PPC
22 Google Ads Automated Rules That Will Make Your Life Easier

The world changes fast—and there are few places that show that change as quickly as the Google SERP. Global events, celebrity gossip, and social trending topics can all dominate our search interests and quickly impact the performance of our PPC campaigns.
Even the top searches from 2022 already feel outdated!
Although the SERP can shift at a minute’s notice, even the most dedicated PPC manager can’t monitor their campaigns 24/7. So how can you keep your ads up to date–even while you sleep?
Luckily, Google Ads allows PPC managers to use automated rules to monitor, change, and optimize their accounts in advance. With some proper planning and foresight, automatic rules can become a powerful tool in your tool belt.
What are Google Ads automated rules?
Automated rules allow advertisers to schedule changes to be made in their Google Ads account. The genius of automated rules is that they’re nearly infinitely flexible in scheduling changes made to your Google Ads account. You can use an automated rule to post one change or thousands–and can schedule them to run just one time or multiple times a day. You can use them to post big changes–such as pausing every campaign in your account, or the smallest changes–such as emailing you the results of your campaign when you return from vacation.
Microsoft Advertising has similar automated rules for their advertisers that can be used in conjunction with Google’s automated rules. Alternatively, advertisers can automate importing changes from their Google Ads accounts directly into Microsoft Advertising to keep their campaigns up in sync with Google and up to date.
How do you create an automated rule in Google Ads?
You can create automated rules directly within Google Ads from the “Tools and settings” menu. Under “Bulk Actions,” select “Rules.”
From here, you can create an automated rule to update any element of your account–campaigns, ad groups, keywords, ads, asset groups, audiences, demographic targets, or display placements.
Alternatively, when viewing any of these elements of your account, you can create an automated rule by selecting the three dots icon “More” at the far right. From there, select “Create an automated rule.” It will open up the framework to automate the element of your account you are viewing.
Every Google Ads automated rule has five main elements in its framework that you can set to automate your campaign to your fitting.
1. Action: This is what you want Google to change in your account. Big or small–you call the shots. Use automated rules to perform actions such as:
- Enable
- Pause
- Change Budgets
- Change Bids
- Change Bid Adjustments
- Change Final URLs
- Change Labels
- Send Email
2. Apply to: Select where you want this action to take place. For instance, do you want it to apply to every campaign (ad, keyword, etc.) in your account? Or do you want to select certain campaigns (ads, keyword, etc.)
3. Conditions: If you like, you can create additional conditions for Google to check before taking this action. These conditions can include any performance metrics (clicks, cost, conversions, CPA, etc) or attribute you can view in Google Ads.
4. Frequency: This is how often you want Google to check this condition and potentially perform this action. You can have these automated rules run:
- Once, at a set time in the future
- Hourly
- Daily
- Weekly
- Monthly
When setting your frequency, you also choose what time window you want Google to consider when evaluating your condition. For instance, if you want Google to review data from earlier that day, month, or year.
5. Email results: Finally, you can optionally choose to have Google email you, your colleague, or your client. Google can send this email either every time it runs or any time it makes takes an action.
Best practices with Google Ads automated rules
Letting Google automatically post changes in your account is a scary thought to many. Google Ads automated rules can morph from a helpful tool to an active saboteur with the wrong guidance, especially if you’re just getting started.
1. Read your rules out loud first
When creating your automated rule, the setup can feel and sound technical–because it is! Like everything in Google Ads, automated rules were written by programmers, not marketers. To make sure your rules are written correctly, be sure to read back what you’re telling Google to do first.
Use the sentence structure:
“At [frequency], check to see if [conditions] are met using data from [date range in set in frequency]. If those conditions are met, then [perform action] in [apply to groups].
See? Technical sounding sentence on its own. Applied to a real rule, this could read:
At 3 p.m. every day, check to see if these campaigns have spent $5,000 so far this month. If that’s the case, then pause these selected campaigns.
2. Always preview results
Before saving your rule, Google allows you to “preview” it in action. This allows Google to check the conditions you’ve set and show you what it would do if that rule ran right now. Google doesn’t post these changes, but it’s a good way to check to see how many changes your new rule could potentially post.
3. Be cautious of frequency
One of the most common mistakes that I see advertisers making is having their rules run too frequently or using data from a different time period than their frequency. For instance, an automated rule that runs hourly using data from the day before will complete that action either 0 or 24 times, but never once. Your rule may be set to only raise your budget by $100, but this small mistake could raise it by $2,400 by the end of the day instead!
4. Start off with small changes
Fortune may favor the bold—but don’t automate your boldness! Small changes add up quickly and you don’t want a rogue automated rule to spend your annual budget over the weekend or change your campaigns beyond recognition without your eyes on it! Start off by having Google post smaller changes in the ballpark of 5% to 10% of a value every time it runs first. Once you see that the automated rules are set up, working properly, and contributing to better performance, then you can give them more power to make bigger changes.
22 Google Ads automated rules every advertiser should know
Automated rules have nearly unlimited potential to make managing your Google Ads account easier. With proper planning, you can use them to launch your new campaigns on time, optimize your current ads, keep you informed of your performance, or set up a failsafe to pull in an emergency. Here are some common examples that I use frequently:
Google automated rules for making campaign management easier
Try these automated rules to make managing Google Ads easier.
1. Pausing your campaigns before a holiday
If you know that your business is going to be closed for a few days in advance, you can use this rule to pause your campaigns on time. It’s one less thing to worry about right before your time off.
- Rule type: Campaign
- Action: Pause campaigns
- Apply to: All campaigns
- Conditions: Campaign status: All enabled
- Frequency: Once, at end of the business day the day before you close.
2. Enabling your campaigns after a holiday
Many of these rules have a “sister rule” that reverses them. Set this rule up alongside the rule to pause your campaigns and to make sure that they resume once your team is back to work.
- Rule type: Campaign
- Action: Enable campaigns
- Apply to: Selected campaigns (all that you are currently running)
- Conditions: None
- Frequency: Once, at the beginning of the day your return from the holiday.
If you’re changing your business’s operating hours during a holiday, be sure to update your local listings as well. The LocaliQ Listings Grader can help!
3. Enabling new ads for a sale or promotion
Want to make sure your new ads go live right in time for a sale or big event? This rule can save you from having to remember to update your ads on the big day. Consider adding labels to your ads for different sales or promotions to make automation easier. You may also want to schedule a similar rule to enable your usual ads again after a sale.
- Rule type: Ads
- Action: Enable ads
- Apply to: All ads (or manually select individual ads)
- Conditions: Ad text includes [your ads’ special offer]
- Frequency: Once, at the time your promotion starts.
4. Pausing your ads after a sale
A sister to the previous rule, use this automated rule to pause your usual ads during the event and then pause your sale ads afterward.
- Rule type: Ads
- Action: Pause ads
- Apply to: All ads (or manually select individual ads)
- Conditions: Ad text includes [your ads’ special offer]
- Frequency: Once, at the time conclusion of your promotion.
5. Run different ads at night
Offers like “24/7 availability” or “Open late” matter to people differently at night. Similarly, if your team doesn’t respond to requests after hours, a more modest call to action may help you guide searches to fill out a form during your off-hours.
- Rule type: Ads
- Action: Enable ads
- Apply to: All ads (or manually select individual ads)
- Conditions: Ad text includes [your ads’ late-night messaging]
- Frequency: Daily, at 5 p.m.
Like most other rules, couple this rule with three sister rules to pause your “daytime” ads daily at 5 p.m., resume your “daytime” ads at 9 a.m., and pause your “nighttime” ads at 9 a.m.
An example of a search ad that could benefit from this rule, since the business closes at 5 p.m.
6. Run different ads on the weekend
Similarly, if you have special rates on weekends or are available when your competitors are closed, those messages may resonate with your weekend searchers. Be sure to pair this rule with sister rules to pause these ads on Monday, resume your weekday ads on Monday, and pause your weekday ads on Friday.
- Rule type: Ads
- Action: Enable ads
- Apply to: All ads (or manually select individual ads)
- Conditions: Ad text includes [your ads’ weekend messaging]
- Frequency: Weekly, Saturday at 12am.
7. Update your final URL
If you’ve got a new landing page for your ads, this rule can spare you from having a late-night session updating your keyword’s final URL.
- Rule type: Ads
- Action: Change keyword final URLs
- Apply to: All ads (or manually select individual ads)
- Conditions: None
- Frequency: Once, at a set time
It’s been proven that having more landing pages generates more leads. So, this Google Ads automated rule can come in handy as you create landing pages optimized for specific PPC keywords.
Rules for making budget management easier
Try these Google Ads automated rules to simplify budget management.
8. Prevent your campaigns from overspending their daily budget
Google infamously can spend up to twice your campaign’s daily budget on any given day. This is a trick to take back control of your campaigns and limit Google’s ability to spend more than a set amount each day.
- Rule type: Campaigns
- Action: Pause campaign
- Apply to: Select campaigns
- Conditions: Spend > $[your daily budget]
- Frequency: Hourly, using data from the same day.
9. Enabling your campaigns after spending their budget the previous day
The sister rule to the previous, this will enable the campaigns you paused the previous day.
- Rule type: Campaigns
- Action: Enable campaign
- Apply to: Select campaigns
- Conditions: Spend > $[your daily budget]
- Frequency: Daily at 12am, using data from the previous day.
10. Keeping your monthly budget constant every month
It’s a silly thing, but marketers know that their set monthly budget doesn’t divide evenly into a daily budget when the months have 28, 30, or 31 days. Manually recalculating budgets every month is a pain and many of us have other priorities on the first day of the month. 10 rules here can save you a year of math.
- Rule type: Campaigns
- Action: Change budgets
Create a different rule for each date, to run once at 12 a.m. on that date and adjust the budget in kind:
- Feb 1 – Increase daily budgets by 10.7%
- Mar 1 – Decrease daily budgets by 9.7%
- Apr 1– Increase daily budgets by 3.3%
- May 1– Decrease daily budgets by 3.2%
- June 1– Increase daily budgets by 3.3%
- July 1– Decrease daily budgets by 3.2%
- Sept 1– Increase daily budgets by 3.3%
- Oct 1– Decrease daily budgets by 3.2%
- Nov 1– Increase daily budgets by 3.3%
- Dec 1– Decrease daily budgets by 3.2%
11. Set a weekly budget for your campaigns
Have a special budget for the holiday week? Or just prefer to manage your campaigns with a weekly budget? This rule has you covered.
- Rule type: Campaigns
- Action: Pause campaign
- Apply to: Select campaigns
- Conditions: Spend > $[your weekly budget]
- Frequency: Hourly, using data from this week.
12. Set a monthly budget for your campaigns
You can set a max spending limit for your entire account within Google Ads, but if you want to control a set monthly budget for some of your campaigns, you can manage that as well with this rule.
- Rule type: Campaigns
- Action: Pause campaign
- Apply to: Select campaigns
- Conditions: Spend > $[your monthly budget]
- Frequency: Hourly, using data from this month.
An example of setting a monthly spend limit for your entire account. However, Google Ads automated rules can make this setting possible at the campaign level.
13. Adjust your budget for the weekend
Depending on your audience, search traffic might peak or drag on the weekend. You can use dayparting to adjust your bids or ad schedule for the weekends, but you can also adjust your budgets throughout the week to make sure that you can afford more traffic when your best customers are searching for you.
- Rule type: Campaigns
- Action: Change budgets
- Apply to: Select campaigns
- Conditions: None
- Frequency: Weekly, on Saturdays at 12am.
Similarly, create a sister rule to this to reverse this change on Mondays at 12 a.m.
Google Ads automated rules for managing campaign performance
Performance in Google Ads can vary from advertiser to advertiser–what’s “good” for a lawyer, might be awful for an ecommerce business. With that in mind, consider your own account performance when creating specific conditions for these rules.
14. Increase bids if your keywords aren’t showing
Keywords that don’t show are hard to optimize for. This rule will catch any keywords that aren’t showing because their bid is too low.
- Rule type: Keywords
- Action: Raise bids to first page CPC
- Apply to: All keywords
- Conditions: Keyword status reason contains any below first-page bid.
- Frequency: Daily
15. Increase budget if performance is good
Search traffic might spike unexpectedly–and this rule can help give your campaigns more marketing budget fuel if they’re performing well. This can be particularly great to implement on big sales events or holidays.
- Rule type: Campaigns
- Action: Increase budget by 5%
- Apply to: Select campaigns
- Conditions: Conversions > 5 and CPA (or ROAS) is hitting your goals
- Frequency: Daily at 10 a.m., 12 p.m., 3 p.m., and 6 p.m.; using data from that day
16. Increase bids when performance is good
Smart bidding can automatically adjust your keyword bids in your account to optimize towards a specific goal, but if you prefer a little bit more control with manual CPC bidding, you can still use automated rules.
- Rule type: Keywords
- Action: Increase bids by 5%
- Apply to: All keywords
- Conditions: Conversions > 5 and CPA (or ROAS) is hitting your goals
- Frequency: Weekly, using data from the previous week.
17. Pause campaigns or decrease budgets if performance is poor
Not all press is good press for your PPC campaigns. You never know when you’re about to be on the receiving end of a lot of poor-quality searches. Treat this rule as your guardrail to prevent a bad day from getting worse.
- Rule type: Campaign
- Action: Pause campaign or decrease budget
- Apply to: Select campaigns
- Conditions: Spend > [70% of your budget] and CPA (or ROAS) is very bad
- Frequency: Daily at 12 p.m., 3 p.m., and 6 p.m., using data from that day.
Bear in mind that it may take a few hours for Google to attribute conversions to your campaigns—so set your benchmarks for “very bad” results low here. You’ll also very likely want to have Google email you anytime this rule runs so that you can bring your attention to what caused such a poor-performing day.
18. Decrease bids if performance is poor
Light bid adjustments can keep your keywords optimized and reduce wasted spend without you even signing into Google Ads.
- Rule type: Keywords
- Action: Decrease bids by 5%
- Apply to: All keywords
- Conditions: Conversions > 5 and CPA (or ROAS) is 20% or more away from your goal.
- Frequency: Weekly, using data from the previous week.
While these Google Ads automated rules are here if you need them, you can stay ahead of these rules by picking the best possible keywords for your account. Use our Free Keyword Tool to get the top keywords for your specific account needs.
19. Pause low-performing keywords
Even well-researched keywords may not lead to the results you hoped for. If you find that a keyword is getting a lot of traffic but no conversions, plan to pause it.
- Rule type: Keywords
- Action: Pause keyword
- Apply to: All keywords
- Conditions: Clicks > 100, Spend is high, and CPA is very poor
- Frequency: Monthly, using data from the previous month.
20. Pause low-performing ads
Ad testing is a vital part of managing your Google Ads campaigns. This rule can help determine the loser of your ad tests and pause poor performing ad in an ad group
- Rule type: Ads
- Action: Pause ad
- Apply to: Ads in selected campaigns (consider only search campaigns, for instance)
- Conditions: Ad Impressions > 1000, Ad CTR < .5%, and Ad Group CTR > 1%
- Frequency: Monthly, using data from the previous month.
Rules for monitoring your campaign activity
These Google Ads automated rules allow Google to help you keep an eye on campaign activity.
21. Receive an email if your campaigns aren’t spending their budget.
If your campaigns aren’t on track to spend their monthly budget, this rule can alert you and let you fix anything before the end of the month.
- Rule type: Campaign
- Action: Send email
- Apply to: All campaigns
- Conditions: Spend < [33% of monthly budget]
- Frequency: Monthly on the 15th, using data from the current month
22. Receive an email if your team isn’t active in your account.
If you trust a teammate or agency to manage your accounts, it can be frustrating to discover that they aren’t actively touching anything. Without having to check their work, this little rule will alert you if a week goes by without any activity. Some accounts may not require daily or even weekly changes to stay healthy–but this rule can help you keep your trust in your trusted partners.
- Rule type: Campaign
- Action: Send email
- Apply to: All campaigns
- Conditions: Change history changes = 0
- Frequency: Weekly, using data from the past week
Want more ways to optimize your Google Ads account? Try our Free Google Ads Grader to get key insights on Quality Score, Impression Share, and more!
A good Google Ads automated rule could be your account management hero
Google Ads automated rules can help make your life managing your PPC campaigns much easier. With a little bit of planning, you can automate several manual tasks to take place—letting you focus on other priorities during your busiest periods or even letting you relax during your break. But remember, Google Ads automated rules are as powerful as you make them—be cautious about how many and how frequently your rules will post changes and check on them frequently until you have them fine-tuned in your account.
PPC
45+ Inclusive Holiday Marketing Ideas (+Examples!)

Diverse and inclusive marketing should be something you aim for year-round. However, it’s all that much more important during the holiday season as the more “traditional” holidays like Christmas and Thanksgiving take the spotlight.
There’s nothing wrong with celebrating these holidays and incorporating them into your marketing, but there are other groups and events that individuals in your audience appreciate.
A marketing calendar like this can help you plan your inclusive holiday marketing.
That’s why we’ve rounded up over 40 inclusive holiday marketing ideas and examples so your business can shine bright this season.
Table of contents
Jump to inclusive marketing ideas for…
Inclusive November holiday marketing ideas & examples
To kick things off, check out these inclusion-focused marketing ideas for November:
Native American Heritage Month
If you’re hoping to incorporate Native American Heritage Month into your diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts this season, you’ll be in good company as The Library of Congress, National Archives and Records Administration, National Endowment for the Humanities, National Gallery of Art, National Park Service, Smithsonian Insituation, and the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum all regularly pay homage to this November monthly observance.
Native American Heritage Month is observed annually every November, and it celebrates the contributions the first Americans made towards the growth of the United States. It also honors and reflects on the struggles indigenous American people have endured.
National Day of Mourning
A historically accurate description of Thanksgiving would include the reality of its damaging impact on Native American people, which is why we have the National Day of Mourning every year on Thanksgiving—to remind us of the pain Native American people have gone through, and still may be feeling today.
Here are some ideas for ways your business can pay its respects to Native American Heritage Month as well as the National Day of Mourning:
- Amplify the voices of Native Americans by handing off your Instagram account to a Native American in your community for a day-long “takeover.” They can then go live on your stories or share posts about what Native American Heritage month means to them.
- Loop Native American Heritage month and the National Day of Mourning into your Thanksgiving messaging by sharing more concious content around the holiday’s impact on Native American people.
- Check out the free Native American Heritage Month resources on the U.S. Small Business Administration website. There you can find statistics to share, lists of Native American-Owned businesses to partner with, and more.
- Spread awareness using a social media hashtag. The official hashtag for Native American Heritage Month is #NAHM.
National Adoption Month
There is always a lot of messaging around family during the holiday season, which makes it particularly important to stay mindful of those with non-traditional families. National Adoption Month, celebrated every November to bring awareness to children in foster care, provides an opportunity for this. Here are some ways to incorporate it into your holiday marketing campaigns:
- Avoid using traditional parent roles in your holiday copywriting, like “mom” and “dad” which may make your audience members who don’t have that type of parental figure feel excluded.
- Adjust your content to be more sensitive to those with different family structures. For example, instead of promoting an event as a “family fun day,” try “friends and family fun day” or “festival fun day.”
- Highlight a superstar adoption story in your business’s community. If you have an employee, friend, or community member who was part of an adoption process, ask to share their story to showcase how they inspire your business during this month and beyond.
- Raise awareness about adoption within minority groups. For example, did you know that adoptions done by LGBTQ+ couples only became legal in all 50 states just a few years ago in 2017?
❤Find the right words for your inclusive holiday marketing copy using our free guide to emotional copywriting complete with over 130 words and phrases for marketing with emotion.
Day of the Dead (November 1-2)
Day of the Dead, also known as Dia de los Muertos, is a Mexican holiday that honors the soulds of the deceased. It’s a two-day celebration that starts every year on November 1 and carries into November 2. This colorful and fun holiday is believed to open the passageway between the real world and the spirit world in traditional Mexican culture, so many people of Mexican descent feel they can connect with their loved ones who have passed during this time.
Nearly 20% of the U.S. population is of Mexican heritage, so you’ll likely have audience members who celebrate Day of the Dead. Make your Mexican audience members feel included in your holiday marketing with these ideas and examples:
- Share fun facts or hold a virtual trivia event centered around Day of the Dead to spread the word about the holiday’s traditions.
- Decorate your store or office with traditional Day of the Dead skulls, flowers, and more. Be sure to snap a picture of your temporarily updated decor so you can share it on your company website or social media platforms.
- Honor those who have passed. Have you or an employee ever lost a friend or loved one you’d like to commemorate? Day of the Dead is the perfect opportunity to do so! You could share their story on social media to give your audience a more personalized perspective of your business.
Forget-Me-Not Day (November 10)
Having been around since World War I, Forget-Me-Not Day happens annually on November 10 — right before Veteran’s Day on November 11. Forget-Me-Not Day is meant to honor and remember wounded soldiers who have become disabled due to their time fighting for our freedom.
The number of veterans who carry the weight of service-related physical and mental hardships is very high. In fact, counting only wars from 2001 and beyond still amounts to about 1.5 million veterans in America with a service-connected disability. While wounded veterans should be remembered every day, here’s how your marketing can honor them on Forget-Me-Not Day:
- Donate your time, resources, or (if your marketing budget allows) money to a local Veteran’s organization or shelter.
- Be mindful of your veteran (and civilian) customers who have a disability by focusing on your website accessibility. Take time to ensure your site is easy to navigate regardless of what assistance someone might need. If you’re not sure where to start, check out this complete website accessibility checklist.
Women Entrepreneurs Day (November 19)
Only four out of every ten entrepreneurs in the U.S. are women. Women Entrepreneurs Day, occurring annually on November 19, aims to change that.
This inclusive holiday is much needed, as America is still far behind other countries in terms of women entrepreneurs. In comparison, women represent 50% of entrepreneurs in Latin America and the Caribbean. Here’s how your business can make an impact with this holiday:
- Share surprising statistics about women entrepreneurs through an email marketing campaign or social media post. These are sure to engage your audience while spreading awareness. You can find plenty of diversity, equity, and inclusion in marketing statistics here.
- Partner with a woman-owned business. You could cross-promote one another in-store or online, and offer samples or discounts on each other’s offerings.
- Support the Women’s Entrepreneurship Day Organization. Also known as WEDO, this organization acts as a hub for Women Entrepreneurs Day. On its site you’ll find many ways to elevate your marketing for the day, including events you can attend, ways to donate, custom hashtags, surprising statistics, inspiring stories, and more!
Transgender Day of Rememberance (November 20)
Transgender Day of Rememberance occurs annually on November 20 to honor and remember transgender people who lost their lives due to anti-transgender violence. It started in 1998 in memory of Rita Hester, a transgender woman who was stabbed in Allston, Massachusetts that same year.
This inclusive holiday is important to acknowledge because, sadly, these acts of violence are still occuring as 2020 was the most violent year on record for transgender people. Your business can become a transgender ally on Transgender Rememberance Day and beyond with these ideas:
- Donate or volunteer to a local LGBTQ+ organization.
- Spread awareness and acceptance by openly sharing your allyship on your website, social media, local listings, and more.
- If you have an employee, family member, friend, or community member who is openly transgender you could ask their permission to highlight their story in an email send or social post.
- Amplify transgender voices by resharing public speeches, posts, and more from transgender people. You could even handing off your “mic” by allowing a transgender person in your business’s community to do a social media takeover.
Inclusive December holiday marketing ideas and examples
Here are some December marketing ideas that will help you to embrace diversity and inclusion:
Rosa Parks Day (December 1)
Rosa Parks Day is celebrated twice annually, once on December 1 and once on February 4. This inclusive holiday is to, of course, honor civil rights hero and leader Rosa Parks.
The Rosa Parks story is one no American citizen can forget, as she bravely did not give up her seat to a white passenger after a long day of work on December 1, 1955. This action jumpstarted the Montgomery Bus Boycott organized by E.D. Nixon, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and other civil rights leaders at the time. Here’s how your business can observe Rosa Parks Day:
- Encourage your audience to educate themselves on Rosa Parks and the Civil Rights movement by sharing with them your favorite books around the era. For example, Rosa Parks herself wrote a couple of books, including Rosa Parks: My Story and Quiet Strength: The Faith, The Hope, and the Heart of a Woman Who Changed a Nation.
- Partner with a black-owned business in your community and run a joint campaign themed around civil rights and standing up (or sitting down) for what you believe in.
- Run a Rosa Parks-themed giveaway. There is a Rosa Parks museum at Troy University in Alabama. You could entice your audience to enter to win free tickets to the museum or do a full-on sweepstake by offering a complete trip to tour the museum.
Human Rights Day (December 10)
Inclusivity means making sure all types of people feel like they belong, regardless of race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, abilities, etc. That’s why Human Rights Day (occurring on December 10 each year) is the perfect holiday to incorporate into your inclusive marketing this season.
Human Rights Day was created by the UN in 1948 to proclaim the rights everyone is entitled to as a human being “regardless race, color, religion, sex, language, political or other opinions, national or social origin, property, birth or other status.” Show your audience you support the rights of all people with these Human Rights Day marketing ideas:
- Attend a human rights event and share a recap of your experience with your audience to inspire them to do the same. There are plenty of political summits, cultural conferences, and more held on Human Rights Day, so simply being present at an event in your community can spread awareness and inspiration.
- Create a shareable, public playlist of your favorite songs about human rights. There are plenty of inspiring songs your audience will want to listen to, so you could simply build a quick list on a platforms like Pandora, Spotify, Soundcloud, and more. Be sure to include your business name in your playlist’s title so that your audience will think of your brand as they listen. As a bonus, you could have the playlist play for the day in your store or office, and share a quote from one of your top songs on social media.
Hanukkah
Also known as the Festival of Lights, Hanukkah is an eight-day Jewish celebration. The dates of Hannukah change each year as it starts on the 25th day of Kislev according to the Hebrew calendar. Hanukkah traditions include lighting a menorah, exchanging gifts, and enjoying cultural cuisine like latkes (potato pancakes). Over 5% of Americans celebrate Hannukah, so here’s how your business can take part:
- The best part of any holiday? The food! Try sharing a traditional Hanukkah recipe on various marketing channels.
- If you’re decorating your office or store for Christmas, stay mindful of those who celebrate Hanukkah as well by including a menorah, dreidels, and more in your display.
- Use our Hanukkah Instagram captions for post inspiration.
- Play off the eight days of Hanukkah by writing a blog post or email that shares eight tips or eight top products for your audience to check out.
Speaking of email, do you have your annual holiday customer appreciation email written? If not (or even if you do), don’t miss our heartfelt holiday email templates.
Kwanzaa (December 26 – January 1)
Kwanzaa is a seven-day African American holiday that occurs annually from December 26 to January 1. Each day of the celebration is dedicated to the following seven cultural principles: unity, self-determination, collective responsibility, cooperative economics, purpose, creativity, and faith. Work the values of Kwanzaa into your inclusive holiday marketing plan with these ideas:
- Focus on one of the seven Kwanzaa principles and share with your audience how your business strives to embody it. For example, you could incorporate unity or collective responsibility into your video marketing strategy by giving your audience a behind-the-scenes look at the teamwork of your employees.
- As you decorate your store or office for Christmas and Hanukkah, be sure to include Kwanzaa as well. For example, each day of Kwanzaa requires one of seven candles to be lit — which are in an arrangement called a Kinara. You could add a Kinara to your decor, or include other Kwanzaa decorations like traditional African crops such as ears of dried corn and more.
- Try out any of these Kwanzaa Instagram captions.
- Add a twist to one of your products or offerings and refresh it for the Kwanzaa season by changing its name or colors.
Inclusive January holiday marketing ideas and examples
Some of the “bigger” holidays may be over by the time January comes around, but there are still plenty of diverse holidays you can leverage in your inclusive marketing strategy this month:
National Braille Literacy Month
January is Braille Literacy Month because Louie Braille, the creator of the braille system, was born in January. This monthly observance is meant to bring awareness to those who are visually impaired. Here’s how your business can take part in National Braille Literacy Month:
- Audit your website for visual accessibility features and optimize where you can to cater to your visually impaired audience members.
- Share fun facts about the braille system to entertain your audience while spreading awareness of the need for braille literacy. For example, did you know that Braille is primarily created by just six dots? And, there are separate codes used for music, math, walkways, and more!
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day (January 15)
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day occurs on the third Monday of every January to commemorate his birthday on January 15. It’s no secret that Dr. King played one of the most impactful roles in American history as he helped lead the civil rights movement. In fact, this holiday is also often called Civil Rights Day, since Dr. King had such an influence on the civil rights movements during the 1950’s, 1960’s, and beyond. Dr. King’s legacy still resonates today as we continue to strive for equality across the nation. Celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. with these ideas:
- Share an inspiring story or quote from Dr. King’s life to celebrate his work with your audience.
- Lead by example by embodying Dr. King’s principle of peaceful protest. Is there a cause in your community or industry that you feel passionate about? Hold a peaceful in-person or virtual event to discuss the topic with your brand’s community members.
National Religious Freedom Day (January 16)
National Religious Freedom Day is celebrated each year on January 16 because the Statute for Religious Freedom was signed on January 16, 1786. This statute created the base for the core principles our country still stands by to this day, and guaranteed freedom to practice any desired religion is one of the privelages Americans rely on. Show how your business cares this holiday season by implementing these Religious Freedom Day marketing ideas:
- If you’re using stock photos on your website, social media, Google Ads campaigns, and other marketing materials, try to ensure you’re using diverse visuals to embrace religious freedom. For example, you might try to include images of women wearing hijabs, or men wearing kippahs or yarmulkes. We share more tips on inclusivity in advertising here.
- Join a National Religious Freedom Day online discussion to share the religion you practice and encourage your audience to do the same. If you don’t currently practice any religion, that’s okay too! Acknowledging the norm that everyone’s religious journey (or lack thereof) is different will be the point of this inclusive marketing idea. Plus, you’ll be building your brand community as you foster an open discussion with your audience.
- Educate your audience on their religious freedom rights by sharing out resources on laws and regulations relating to religious freedom.
💡 Make the most of these inclusive marketing holidays with our guide to the 30 best ways to promote your business year-round.
International Day of Acceptance (January 20)
International Day of Acceptance is fairly new as it was established back in 2010. It was created to foster social acceptance for those with disabilities. International Day of Acceptance happens every year on January 20 and reminds us that people should feel comfortable to be who they are regardless of their varying abilities. Here are some inclusive holiday marketing ideas you can leverage on this day and beyond to make your audience feel more accepted:
- Promote a new product or service offering that’s tailored to the needs of those with disabilities.
- Share helpful resources for your customers to educate themselves on disabilities, acceptance, and allyship.
- Spread the word of this inclusive holiday on social media with the hashtag #dayofacceptance and implement the symbol of acceptance (a wheelchair intertwined with a heart) in your creative elements.
Chinese New Year
Many people assume the holiday festivities end on December 31, but the Chinese New Year keeps the celebrations going since it happens shortly after, between January 21 and February 20 depending on the Chinese Lunar Calendar. The public holiday will last for seven days, but celebrations can go on for 16 days.
Try out these Chinese New Year celebration ideas:
- Share the Chinese zodiac chart on your website or social media so that your audience can check out what their own chinese zodiac would be. For example, 2023 will be the year of the rabbit. Perhaps it will be a special year for some of your customers whose birth year aligns with the rabbit!
- Use our New Year’s Instagram captions to publish engaging and thought-provoking posts.
- Partner with a local Chinese-owned business and offer a special deal to patrons of both your businesses during Chinese New Year.
Make your holiday marketing more inclusive this year
It’s super important to recognize beliefs and perspectives other than our own and to give a voice to minority groups—and clearly, there are endless ways you can demonstrate diversity, equity, and inclusion during the holiday season. So be sure to use these inclusive marketing ideas and examples as inspiration to ignite your own holiday promotions.
To recap, here are the holidays and observances we covered:
- November
- Native American Heritage Month
- National Adoption Month
- Day of the Dead (November 1-2)
- Forget-Me-Not Day (November 10)
- Women Entrepreneurs Day (November 19)
- Transgender Day of Rememberance (November 20)
- December
- Rosa Parks Day (December 1)
- Human Rights Day (December 10)
- Hanukkah (changes annually)
- Kwanzaa (December 26 – January 1)
- January
- National Braille Literacy Month
- Martin Luther King Jr. Day (January 15)
- National Religious Freedom Day (January 16)
- International Day of Acceptance (January 20)
- Chinese New Year (changes annually)
If you’re looking for more resources on growing your business during the holidays, check out these posts:
PPC
5 Quick & Easy Ways to Get More Referral Traffic (+Examples)

Search engines (mostly Google) are still the 800-pound gorilla when it comes to generating clicks to your website. But ignoring referral traffic from other sources like directories, social media, and other websites would be a huge mistake.
This is especially true as younger audiences increasingly search for businesses on social media and as referral traffic increased from 3% to over 10% of total traffic for the average website in 2022.
In this guide, you’ll learn the most popular sources of referral traffic, how it helps your business grow, and what you can do to get more clicks from places outside of search engines.
Table of contents
What is referral traffic?
Referral traffic refers to traffic coming from a link on a site that’s not your own. If you clicked the link we added to the introduction of this guide, the website you landed on would count your visit as referral traffic.
By comparison, the other common website traffic sources are search and direct traffic. Search traffic comes from visitors clicking on search engine results. Direct traffic is from visitors that go directly to your website, like if they type your URL into their browser.
Examples of referral traffic sources can include:
- Social media apps like Facebook or X (formerly known as Twitter)
- Online directories like Yelp or Angi
- Just about any non-search engine website like a blog post
👋 Need to get more website visitors? These 25 ways to increase traffic to your website will help you attract interested buyers in droves!
Why is referral traffic beneficial?
If you want to grow your business, attracting more referral traffic is an important step. Here are three reasons why.
Generate more potential leads
At the most basic level, increasing referral traffic means increasing the number of potential customers who visit your website.
But it’s not just more people coming in through your virtual door. It’s people that found you by actively clicking a link that interested them. So if the backlink they clicked is relevant to your website, those visitors have a high intent to learn about, and maybe purchase, what you sell.
Get more traffic from search engines
Backlinks from high-quality websites are a signal to search engines that your website is trustworthy.
Backlinks are still an influential search engine ranking factor, as shown in this graph from FirstPageSage.
As your backlink profile and referral traffic grow, you’ll land on more search engine results pages and generate more traffic from them.
Reduce your reliance on Google
Google is a fantastic source of traffic. But relying too much on a single source is dangerous—especially as Google’s constant updates can greatly affect your traffic overnight.
Headlines like this one from Search Engine Journal show why it’s important to diversify your website traffic sources.
As you diversify your sources of referral traffic, you gain more control over the success of your site. If one source, like search, takes a hit, you can buffer the dip with more traffic from another source like directories.
5 ways to get more referral traffic
So generating more referral traffic is important. But how do we go about getting more of it? Let’s dive in.
1. Get listed in online directories
Online directories are like the phonebooks of the digital age. People look to websites like Yelp, the Better Business Bureau, and Angi (formerly Angi’s List) to find the services and business they need.
Yelp is one of the most popular business directories, but there are dozens of others that will help increase your online footprint.
Ideally, you want exposure on as many directories as possible. But you also want to make sure that your information is current, so no one gets frustrated trying to reach you. You can even optimize your listings with things like images, service descriptions, and reviews.
🚨 Not sure if your directory listings are up to par? Use our free Listings Grader to instantly check your listing information across 20+ top online directories.
2. Submit guest posts
Guest posts are a great way to build up referral traffic. The idea is to reach out to websites that want content, and offer to write a blog post in exchange for the backlinks they provide.
It’s best to focus your guest posting efforts on sites that are related to your business, which means your content will be in front of a relevant audience providing top-notch referral traffic. If you can set up a regular guest posting schedule, all the better, because that allows you to keep your referral traffic from those sources steady over time and increase traffic to your website.
3. Write press releases
Press releases are a quick and easy way to get a wave of fresh traffic from referring URLs. It’s a great idea to do a press release for an event you’ll be hosting or to announce milestones like executive changes, earnings releases, acquisitions, and product launches.
A press release is great for promoting new products or events while generating valuable referral traffic from the publications that pick it up.
But to be honest, if you are paying for a press release, you can write about pretty much anything and pretend it’s newsworthy. Some businesses even send out press releases whenever they get a new client.
4. Get active on social media
Social media sites are also natural contenders for bringing in referral traffic. Plus, there are several options to fit your brand and audience.
Facebook, for example, is fantastic for an older audience and organizing events. TikTok caters to a younger crowd and lets you show off your video flair. And of course, there’s LinkedIn, if your target customer is of a professional mindset.
No matter which social media platforms you choose, make sure your posts have a clear call to action that leads people to your website. That’s how you drive referral traffic from social media apps.
Depending on the platform, you can add CTA links, buttons, or text in the caption.
5. Create link-worthy content
If you want to catch backlinks and increase the traffic you get from other websites, you need the right bait. In this case, we’re talking about content that other websites want to link to.
Here are a few types of content that writers and marketers love to link to:
- Original data: Statistics from a survey or data your app captures
- Infographics: A roundup of statistics or a visual presentation of a process
- Opinionated blog posts: A fresh take on a common question in your industry
Once you’ve created your backlink magnet, share it with publications and thought leaders in your industry so they can link back to your site.
Referral traffic the easy way
Referral traffic is an important source of new potential customers. As search engines get more finicky, and more people search social media platforms, referrals will be an even bigger factor in your success online.
As you think about how to get more website visitors from more places, remember these five quick and easy ways to get more referral traffic:
- Get listed in online directories
- Submit guest posts
- Write press releases
- Get active on social media
- Create link-worthy content
PPC
5 Quick Tips to Increase Referral Traffic

Search engines (mostly Google) are still the 800-pound gorilla when it comes to generating clicks to your website. But ignoring referral traffic from other sources like directories, social media, and other websites would be a huge mistake.
This is especially true as younger audiences increasingly search for businesses on social media and as referral traffic increased from 3% to over 10% of total traffic for the average website in 2022.
In this guide, you’ll learn the most popular sources of referral traffic, how it helps your business grow, and what you can do to get more clicks from places outside of search engines.
Table of contents
What is referral traffic?
Referral traffic refers to traffic coming from a link on a site that’s not your own. If you clicked the link we added to the introduction of this guide, the website you landed on would count your visit as referral traffic.
By comparison, the other common website traffic sources are search and direct traffic. Search traffic comes from visitors clicking on search engine results. Direct traffic is from visitors that go directly to your website, like if they type your URL into their browser.
Examples of referral traffic sources can include:
- Social media apps like Facebook or X (formerly known as Twitter)
- Online directories like Yelp or Angi
- Just about any non-search engine website like a blog post
👋 Need to get more website visitors? These 25 ways to increase traffic to your website will help you attract interested buyers in droves!
Why is referral traffic beneficial?
If you want to grow your business, attracting more referral traffic is an important step. Here are three reasons why.
Generate more potential leads
At the most basic level, increasing referral traffic means increasing the number of potential customers who visit your website.
But it’s not just more people coming in through your virtual door. It’s people that found you by actively clicking a link that interested them. So if the backlink they clicked is relevant to your website, those visitors have a high intent to learn about, and maybe purchase, what you sell.
Get more traffic from search engines
Backlinks from high-quality websites are a signal to search engines that your website is trustworthy.
Backlinks are still an influential search engine ranking factor, as shown in this graph from FirstPageSage.
As your backlink profile and referral traffic grow, you’ll land on more search engine results pages and generate more traffic from them.
Reduce your reliance on Google
Google is a fantastic source of traffic. But relying too much on a single source is dangerous—especially as Google’s constant updates can greatly affect your traffic overnight.
Headlines like this one from Search Engine Journal show why it’s important to diversify your website traffic sources.
As you diversify your sources of referral traffic, you gain more control over the success of your site. If one source, like search, takes a hit, you can buffer the dip with more traffic from another source like directories.
5 ways to get more referral traffic
So generating more referral traffic is important. But how do we go about getting more of it? Let’s dive in.
1. Get listed in online directories
Online directories are like the phonebooks of the digital age. People look to websites like Yelp, the Better Business Bureau, and Angi (formerly Angi’s List) to find the services and business they need.
Yelp is one of the most popular business directories, but there are dozens of others that will help increase your online footprint.
Ideally, you want exposure on as many directories as possible. But you also want to make sure that your information is current, so no one gets frustrated trying to reach you. You can even optimize your listings with things like images, service descriptions, and reviews.
🚨 Not sure if your directory listings are up to par? Use our free Listings Grader to instantly check your listing information across 20+ top online directories.
2. Submit guest posts
Guest posts are a great way to build up referral traffic. The idea is to reach out to websites that want content, and offer to write a blog post in exchange for the backlinks they provide.
It’s best to focus your guest posting efforts on sites that are related to your business, which means your content will be in front of a relevant audience providing top-notch referral traffic. If you can set up a regular guest posting schedule, all the better, because that allows you to keep your referral traffic from those sources steady over time and increase traffic to your website.
3. Write press releases
Press releases are a quick and easy way to get a wave of fresh traffic from referring URLs. It’s a great idea to do a press release for an event you’ll be hosting or to announce milestones like executive changes, earnings releases, acquisitions, and product launches.
A press release is great for promoting new products or events while generating valuable referral traffic from the publications that pick it up.
But to be honest, if you are paying for a press release, you can write about pretty much anything and pretend it’s newsworthy. Some businesses even send out press releases whenever they get a new client.
4. Get active on social media
Social media sites are also natural contenders for bringing in referral traffic. Plus, there are several options to fit your brand and audience.
Facebook, for example, is fantastic for an older audience and organizing events. TikTok caters to a younger crowd and lets you show off your video flair. And of course, there’s LinkedIn, if your target customer is of a professional mindset.
No matter which social media platforms you choose, make sure your posts have a clear call to action that leads people to your website. That’s how you drive referral traffic from social media apps.
Depending on the platform, you can add CTA links, buttons, or text in the caption.
5. Create link-worthy content
If you want to catch backlinks and increase the traffic you get from other websites, you need the right bait. In this case, we’re talking about content that other websites want to link to.
Here are a few types of content that writers and marketers love to link to:
- Original data: Statistics from a survey or data your app captures
- Infographics: A roundup of statistics or a visual presentation of a process
- Opinionated blog posts: A fresh take on a common question in your industry
Once you’ve created your backlink magnet, share it with publications and thought leaders in your industry so they can link back to your site.
Referral traffic the easy way
Referral traffic is an important source of new potential customers. As search engines get more finicky, and more people search social media platforms, referrals will be an even bigger factor in your success online.
As you think about how to get more website visitors from more places, remember these five quick and easy ways to get more referral traffic:
- Get listed in online directories
- Submit guest posts
- Write press releases
- Get active on social media
- Create link-worthy content
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