Top Cross Channel Tips For Peak

Peak looks different for every brand, but one thing every successful trading period has in common is good planning — and the best results come from starting early. 

With AI changing how people search, shop and convert, this year’s peak will see brands working to defend against lost visibility while using the latest AI-driven advertising products to do more with less. 

But it’s not all about AI — from feed health to first-party data and securing the best affiliate deals, here’s an early Christmas gift of top tips for the upcoming peak across the performance marketing mix. 

Productcaster’s Top Tips for Peak

1. Test What Works Best for Audiences and Campaigns

Research and test omnichannel options to find what works best before the peak season begins – mix and match to broaden audience targeting across channels and promote both in-store and online with PMax, Standard Shopping and LIAs (Local Inventory Ads).

2. Set Budgets and Plan Around Them

Having a budget in mind is key when planning for peak, especially with the increasing use of AI and how that will affect budget. Forecasting with previous years data is essential to prepare for rises in CPCs and evaluate ROAS to potentially uncap certain campaigns.

3. Utilise Tools at your Disposal

When using Productcaster, or any 3rd party, it is essential to be using their tools and keeping track of external trends, such as Productcaster’s Product Maximiser to enhance performance and get more than what Google alone can provide. This is the time to take advantage of AI to enhance your feeds with AI fleshing out content or altering images to have a Christmasy background.

4. Ensure Feeds are Optimised

It is essential to optimise feeds before peak – checking settings across all platforms, adding any missing data, being aware of, and fixing, disapprovals and enriching data across all attributed to increase relevancy. 

5. Better the Information, Better the Performance

Ensure feeds are supplied with as much data as possible – titles, colours, sizes, product highlights, attributes and more to get the most out of them. Along with this it is vital to regularly update the feed with any changes in stock or promotional prices, all of which will fluctuate throughout peak. 

Paid Socials Top Tips for Peak

1. Hygiene Checks of Accounts

Ensure all accounts are following best practice and that the essentials are in place – with EMQ (Event Match Quality) at 5 or above on conversion metrics; avoid basic errors such as tracking and pixel accuracy as well as making sure UTM parameters are setup for Advantage+. 

2. Audience Preparation

Aim to warm up audiences six weeks before peak season, considering that on average consumers need seven social touchpoints or more before making a purchase. If a goal is to generate higher ticket purchases, then utilising promo lead magnets such as email capture and social follows will be key.

3. Q4 Starts in Q3

Use Q3 to plan for the peak period and be able to press publish before Q4 begins, strive to have budgets set and creatives built out well in advance. This will enable you to monitor demand and launch as soon as campaigns start to gain traction. 

4. Supply Campaigns with as Much Data as Possible

Make sure any Advantage+ or Smart Campaigns have enough data beforehand and are out of learning phases. Be sure to analyse audience quality and focus on long-term value customers to avoid spending too much on CPMs for audiences that may only offer one purchase. 

5. Stay Fluid Over the Peak Period

Peak is known to vary between verticals, and being able to adapt is more important than ever – clothing and impulse buyers are typically closer to Black Friday, whereas higher ticket offers such as electricals start well in advance.  

Affiliates Top Tips for Peak 

1. Use Past Data to Shape Your Q4 Plan

Review last year’s affiliate performance to identify top trends, top partners, and high-converting periods and incorporate these insights to guide your 2025 Q4 strategy.

2. Ensure Budget is Locked and Ready

Affiliate activity needs to run continuously during peak trading periods – pausing is not an option. Plan for increased spend, including commission boosts and media fees, to stay competitive and visible throughout Q4.

3. Secure Affiliate Coverage Early

Request Q4 coverage early as placements go fast, especially for Black Friday and Cyber Week. Start reaching out to affiliates, review their media packs, and lock in spots before prices rise and premium inventory disappears.

4. Share All Key Trading Dates with Partners

Make sure affiliates know your key dates in the lead up to Christmas – final order deadlines, delivery cutoffs, and click-and-collect timelines. Having clear communication helps accuracy when planning and drive urgency with customers.

5. Diversify Beyond Cashback and Voucher Sites

Although cashback or voucher sites drive volume, relying solely on them limits reach. Including content creators, loyalty platforms, and influencers will cover the full customer journey and drive incremental sales. 

SEOs Top Tips for Peak

1. Plan and Publish Content Early

Plan and create content in July and August for September publication, providing ample time for search engines to crawl and rank content before search demand spikes in late October and early November. 

2. Review and Reflect on Last Year’s Data

An analytical approach to planning helps identify gaps or underperforming areas to optimise, whether that’s uncovering new customer segments for upcoming products, refining keywords to improve search rankings, or doubling down on high-performing content.

3. Build Evergreen URLs for Seasonal Pages

Rather than using date-specific URLs (e.g. /black-friday-2025), create permanent landing pages like /black-friday. Content on these pages can be updated year after year and preserves link equity, rankings and user trust. 

4. Target Keywords Across the Full Funnel

Utilise keyword tools like Ubersuggest, Semrush, or Google Trends to follow customers through their journey. Use guides and comparison articles for inspiration at the top of the funnel; then incorporate transactional terminology and target high-intent keywords for lower-funnel searches.

5. Use Internal Linking to Boost Visibility

Ensure all key seasonal pages are easily discoverable via internal links – this supports both SEO and users. Using keyword-rich anchor text can send clear ranking signals it will also help search engines crawl pages and distributes page authority. 

PPCs Top Tips for Peak 

1. Test and Learn Now

Be proactive when planning for peak before it is too late – test new features, channels and ad types (i.e. using Bing and PMax) now to help formulate a robust plan and establish tactics to be used during peak. 

2. Have a Plan B for Promotion

Having a contingency plan is important – if demand is not as strong, having an alternative promotion featuring a better offer which could be activated at a push of a button allows for a last-minute boost in sales and prevents waiting for sign-off. 

3. The More First-Party Data, The Better

Adopting a first-party data approach will allow you a competitive edge and create targeted messaging – tap into basket abandoners and re-engage customers from last year with returning customer offers. 

4. Creatives Are Key

Creatives are just as important as campaign set up; strong creatives will drive clicks and conversions. Take advantage of AI to tweak these creatives for the season and ensure A/B testing is done well ahead of peak. 

5. Automate as Much as Possible

Take the pressure off campaign management by utilising scripts – monitor capped budgets, broken URLs, and other basic account checks. Using Google’s “power pack” can help to get the most out of campaigns by forming a full funnel approach. 

 

Applying all these tips to fit in with your brands distinctive priorities and needs can be difficult, if not impossible, so here are most important takeaways from Summit and Productcaster: 

Be Early – it is essential to be prepared as early as possible across all aspects of campaign creation and management, from agreeing on budgets to A/B testing, and publishing content when sales begin.  

Tackle AI Head On – make use of the developments in AI by mitigating impacts on visibility and click-through with enhanced content and assets, or improvements on day-to-days tasks with AI providing summaries for data.  

By taking onboard any of these tip’s your campaigns will be more effective throughout the peak season.  

 Written by Lucy Elliott