The holiday season is no longer confined to Black Friday or Cyber Monday.
In 2024, there were eight December days with higher spending than Cyber Monday, and nearly half of shoppers continued making purchases even after the holidays. Consumers now browse, compare, and buy continuously, creating a dynamic environment that rewards agile advertisers.
Google remains the most trusted platform for discovery and purchase decisions during this period. Its AI-powered tools, particularly Smart Bidding, help advertisers adapt in real time to demand spikes, consumer intent shifts, and fluctuating competition levels.
What Makes Smart Bidding Essential During The Holidays
Smart Bidding uses Google AI to set bids automatically at the auction level.
It analyses hundreds of signals such as device, location, time, query intent, and conversion probability. During volatile holiday peaks, this capability ensures that your bids remain efficient and aligned with your campaign goals, even as user behaviour changes minute by minute.
Key Benefits
- Real-time adaptability: Smart Bidding adjusts to spikes in demand automatically.
- Signal-rich optimisation: Past conversion data, device types, and audience signals.
- Time savings: Frees marketers from manual bid adjustments to focus on strategy.
Choosing the Right Smart Bidding Strategy
Different holiday goals require different Smart Bidding tactics.
Before peak season, define your key performance indicators (KPIs) and select the strategy that aligns with your business objectives.
Goal: Maximise conversions quickly
Recommended Strategy: Maximise Conversions / Target CPA
Why It Works: Great for flash sales or short-term campaigns
Goal: Maximise revenue
Recommended Strategy: Maximise Conversion Value / Target ROAS
Why It Works: Optimises for higher-value customers and purchases
Goal: Acquire new users
Recommended Strategy: New Customer Acquisition Goal (Performance Max or Search)
Why It Works: Prioritises new customers and higher LTVs
Goal: Increase visibility
Recommended Strategy: Target Impression Share
Why It Works: Useful for new product launches and brand visibility drives
Pro Tip: For value-based businesses, report conversion values and use tROAS or Max Conversion Value to reflect true business performance.
How To Plan Seasonal Budgets Strategically
Before the Holidays
- Use Performance Planner to forecast the optimal investment and expected ROI up to 18 months in advance.
- Review Budget Recommendations and Campaign Simulators to ensure you’re not leaving demand uncaptured.
- Reallocate underutilised budgets from low-performing campaigns to higher opportunity areas.
During Peak Weeks
- Remember that daily spend can reach up to 2x your average daily budget, and monthly limits are 30.4× the daily average.
- Activate Seasonal Budget Adjustments for short bursts (3–14 days) such as Black Friday or flash sales.
- Implement Shared Budgets or Budget Bid Strategies in Search Ads 360 for portfolio-level efficiency. This can drive up to 10% more conversions at the same spend.
Setting Smarter CPA and ROAS Targets
Demand volatility requires flexibility in targets:
- If conversion rates (CvR) double during a sale, raise CPA targets by 2× or lower ROAS targets by half.
- Apply Seasonality Adjustments when you anticipate major conversion spikes (like a flash sale or new product launch).
- Always wait one to two conversion cycles before evaluating performance changes.
- For short campaigns (under seven days), start with slightly relaxed targets (e.g., 2× your normal CPA or ½ your usual ROAS) to let Smart Bidding ramp up efficiently.
How To Use Seasonality Adjustments for Precision
While Smart Bidding already adapts to seasonal patterns, manual seasonality adjustments help you control exceptional surges:
- Use them only for short-term (1–7 days) dramatic conversion rate shifts.
- Apply at the campaign or account level.
- For example, if your CvR increases from 5% to 15%, set a 200% increase adjustment.
Note: Overusing these adjustments can make them less effective—save them for high-impact events.
Exploring Advanced AI Tools: AI Max and Smart Bidding Exploration
AI Max for Search
AI Max enhances Search campaigns through:
- Search Term Matching: Expands keyword coverage using creative and landing page signals.
- Text Customisation: Automatically tailors ad copy to match user intent.
- Final URL Expansion: Sends users to the most relevant landing page automatically.
- Advertisers enabling all AI Max features have seen 27% more conversions at a similar CPA or ROAS.
Smart Bidding Exploration
This feature bids “opportunistically” on queries just outside your normal reach, expanding coverage by up to 19% more conversions versus a standard target reduction.
Best used in the lead-up to Q4, then scaled during holiday peaks.
Omnichannel, App, and Demand Gen Strategies
Omnichannel Success
Include store visits or sales as Smart Bidding goals to maximise total revenue, both online and offline. For example, a brand reached a 91% omnichannel revenue increase by integrating store conversions into SA360 bidding.
App Conversions
Implement Web to App Connect for seamless deep linking from ads to in-app purchase pages. App-optimised traffic can deliver up to 2.8× higher conversion rates than mobile web.
Demand Gen Campaigns
- Relax targets slightly (e.g., +20% tCPA or –20% tROAS) to stay competitive.
- Gradually increase bids by 5–10% every few days.
- Attach product feeds and use Checkout on Merchant to boost conversion value by up to 11%.
Automating Recommendations & Staying in Control
Google Ads now allows auto-application of bidding recommendations, ensuring timely adoption of best practices without affecting budgets.
Advertisers can automatically:
- Switch to higher-performing bidding strategies.
- Adjust CPA or ROAS targets ahead of traffic surges.
- Review all changes in the “History” tab for transparency.
Privacy-Safe Measurement For Long-Term Growth
As privacy regulations evolve, durable measurement frameworks are critical:
- Use the Google Tag Gateway for compliant, consent-based tracking.
- Use Data Manager to unify first-party and modelled data.
- Report conversion values that align with true KPIs.
This allows Smart Bidding to optimise not just for volume, but for actual business value.
The Bottom Line: Smart Bidding as a Strategic Advantage
In 2025, success during the holiday season is defined by data, AI, and dynamic adaptation.
Smart Bidding isn’t just an automation tool. It’s a competitive differentiator that transforms how advertisers plan, invest, and scale during high-demand periods.
By combining predictive AI insights, flexible budgeting, and omnichannel optimisation, marketers can deliver meaningful, measurable, and scalable growth.
Need a fresh perspective? Let’s talk.
At 360 OM, we specialise in helping businesses take their marketing efforts to the next level. Our team stays on top of industry trends, uses data-informed decisions to maximise your ROI, and provides full transparency through comprehensive reports.
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