Every marketer wants to know where to place the next best dollar. That’s where EMR Power Rankings come in, providing a snapshot of how channels stack up against one another. But the rankings only matter if they’re anchored in strategy. Before scanning the list, it’s worth stepping back to ask:
- What is the role of media? What shifts in consumer behavior are we aiming to drive, and how can media support?
- What is the role of each channel or platform in delivering that vision? How can we lean on the nuances of the channel and consumer usage to maximize impact?
With those questions in mind, the rankings become more than numbers on a page. They become a lens for smarter investment, helping teams connect channel-level investment to a broader strategy designed to influence business goals.
The Role of Search During Holiday
During the holidays, shoppers tend to begin with broad, mission-based discovery—”best gifts for moms” or “gifts under $100”— and then move quickly to specific products. Prepare for those periods of high purchase intent by maximizing coverage across brand and non-brand searches to capture relevant queries.
Holiday buyers are highly price-sensitive and quick to switch when promo, delivery speed, or inventory disappoints. Even with Amazon currently out of the search auction, expect high CPCs and strong competition. It’s critical to ensure the best possible site experience to boost conversion, while matching competitive promotions and pricing to drive engagement.
While AI Search is growing, it drives less than 1% of referral site traffic across Ovative clients. Still, ensure AI search engines can access your site content to include in their results. Additionally, track referral traffic from AI engines to monitor changes during the holiday period.
Maximizing Impact with Search Channels
Every search channel requires different strategies for the holiday season, but the most consistent theme across all is to ramp up early. Each year, users start shopping sooner, so be prepared to push early if you’re exceeding your profitability targets.
Google Shopping
Overall Ranking: #2 | Enterprise Cash Cow Ranking: #2
Similar to past holiday seasons, Google Shopping will drive the bulk of retail spend and traffic as search results become increasingly visual, with product listings leading the way.
To maximize that advantage, ensure your product feed is complete and up to date—robust feeds expand reach to more relevant queries and unlock high-converting formats across the visual shelf.
Activate Performance Max to extend coverage across Google’s surfaces and meet shoppers wherever they’re ready to buy, allocating the majority of investment to Shopping while monitoring channel reporting so spend doesn’t drift into lower ROAS placements.
Pair that scale with compelling merchant promotions that clearly surface competitive pricing and offers in ads and listings—deal-seeking intensifies during holiday and every click is contested—so promo parity and clarity become differentiators.
Finally, tighten product detail pages (PDPs)—especially on mobile—reducing friction and making delivery timing, returns, and inventory obvious to sustain conversion through peak weeks and beyond.
Google Non-Brand Search
Non-brand search remains a critical complement to Shopping—broadening discovery and capturing incremental intent—so it’s essential to expand coverage as Shopping continues to dominate increasingly visual results pages.
To scale efficiently, lean into AI Max, Broad Match, and Dynamic Search Ads to uncover net-new, relevant queries; as you expand, benchmark these tactics against your current program to protect efficiency and avoid drift from your performance guardrails.
Convert that interest by maximizing creative variation within Responsive Search Ads and activating all available ad extensions; use promo extensions and sitelinks to surface current sales and promotions directly in the SERP so value and relevance are obvious before the click.
Google Brand Search
Brand search should be oriented to maximize all available brand traffic at the most efficient CPC across SEM and SEO, using proven CPC caps to drive savings—then revisiting those caps for peak season dynamics.
As holiday pressure builds, expect previously absent competitors to reenter your brand auctions; monitor holistic search traffic closely and adjust CPC caps if competition picks up to protect coverage without overspending.
Similar to non-brand, maximize creative variations and ad extensions so value is obvious in the SERP. Users are looking for deals, so ensure promotions are clearly surfaced via copy and extensions to convert intent efficiently.
Crush Your Search Strategy This Holiday
With this search handbook as your guide, it’s time to crush your holistic search strategy this season. Want additional support from our integrated media experts? Contact our team or learn more about our media capabilities.
