Halloween isn’t just about costumes and candy anymore; it’s also prime time for digital marketing magic! In 2025, PPC advertising is more powerful than ever, with deeper automation, data-privacy shifts and new formats to help you reach your audience in creative, high-impact ways. Ready to cast some spells on your PPC campaigns? Here are the top tricks to enchant your audience this spooky season.
1. Use AI & First-Party Data to Predict Spooky Trends
AI-driven tools and data strategy are no longer optional—they’re central to high-performance campaigns. Platforms like Google Ads and Microsoft Advertising are advancing their machine-learning capabilities, enabling predictive targeting, dynamic creatives and real-time optimisation.
Simultaneously, as third-party cookies fade and privacy regulations tighten, leveraging first-party data (your CRM, site interactions, purchase behaviour) becomes a major competitive edge.
How to implement:
- Ignite a campaign leveraging Performance Max or equivalent AI-driven campaign type.
- Feed in your first-party data (customer lists, behaviours) so the algorithm has rich inputs.
- Use seasonal/holiday-spooky keywords and creatives to align with Halloween intent.
Pro Tip: Before the ghostly rush, map out all your first-party touchpoints (newsletter sign-ups, past purchasers, cart abandoners). Use those audiences to train your AI to recognise your “hot” segments for the holiday season.
2. Retarget Ghosted Customers (They’re Still Haunting Your Site)
Halloween is the season of ghosts, even in marketing—so why not bring the ghosts back? Retargeting campaigns allow you to re-engage visitors who dropped off: cart abandoners, hovers, window-shoppers.
With dynamic ads and automation, you can remind them of seasonal deals or limited-time Halloween offers.
How to implement:
- Build segmented retargeting lists (e.g., visited product pages, abandoned checkout, email clickers but no purchase).
- Serve ads with a Halloween theme: “Back from the Dead! Don’t Miss This Limited Offer!”
- Make use of dynamic ad creative: product image + custom frame/theme + limited-time call-to-action.
Pro Tip: Use urgency or scarcity messaging tied to Halloween (“Only until midnight Oct 31!”, “Spooky deals vanish at dawn”). The combination of retargeting + seasonal urgency often boosts conversion rates.
3. Cast a Spell with Smart Bidding + Automation
Machine learning bidding strategies continue to mature. In 2025, many of the manual bid wars are being replaced by automated strategies that optimise for your real goals (conversions, value) rather than simply clicks.
How to implement:
- Test Target CPA (Cost per Action), Target ROAS (Return on Ad Spend) or an enhanced conversion model aligned with your Halloween goals.
- Pair smart bidding with high-quality seasonal creative and ad assets so the algorithm has the right signals to optimise.
- Monitor bid strategy carefully—automation isn’t autopilot! You still need to check for wasted spend, weird placements, or low-quality traffic.
Pro Tip: During the Halloween period, consider setting shorter windows for optimisation (e.g., daily checks) because seasonal traffic shifts quickly. Adjust your bid strategy mid-campaign if you see unexpected behaviour (e.g., surge of mobile traffic at night, etc).
4. Target Seasonal Keywords & Themes to Charm New Customers
Halloween shoppers are searching for deals, costumes, décor, party supplies—and you want your ads in front of them at just the right moment. Keyword/value trends for 2025 show more emphasis on intent, voice/visual search, and long-tail holiday queries.
How to implement:
- Do fresh keyword research with a seasonal lens: e.g., “halloween costume deals 2025”, “spooky home décor sale”, “family-friendly halloween party supplies”.
- Include these keywords in your ad copy, display campaigns, and search campaigns.
- Consider layering in new formats: voice search optimisation (people asking “Where to buy halloween costumes near me?”) or visual search (image-based queries) as these are becoming more relevant.
Pro Tip: Don’t just go broad with “halloween deals”, target more niche segments too: “eco-friendly halloween costumes”, “plus size family halloween costumes”, “last minute halloween party supplies”. These long-tails often have lower competition and higher conversion because they target specific intent.
5. Bewitch with Video Ads and Multi-Channel Magic
Video continues to dominate in terms of engagement, especially during festive seasons. In 2025, stronger emphasis is put on multi-channel campaigns that span search, display, social, shopping and video.
How to implement:
- Create short, eye-catching video ads with Halloween themes—costumes in action, “before/after” décor setups, fun visuals.
- Deploy across platforms: YouTube, Meta (Instagram/Facebook), TikTok if relevant to your audience.
- Use clear calls-to-action: “Shop Now – Before It Disappears!”, “Only 2 Days Left for Spooky Savings!”.
- Align your ad format to the platform: e.g., vertical for mobile social, skippable for YouTube, shorter for Stories/Reels.
Pro Tip: Use UGC (user-generated content) or authentic behind-the-scenes footage to enhance trust and engagement. Audiences in 2025 are less drawn to highly polished ads and more to authenticity and relatability.
Bonus Tricks for 2025’s Halloween PPC Success
- Feed optimisation for e-commerce: If you’re running product ads (e-commerce), make sure your product feeds are fully optimised — images, descriptions, categories — so platforms like Google Shopping can match efficiently
- Omnichannel & cross-platform integration: Don’t silo your campaign to just search or display. Link your search, display, video and social campaigns so you meet users at multiple touchpoints across their journey.
- Privacy & first-party data readiness: With cookie deprecation and stricter privacy regulations, having a robust first-party data strategy (customer lists, CRM, loyalty data) gives you an edge when third-party signals weaken.
- Season-specific creative refresh: Because competition is high during Halloween, refresh your creative at least once during the campaign to avoid ad fatigue and maintain relevance.
- Measure more than clicks: Focus on meaningful conversions: sales, sign-ups, downloads, store visits. Recognise that user journeys are becoming more complex and multi-touch.
Final Spell: Make This Halloween “Fang-tastic”
With these updated tricks for 2025, you’re equipped to enchant your audience, boost conversions and make the most out of the Halloween season. From leveraging AI and first-party data to deploying eye-catching video across channels, your campaigns can truly stand out.
Now is the time to prepare, get your assets ready, plan your budgets, refresh your creatives, and launch with confidence. Here’s to a spook-solutely successful Halloween! 🎃
