"Wait for the season."
By Mansour Norouzi · July 21, 2026 · Curated by George's Blog
"Wait for the season."
I hear it every year. CVR is down, demand is dead, don't push for rank until buyers come back.
I don't buy it.
The algorithm has no calendar. It doesn't relax in June. It measures the same thing it measures in December: how you perform against the products next to you.
Not your absolute CVR. Your CVR against the category.
If the whole category converts at half its peak, you don't need to beat your peak. You need to beat your neighbors today.
Same with volume. Category down 40% and you're down 40%? You held. Down 20%? You gained rank while everyone else slept.
And here's what the "wait" crowd misses: clicks are cheap right now. Competitors pull budgets. CPCs fall. A rank position in July costs a fraction of what it costs in Q4. You're not wasting money in the off-season. You're buying rank at a discount.
Yes, rank decays if you stop feeding it. So don't stop. Hold velocity through the trough and enter the season already positioned, while everyone else starts the climb from zero.
So the question isn't "is now a good time to rank."
It's two questions:
Is your CVR above the category benchmark this week?
Is your volume holding against your direct competitors?
Yes to both? You rank. Any month.
No? Then it's not a season problem. It's a product problem.