prices) matches your keywords and is current.

Just doing this regular check can lower how much it costs to get a customer a lot. And it frees up money for better search words.

Put Paid Search Strategy and Automatic Content Marketing Together

Paid search and content marketing should work together. Actually, slow times are the best time to make them work together, especially when every click counts.

Clever marketers use what they learn from paid search to make content

• Use keywords that work well for blog posts or landing page ideas.
• Change ad headlines that get lots of clicks into email subject lines.
• Make main pieces of content from words or deals that connect with people in paid ads.

Tools that automatically look at live search ad data can help you make blogs, guides, videos, FAQs, and other things faster. This way helps you stay visible when you spend less on ads, without losing importance.

This content also makes your SEO work better. And it helps leads you got from ads before. This builds a link between getting quick visits and keeping people interested for a long time.

See What Competitors Are Doing When Budgets Are Down

Changes in the economy don’t hit all companies the same. Some competitors will stop advertising; others will focus harder on certain groups. Either way, this creates chances for you.

Use tools like

• SEMrush to see ad text trends and how much others might spend
• Ahrefs to watch how others change their focus on paid vs. free search words
• SpyFu to see what ads others ran before

According to eMarketer (2022), over 33% of marketers put their efforts into just 1–2 channels that give a good return. These changes can mean lower click costs or showing up more in areas others stopped focusing on.

See which ad groups competitors stop using or spend less on. This might show you good keyword chances. You can move your money to these areas to get the best return during a slow time.

Update Ad Messages and Test Different Ads

Slow economies make things unclear. People think more before buying, and your ads should show you understand this.

Instead of talking about being the best or newest, switch to messages that show value and care:

• “Works for any budget”
• “Plans that can change to fit what you need”
• “Made for sure results even when times are not sure”

Also important is always testing ads to see what works best:

• Test different buttons for taking action, different ways of writing headlines, and if talking about how it helps is better than talking about what it is.
• Try messages that appeal to feelings versus facts to see what connects with people.
• Test saying there’s a limited time versus saying there is no risk.

Small changes often lead to big results. For example, changing buttons from “Buy Now” to “See Plans” can feel less pushy for people watching their money. It still helps get them to take the next step.

And, messages don’t stay the same – they should change as people feel differently about the market.

Talk Early and Often With Clients or Key People

Staying quiet is not good when things are slow. Getting fewer results can make client relationships hard, but being open builds trust.

Start things off by:

• Talking often (weekly or every two weeks) to share how things are going and changes in plans.
• Using simple charts to show how much it costs to get a customer, return on ad spend, or how people move through the buying steps.
• Planning for different situations – show what happens with less money.

What’s more important, make new expectations clear. Make sure everyone agrees on the new goals, like keeping lead quality high instead of just getting lots of leads, or mainly using paid search to reach people who visited before.

Changing expectations makes unclear times a chance to work together. It also shows you are making smart choices when money is tight.

Focus on Ways to Get More People to Take Action

Getting lots of good visitors won’t help if your landing pages don’t turn them into customers. This is especially true when marketing money is tight. Get the most from every click by making it easier for people to take action.

Things to check

• Page Speed: Pages that load faster mean more people take action, especially on phones.
• Message Match: Make sure your landing page headlines match your ad text exactly.
• Layout: Make the page simple, show off the button to take action, and have less stuff that pulls people away.
• Show Proof: Add reviews, trust badges, or client logos so people trust you.

Cheap tools like Hotjar, Crazy Egg, or Microsoft Clarity can show how people use your site. They can point out where things are hard for users. Try small tests, such as

• Moving the button to take action.
• Changing a headline to talk about how it helps you versus just what it is.
• Making forms shorter.

Even small changes can make a lot more people take action. And that makes the money you spend go further.

Look at Getting People to Take Action Over Time

Getting people to buy right away isn’t always possible when things are slow. It takes longer for people to decide to buy. And keeping in touch with potential customers is more important. Changing your plan from getting sales right away to helping people buy later can keep your sales process healthy.

Think about:

• Things people can download like guides, how-to’s, or tools.
• Live or recorded online talks that teach your audience.
• Getting emails to send helpful messages over time.

These cheaper ways give people something useful and connect with potential customers who aren’t ready to buy yet. Use paid search to show off these free things people can get. And reach out to people who visited before with lower bids. This helps you build stronger links before you try to sell hard.

Your goal now is to get people interested and get their emails. Your goal later is to get more sales faster when the market gets better.

Try Mixing Paid and Owned Media to Save Money

Make your money go further by mixing paid ads and your own content. This makes campaigns that help for a long time.

Use smart ways to reuse things

• Make good ad headlines into blog post titles.
• Use the main problems your ads talk about as ideas for short podcasts.
• Turn picture ads into short videos for social media. This doesn’t cost much to make.

Tools that make content automatically or with AI help can help you be seen everywhere. This costs much less. What starts as a paid search data point becomes an SEO gain, email content, or a LinkedIn post.

Mixing paid and owned media means you don’t rely as much on ad auctions that can change quickly. It also keeps your brand in important talks that are always relevant.

Watch and Report Better Using Simple Dashboards

When things are slow, it’s key to show you are still getting results with less money. This helps get people to support you for longer. But more numbers don’t always help.

Clear, simple reports should show

• Cost Per Customer (instead of how many clicks)
• Where you get the best results or what devices people use
• How much you spent versus how much money you think you will make because of paid search
• Seeing which steps led to a sale when people interacted with you more than once

Tell a story with the data so your team or clients understand what happened and why it matters. Make reporting a discussion tool, not just a pile of numbers.

Good reporting makes important people feel better. It shows that even with less money, the results are real and the ideas for where to go next are good.

See This Time as a Chance, Not a Problem

Slow economies show how strong you are. They also show who can think ahead and change quickly in marketing. See these ups and downs as a sign. Not a sign to stop, but a sign to try new things.

Brands that stay active while others stop usually get back on track quicker and get more customers. Use this time to

• Try new types of ads (Discovery ads, Performance Max).
• Bring data together to understand your audience better.
• Help the paid search, SEO, and content teams work together better inside the company.

This makes you cut waste, focus on what matters most, and build campaigns that will work later too. When the market gets better, your brand won’t just come back – you’ll be in front.

Recap: Paid Search Still Works—If You Are Smart

Cutting spending doesn’t mean cutting all presence. Smart paid search when the economy is slow helps your brand be seen without spending too much. It also helps you make good content and have better relationships with clients. By changing goals, focusing on things that make a big difference, using the right tools, and changing messages, you keep going strong while competitors disappear.

If you want to get the most from your marketing money and mix automation with smart search advertising, let our platform help you find the way to marketing that works now and lasts.