A few years ago, Black Friday was quite straightforward.
You’d set up a big discount, paint half the website black, launch campaigns and wait for the sales to roll in.
If you do that today, there’s a good chance you’ll be in for a surprise.
And not exactly a good one.
The problem is that Everyone is competing for the same attention during the same few days. Advertising costs are rising, inboxes have become a battleground, and users have seven tabs open, comparing virtually the same product.
Meanwhile, you’re discounting a 20%, a 30% or a 40%.
The result: you might break a turnover record, only to discover a week later that the business hasn’t been quite as spectacular as it seemed when you look at profit margins, customer acquisition costs and the profit and loss account.
Let’s not kid ourselves: generating more turnover doesn’t necessarily mean making more profit.
That is why a good campaign to Black Friday It doesn’t start by asking:
“What discount shall we offer?”
He begins by asking:
“What sort of customers do we want to attract, how much can we afford to pay for them, and how are we going to get them to buy from us again?”
Take note.
Because that’s the difference between running promotions and building a genuine Black Friday strategy.
Black Friday is no longer just a single day: it’s a comprehensive marketing strategy
One of the first mistakes is to keep thinking about Black Friday as a Friday to Sunday promotion.
The customer journey doesn’t start on Friday. According to official figures from Google Think with Google, More than 60% of omnichannel shoppers begin the product research and comparison phase up to four weeks before the event. Entering the auction only during the key week drives up the CPM and reduces operational profitability.
Consumers compare products, save their favourites, research brands, look for reviews and wait to see if a promotion will be launched.
And that means that your Black Friday marketing It should start weeks beforehand.
Not necessarily with discounts.
You can start by generating demand, expanding your audience, attracting subscribers, developing content and fuelling your remarketing campaigns.
The aim is simple:
so that when the time comes to buy, you won’t have to start from scratch.
Because trying to attract a completely new user during the busiest advertising periods of the year tends to be expensive.
Surprise, surprise – a massive banner saying “BLACK FRIDAY SALE” isn’t going to make up for it.
The strategy begins before you choose the discount
The first thing you need to be clear about is what you want to achieve.
It seems obvious.
It doesn’t always happen.
There is ecommerce who want to maximise their turnover.
Others need to clear stock of certain products.
Others want to attract new customers.
Others are looking to increase customer retention.
And others simply take part in Black Friday because “you’ve just got to be there”.
This last objective is particularly dangerous.
Stop showing off.
Before assembling your Black Friday marketing strategy, define at least:
- which products or categories you are going to prioritise;
- how much margin you can afford to sacrifice;
- how much you can afford to pay to acquire a new customer;
- which existing customers do you want to reactivate;
- which stock you need to move;
- What is your target ticket price?;
- and what do you want to happen after Cyber Monday?.
Because the Black Friday What’s really worth it doesn’t end when the promotion ends.
It’s over when you know how much value the customers you’ve acquired have generated six or twelve months later.
Black Friday SEO: the work you can’t start the Thursday before
With paid media, you can increase your spend tomorrow and start driving traffic straight away.
Not in SEO.
That is why a SEO strategy for Black Friday It requires planning.
The idea is not to create a different URL every November. The webmaster guidelines for Google Search Central They recommend keeping landing pages for recurring events in a permanent HTTP 200 status (for example, /black-friday/). This way, the URL retains its PageRank, accumulated inbound links and relevance signals year after year.
It is far better to create a stable asset that can build up authority, links and signals year after year.
For example:
/black-friday/
That URL can remain the same throughout the year.
Once the campaign has ended, you can edit its content, keep products highlighted or explain when the offers will return.
When the next edition comes round, you’ll update it.
That way, you don’t have to start from scratch.
Also focus on the searches that appear before Black Friday
Not everyone is looking for a generic keyword such as “Black Friday".
Depending on the business, there may be far more interesting search queries:
- “Black Friday mattresses”
- “Black Friday laptops”
- “running trainers on offer”
- “best Black Friday robot vacuum cleaner”
- “Black Friday bed linen”
This is where the actual analysis of search intent comes in.
Check Google Search Console.
Check which pages are already generating impressions.
Identify categories with potential.
Work on your titles, content, internal linking and site architecture before the peak arrives.
Organic traffic for November is built up in September and October.
Not on 27 November at four o’clock in the afternoon.
Set up your e-commerce site before driving traffic to it
You can have the best campaigns in the world.
If the website goes down, you’ll simply be paying to show your problems to more people.
The preparation of a Black Friday e-commerce It should include a comprehensive review of the shopping experience:
- Categories.
- Product information sheets.
- Stock.
- Speed.
- Checkout.
- Payment methods.
- Special offers.
- Mobile version.
- Tracking.
The competition also emphasises the importance of this preparatory work: optimising categories, products, stock levels, the checkout process and the mobile experience before stepping up advertising efforts helps to avoid losing sales due to friction that could have been ironed out beforehand.
And there is one thing that is particularly important: The terms and conditions must be understood in a matter of seconds.
Don’t make users go to great lengths just to find out whether the code is applied automatically, which products are excluded or how much they have to spend.
Please also check our delivery and returns policy.
At this time of year, you may see a lot of people who aren’t familiar with your brand.
They need trust.
And quickly.
Black Friday email marketing: where some of the most profitable revenue is usually found
During Black Friday Brands tend to be obsessed with Meta and Google.
That makes sense.
But neglecting your CRM is like giving away profit margins.
Your database already contains users who know you.
Some people have bought them.
Others have added items to their basket.
Others have been opening emails for months.
Others were on the verge of buying yesterday.
And it usually costs considerably less to engage these people than to attract a completely new user.
A a good strategy from Black Friday email marketing It can be divided into several stages.
Before Black Friday
Don’t start by trying to sell.
Start by warming up the audience.
You can report:
- early access.
- wishlist.
- products that will be on offer.
- VIP lists.
- featured categories.
- buying guides.
You can even attract new sign-ups by offering priority access to the promotion.
Here’s how to turn anonymous traffic into first-party data before the battle begins.
During the promotion
This is where commercial pressure really comes into play.
Launch.
Reminder.
Featured products.
Best-sellers.
Last few items.
Latest updates.
But it does segment.
Sending exactly six identical emails to your entire database isn’t a strategy. It’s just having a ‘Send’ button.
Exclude buyers where appropriate.
Customise by category.
Prioritise active users.
Collect the trolleys.
And it tailors the message to the behaviour.
Afterwards
Many brands disappear here.
Error.
You can focus on cross-selling, repeat purchases, reviews, customer loyalty or personalised recommendations.
Remember:
The aim should not simply be to secure a cheap purchase, but to secure a profitable customer.
Google Ads Black Friday: it’s not all about increasing your budget
When November comes round, competition intensifies.
And many companies respond in the same way:
A bigger budget.
Problem solved.
Right then.
Not exactly.
At Google Ads, budget management requires advanced tagging in the feed of Google Merchant Centre. We recommend using the `custom_label` tag to classify the portfolio into three technical clusters before the peak in demand:
- Label 0 (High Margin / High Stock): Products with a margin >50% and guaranteed stock (maximum bid priority in PMax)
- .Label 1 (Hero Products / LTV Driver): Products that generate a high conversion rate to a second purchase within 90 days.
- Label 2 (Low Margin / Clearance): Low-margin products where we restrict manual bidding or require a significantly higher tROAS.
If you’re using Shopping or Performance Max, make sure your Merchant Centre is up to date, the prices are correct, the promotions are working and the feed accurately reflects your product catalogue.
Next, think about profitability.
Not all products have the same profit margin.
Not even the same stock.
Nor does it have the same resale potential.
Therefore, they should not necessarily be subject to the same level of advertising pressure either.
You can increase your investment in:
- products that are readily available.
- strategic categories.
- entry-level products with a good LTV.
- best-sellers.
- products with a sufficient profit margin.
And reduce it on items where the discount plus advertising costs mean the deal is effectively giving away parcels for free.
You’re being misled if you’re told that the only thing that matters is maximising ROAS over four days.
The question is what incremental benefit is the additional investment generating?.
Black Friday Meta Ads: creative content, frequency and audiences
Meta has another problem.
Everyone is dressed the same.
Black background.
A huge number.
“–30%”.
Product.
CTA.
You Black Friday advert It ends up competing with hundreds of virtually identical adverts.
That’s why you need to work on your ad creatives in advance.
Don’t just prepare a single creative concept.
Create different angles:
- Product.
- Problem-solution.
- UGC.
- Price.
- Profit.
- Comparisons.
- Best-sellers.
- Urgent.
- A present.
- Bundle.
- Testimonial.
- Video.
- Carousel.
Creativity It is one of the key drivers of optimisation in social media campaigns.
And during Black Friday even more.
Separate customer acquisition and remarketing
Someone who has never heard of your brand doesn’t need the same message as someone who viewed three products this morning.
During the customer acquisition process, you can explain the value proposition more clearly.
With remarketing, you can focus much more directly on the product, a discount or a sense of urgency.
And yes, I know, it’s one of those changes that seem obvious.
Then you analyse real accounts and come across a massive campaign called BLACK_FRIDAY_2026_FINAL_FINAL_3, showing virtually the same adverts to everyone.
Come in.
Coordinates SEO, Meta, Google and CRM
Here is one of the biggest problems with the Black Friday digital marketing.
Each team plays its own match.
SEO publishes content.
Paid Media runs adverts.
CRM newsletter programme.
Social is preparing posts.
E-commerce change banners.
Analytics is trying to work out what on earth is going on.
Wrong approach.
The user does not distinguish between departments.
As far as he’s concerned, it’s all part of the same brand.
That is why you should work to a single roadmap that sets out:
- which promotions will be running.
- which products are a priority.
- which landing page each campaign will use.
- what messages will be communicated.
- what creative options are available.
- What customer segments are there?.
- Which metrics will determine whether we scale up or scale back our investment?.
At DDigitals We approach the ecosystem precisely from a perspective full-funnel: strategy, paid media, content, commerce, data, automation and experience optimisation, all linked to business growth.
Because it’s easy to buy traffic without understanding what happens next.
The difficult bit is making it profitable.
Black Friday campaigns need a creative strategy
Another classic.
We have an investment of 80,000 euros.
Any creative ideas?
One image and three adaptations.
Perfect.
What could possibly go wrong?
Platforms need creative variety in order to find messages that can connect with different audiences.
Prepare several lines.
One focused on promotion.
Another one in the product range.
Another one on differentiation.
Another one undergoing social testing.
Another one in A&E.
Another problem-solution example.
Then take the measurement.
Don’t go with the brand manager’s favourite creative idea.
Consumers don’t receive the PowerPoint presentation in which we explain why it was conceptually brilliant.
Look.
They click.
Or they carry on scrolling.
Data is king.
Don’t just measure turnover and ROAS
This is probably the most important point.
Imagine that you usually make €100,000 in sales during November.
You’re running a massive campaign this year.
You offer aggressive discounts.
You invest an additional €40,000 in advertising.
And the bill comes to €180,000.
Celebration.
Champagne.
LinkedIn post.
“All-time record”.
But now he adds:
- Discount.
- Advertising costs.
- Logistics costs.
- Returns.
- Committees.
- New customers who never come back.
- Sales that you would have made anyway, even without the promotion.
The film changes.
Don’t just measure revenue.
The ROAS reported by platforms (whether in real time or with delayed attribution) tends to inflate perceptions of success.
At DDigitals We prioritise the calculation of the Blended MER (Marketing Efficiency Ratio):
Blender MER = Total Gross Revenue (excluding VAT) 1Q–3Q Total Advertising Spend (Google + Meta + TikTok).
If your Blended MER falls below the break-even point in your P&L (calculated after deducting COGS, logistics and an estimated return rate of 15–20%), the campaign is burning through cash even if Meta’s ROAS stands at 4.5.
What about high-street shops?
Nor does the strategy have to be limited to online shopping.
If you have high-street shops, you can use digital campaigns to drive footfall.
Google Business Profile.
Local campaigns.
Stock.
CRM.
Vouchers.
Geo-segmentation.
You can even use the shop to collect orders placed online.
Omnichannel does not mean writing “phygital” sixteen times in a presentation.
It means making it easier for users to shop wherever they like.
Stop showing off.
Cyber Monday shouldn’t just be Black Friday Part II
Another common mistake is to run exactly the same promotion.
Friday.
Saturday.
Sunday.
Cyber Monday.
Tuesday because of the “latest developments”.
Wednesday because “this time for sure”.
In the end, urgency ceases to mean anything at all.
If you’re working on Cyber Monday, give it a go.
It may be a different selection.
A specific category.
An online promotion.
Bundles.
An extra incentive.
A limited second chance.
But avoid getting the customer into the habit of thinking:
“There’s no need to buy it today. I’m sure they’ll come up with another extension tomorrow.”
A sense of urgency works when it is credible.
Black Friday tips that really do make a difference to your business
If I had to summarise it all in a few decisions, they would be these:
Start earlier. Above all SEO, audience engagement and creative production.
Protect margin. You don’t need to discount absolutely everything.
Segment. Not all users need the same package.
Work with first-party data. Your CRM will become increasingly important.
Get lots of creative ideas ready. Don’t rely on just one part.
Optimise your online shop before increasing traffic.
Link customer acquisition and retention. The client acquired in November should continue to generate business in February.
Measure profit, not just turnover.
Take note.
Because it is the latter that is most often forgotten.
Resource: Comparison of Campaign Architecture
| Time Phase | Priority Channel | Tactical Objective | Key Performance Indicator (KPI) |
| Warm-up (S-4 to S-2) | Meta Ads + Organic SEO | CPL/First-Party Data Acquisition (Lead Generation / VIP List) | Cost per Registration / CPL |
| Pre-Black Friday (S-1) | Email / SMS Marketing | Early access and opening of saved basket | Click-to-Open Rate (CTOR) |
| Peak Event (Cyber Week) | PMax + Paid Retargeting | High-intent direct conversion | Blended MER / Net Profit |
| Post-campaign (+14 days) | CRM Automation | New customer onboarding, cross-selling and review | 30-day repurchase rate |
Frequently asked questions about Black Friday marketing
When should I start preparing for Black Friday?
For an e-commerce business with a certain volume of business, planning should already be underway in September or October.
SEO can even be carried out all year round using permanent landing pages.
Paid media and CRM can be gradually ramped up in the weeks leading up to the event.
Leaving strategy, tracking, creative work and promotions until the last week usually results in a rush and poorer decisions.
How much of a discount should I offer?
There is no universal percentage.
It depends on the margin, category, competition, stock levels and target.
For some products, a substantial discount would make sense.
In other cases, you can use bundles, free gifts, free delivery or volume-based promotions.
First, work out the figures.
Then design the promotion.
Never the other way round.
Is it necessary to invest more in advertising?
There will probably be opportunities to increase investment, but only where the economy allows.
Scaling up a campaign that is losing money does not magically turn it into a profitable one.
It just makes you lose money faster.
Is SEO effective for such a short campaign?
Yes, especially if you’re working on permanent pages and start well in advance.
In addition, SEO research It can help you identify which categories and products are in high demand before deciding on your business priorities.
Which channel works best?
The question is poorly phrased.
SEO, Google Ads, Meta, email, CRM and CRO they fulfil different functions.
The key is to get them to work together.
A search query can lead to the first visit.
Meta may be able to win the user back.
Email can finalise the purchase.
Automation can lead to the latter.
Now that’s what I call a marketing strategy.
You don’t make money on Black Friday
You win earlier.
When you decide what to sell.
When you calculate your margin.
When you adjust the tracking.
When you produce twenty adverts instead of two.
When you optimise the pages that will receive traffic.
When you’re building an audience.
When you’re working on the CRM.
When you decide how to secure a second purchase.
Then November comes round and you get on with it.
The difference between a good Black Friday campaign and a week of haphazard discounts lies precisely in this: strategy, data and execution working in tandem.
At DDigitals We approach growth from this full-funnel perspective, connecting digital strategy, e-commerce, paid media campaigns, creativity, data, automation and experience optimisation so that each channel contributes to the same objective: genuine business and sustainable growth.
Because selling a lot over four days is fine.
Selling profitably and securing customers who keep coming back is a much better approach.
That’s fine.
Right, now then.
A quick coffee, then it’s time to enjoy Search Console whilst everyone else starts getting ready for Black Friday the Thursday before.
