When Search Ads Aren’t Enough

After months of R&D, you’ve finally developed an innovative product that no one is searching for. If you’re introducing something innovative or targeting a niche market, chances are, you will have very few people searching for it.

When we were selling 'shampoo bars’, we found that there weren't enough searches for the term in India, and yet, competition was fierce. The highest bid for the keyword was as expensive as the product itself, making it financially unfeasible to scale using this method. High-volume broader keywords like ‘shampoo’ or ‘haircare’ were generating clicks but not enough conversion.

This is a common challenge when introducing a novel product—initially, there simply aren't enough people searching for it to justify the investment in search ads. You might quickly hit a ceiling where increasing your ad spend continues to give diminishing returns.

Here's the thing

There are two major types of targeting you can use in your ad campaigns—Intent-based and Interest-based. Platforms like Google and YouTube are examples of intent-based advertising, where users type in keywords to search. This is great when you have a well-known product, but not so much for something new.

On the other hand, platforms like Instagram are geared towards interest-based advertising. Here users don’t type but scroll the content served to them. You can catch their interest by showcasing captivating visuals and engaging (read relevant) content that targets their lifestyle or personal interests, even when they aren’t specifically searching for your product.

Here’s how I tackled the 'low search volume’ problem:

1. We expanded our target keywords to include concerns. We started showing ads for Hair fall, Dandruff etc.
2. As our product worked well with hard water, we targeted geographies where hard water was causing hair fall. We created ads specifically for the same and accordingly targeted those keywords.
3. We knew our customers were actively following minimalist lifestyles, vegan cafes, etc. We created different interest cohorts and started targeting those interests and lifestyles.
4. We used influencers who our customers followed.
5. We followed it up with retargeting ads for visitors of our website.

This switch to interest-based advertising allowed us to reach a broader audience who, while they weren’t actively searching for shampoo bars, were interested in sustainable lifestyles. By aligning our product with these broader interests, we effectively expanded our reach and introduced our novel product to a receptive audience. But the key is still to learn as much about your customers as you can.

While this isn’t a comprehensive guide, consider it a nudge in the right direction. For startups venturing into new product territories, it’s crucial to diversify your performance ad strategy beyond just search ads. Balance it out with interest-based platforms to build awareness and interest. Once you hit the critical mass, the power of network (WoM) will kick in if your product is good.

I'm sure there are many more such tactics to overcome 'low search volume' problems, Have you ever faced this? How did you tackle this problem?

About Me

Hey, I’m Abhishek Kumar. I am an entrepreneur with over a decade of experience in marketing and branding. As the founder of 'The Switch Fix', a D2C Beauty and Personal Care Brand, I have firsthand experience in the challenges faced by early-stage founders and I’m dedicated to sharing my knowledge to help others succeed. My expertise lies in helping startups develop laser-sharp go-to-market strategies that resonate with their target audience.

Having built a startup from scratch and faced the challenges of scaling and sustaining it, I understand the unique struggles first-gen startup founders face. Right from raising funds to managing investors and scaling that didn’t work.

So I’ve decided to share real-world actionable insights with my fellow first-gen founders so they are better equipped to navigate and create solid valuable businesses. By partnering with me, startups can benefit from a holistic approach that integrates branding, marketing, and entrepreneurial insights, setting them on a path towards sustainable growth and long-term success.