Home service client receiving a lead per day from SEM campaign during COVID pandemic
While many stores are closed due to COVID, we are seeing Hardware stores across Hampton Roads rake it in as people check of their to-do lists.
Search trends mirror real world behavior
The traffic at these stores is not contained to physical locations; online searches for hardware stores is through the roof since stay-at-home orders came down in the middle of March. The places we live have turned into so much more and COVID is causing many people to rethink their spaces. Whether it be a passion project or a necessity – home improvement is having a moment.
With summer on the way and people looking to make the most out their space, Google searches for decks and sheds have seen a steady rise over the past 6 weeks.
Google Trends for search term “deck”
Google Trends for search term “shed”
These are more than just search trends, these are potential customers. Virginia Media is seeing this firsthand with our local home service clients running paid Search campaigns through Google Ads.
During the time of April 1 – 21, a client we work with in the Decking Industry has seen a major spike in traffic and leads. Not only is our campaign their #1 source of website traffic, they have seen 13 phone calls and 32 form completions, in just 21 days! That’s an average of 1.5 leads per day during a global pandemic!
Infographic for decking client
In addition to decks, the interest in home services expands to other areas of the home. There has been an increase in people searching for sheds and a surge in searches on the weekends for how to make a shed.
Between April 1 – 21st a client in the Shed Business running a Paid search campaign also experienced a spike in leads and calls. This client received 900 clicks to their website in addition to over 100 calls from their website and ads in that 3-week period. That’s an average of 42.8 website visits and 4.7 calls a day, for 21 days!
Infographic for shed client
All businesses, particularly small businesses, are creating a new normal during COVID. However, we can’t create this new normal alone, thousands of people in our communities are creating it every day. Data and trends on what people are searching for right now can give insight into what is at the top of people’s minds, desires, intentions, and ultimately, behavior.
Don’t miss an opportunity to have your message in front of your potential customers. Data is always powerful, and now more than ever business should be using that data to drive their decisions on advertising spends. A targeted digital campaign driven by data can create real value on the dollar for businesses to increase their revenue right now.
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