Q4 Luxury Marketing Checklist: Paid Search (Google & Performance Max)

Q4 is officially here: is your brand search-ready?

The next in our series to help your business win Q425, our comprehensive Paid Search guide helps luxury brands refine strategy, protect profitability, and turn visibility into meaningful performance across Google and Performance Max.

• Audit CPCs and profitability year-on-year - Set Q4 benchmarks for ROAS or POAS early use 2024 data to guide your bidding thresholds before November.

• Run pre-peak tests in October to ensure bid strategies and asset groups are stabilised ahead of pressure weeks

• Segment products by margin, not just category - Prioritise high-profit items in Shopping and PMax campaigns to protect efficiency under higher competition.

• Track new customer acquisition vs returning in search, critical for holiday ROAS modelling and first-party list growth

• Test POAS bidding where viable - Use margin-based product groupings and manual inputs to steer Performance Max toward your most profitable SKUs.

• Optimise shopping feeds for visibility and quality - Refine product titles, enhance descriptions, and use premium imagery (lifestyle vs product shots) to improve ad rank and relevance.

• Ensure Performance Max is fully asset-complete - Include all creative elements: headlines, videos, images, CTAs to drive maximum inventory and placement potential.

• Define clear rules for auto-bidding vs. manual controls - Maintain flexibility, but avoid overreactive changes mid-season. Set ceilings, not just targets.

• Protect branded terms - Monitor competitor bidding on your brand and reseller listings. Maintain presence but cap CPCs and impression share to avoid budget drains.

• Prepare messaging and extensions in advance - Include key shipping deadlines, gifting language, and seasonal site links (e.g. “Holiday Edit”, “Last Order Dates”).

• Sync with organic and paid social - Ensure search aligns with campaign timing and creative narrative from social and CRM particularly during Black Friday and gifting weeks.

• Track new customer acquisition vs returning in search, critical for holiday ROAS modelling and first-party list growth.