Raya is one of the peak shopping seasons of the year. Businesses plan ahead, rolling out special offers and temporary promotions to attract hungry shoppers. But some advertisers are being lured into stopping their Google Ads campaigns, thinking they’ll be saving money during the time people celebrate. The reality? Pausing your Google ads during Raya will really hurt you more than you think.
Here’s why:
1. Google’s Algorithm Needs to be Continuous
When Google Ads is running, they are actually in a learning process. So what they do is they will always collect data, adjust bids and optimize placements based on what the user is doing on the platform.
The platform’s automated bids rely on continuous data to learn and optimize performance. If you pause your ads, Google’s algorithm is paused.
When you start again, it has to “learn” your audience all over again, which results in higher costs and lower efficiency.
A Little Dragon study found that pausing high-performing Google Ads campaigns places the algorithm in a recalibration mode, briefly increasing costs and decreasing conversions.
That means your campaign may take weeks to recover, wasting time and budget.
2. Raya Is Peak Shopping Season
Pausing your ads during Raya means missing out on the biggest shopping rush of the year.
A Grab Ramadan-Raya Insights 2023/2024 report found that 84% of Malaysians planned to increase their spending during Ramadan and Raya, especially on food, fashion, and personal care.
Consumers are actively searching for deals, new products, and gift ideas. If you’re not visible, your competitors are.
Say it this way: imagine a crowded bazaar, with shoppers looking for the best bargains.
If your store is closed while others are open, where do you think shoppers will go?
3. Your Marketing Ecosystem Relies on Google Ads
Google Ads isn’t just about conversions—it drives your entire digital marketing campaign.
According to a case study done by Digital Media Stream, suspension of Google Ads had led to 50% falls in total traffic and 93% drops in new customer wins.
Your paid ads support SEO, social media, and email marketing. When you turn off ads, your entire sales funnel is affected.
Even if people saw your brand on social media, they might not see you when they search on Google.
4. Customers Are Open to New Brands During Raya
Raya is not merely a festive period; it’s when consumers are poised to experiment. 76% of Malaysian buyers informed Marketing Interactive that they’d experiment with novel brands amid Ramadan and Raya.
It is a golden opportunity to acquire fresh consumers who will otherwise never think about your company.
Holding up on advertisement implies losing probable long-term buyers who will prove loyal.
5. Recovery Takes Time—And Money
Resurrecting paused Google Ads campaigns isn’t a matter of flipping a switch. When you restart, your campaign has time to get back in the groove where it left off.
Weeks can elapse before everything is running smoothly, and your competition already has the upper hand while you’re still catching up.
Don’t pause unless you have to. Instead of pausing your campaigns, do this:
What to Do Instead of Pausing Google Ads?
- Scale Down, Not Stop. If budget is a concern, reduce your spending instead of stopping it entirely. Decrease your bids, but continue to run your ads.
- Take Advantage of Seasonal Promotions. People are already seeking Raya deals, gift ideas, and promotions. Make your ad creatives festive in theme.
- Use Smart Bidding Strategies. Google’s AI bidding adjusts your budget automatically to generate maximum conversions. If your cost-per-click is too expensive, let Google’s smart bidding optimize it for you.
- Real-Time Monitoring & Optimizing. Monitor performance metrics. If something is not doing well, tweak your keywords, ad copy, or landing pages rather than stopping everything.
Final Thoughts
So, does pausing Google Ads hurt during Raya? Yes. It disrupts Google’s learning cycle, waters down your brand visibility, and loses you potential new customers. Instead of pausing, attempt to tweak your strategy to keep running your ads cost-effectively.
After all, when shoppers are actively looking for products like yours, why disappear from their search results?
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