Your Q4 PPC Strategy: Why October Is the New Black Friday Kick-Off

October-December is the busiest and most competitive time of year in digital advertising. Traditionally, Black Friday marked the official start of the shopping season, but the consumer journey has shifted, shoppers are starting their research and even purchasing as early as October. 

For PPC advertisers, that means the brands that build awareness before November are the ones best placed to capture sales when peak season hits. 

Why Q4 Prep Must Begin Early 

• Christmas creep is real: We’ve seen retailers stretch the holiday season, with promotions often starting in September or October.
• Consumers are researching early: Many people begin researching Black Friday deals weeks before November (Think with Google).
• October shopping is rising: In 2024, 38% of consumers planned to shop early October promotions, up from 24% in 2023 (Queue-it).
• Holiday shopping already in motion: By the end of October 2024, 58% of shoppers had already started their holiday shopping (New York Post).
• Recent trends in 2025 in the UK are indicating that people are searching earlier for “black Friday” compared to previous years.
   

Takeaway: Waiting until November is no longer an option. The race has already started. 

Tips for Q4 & Black Friday Readiness 

Use October to capture attention and build the audiences you’ll need for promotion period in or around November: 

• Upper-funnel campaigns: Running Google Display, YouTube, and Demand Gen to reach deal-hunters while CPCs are lower.
• Seasonal search intent: Test keywords like “early Black Friday deals” or “best gifts 2025” to understand emerging demand. But be quick as these auctions will only get more competitive the closer we get.
• Audience building: Drive traffic to key product/category pages and build remarketing lists that can be retargeted when your offers go live.
• Creative testing: Trial ad copy, visuals, and CTAs in October so that only your best-performing assets run in November.
• Account audits: Preparing your account for peak can be quite daunting and time consuming task, but trust us when we say it will pay off.  
• AI-Max: Rumours suggests that Google will launch ads in AI-Overviews and AI-Mode in the UK in October, and only those that have Broad Match, Pmax & AI-Max enabled will be eligible to show ads in these new placements. So ready your campaigns, turn these on as early adopters could benefit with cheaper auctions and less competitors. 
   
   

Driving Action During the Sale Period 

Once Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and December promotions hit, switch strategy from awareness to action: 

• Budget allocation: Shift investment towards lower funnel campaigns and target users that interacted with awareness activity driven in October.
• Budget management: This is an important aspect that is sometimes underestimated. The ability to adjust and manage budgets according to demand and performance can influence overall results and make or break campaigns.  
• Have a backup budget pot: Keep a reserve of spend set aside and only release it if key performance metrics (ROAS, CPA, revenue targets) are being met. There’s nothing worse than leaving revenue on the table and wishing you’d invested more once the sales period is over. A backup budget ensures you can scale winning campaigns without overspending on poor performers.
• Remarketing lists: Target the audiences you built in October with high-intent messaging and urgency-driven CTAs.
• Ad extensions & assets: Highlight promotions using countdown timers, sitelinks, and price extensions to stand out on crowded SERPs.
• Dayparting & bid adjustments: Monitor performance in real time and lean into the peak shopping windows where CPCs justify the returns.
• Protect brand terms: Since competitors may bid on your brand, raise bid caps or lower ROAS targets to keep your ads top-ranked when customers search for you. Preventing losing customers to rivals at the final moment. 

Final Thoughts 

The brands that win Q4 with PPC aren’t just the ones that shout loudest during Black Friday weekend. They’re the ones who: 

1. Build awareness and audiences in based on early trends while costs are lower.
2. Remarket aggressively and allocate budget to high-intent campaigns once the sale period begins.
3. Align ads, offers, and customer experience so the path to purchase feels seamless.
4. Limit campaigns being limited by budget or risk leaving revenue on the table 

October is no longer “too early” – it’s the secret weapon to winning Q4. If you want to capture more sales, scale smarter, and outpace competitors this holiday season, our PPC experts are here to help. Get in touch today to build your winning Q4 strategy.