Facebook &Google ad costs soar in Ireland

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Jul 13
3 min read

☀️ June / July's Heatwave & Holiday Season: Why Your Facebook and Google Ads Struggled in Ireland

If your lead gen campaigns underperformed last month, you weren’t alone.

June 2025 brought record-breaking heat across Ireland, and if you're running Facebook Lead Ads or Google PPC, you probably saw costs shoot up while leads slowed to a crawl. And just when July kicked off with a bang, the past few days have shown a drop-off in conversions again — thanks in part to the summer holidays taking full effect.

Between the weather, travel season, and out-of-season product timing, many advertisers have seen lead volume drop by 30–50% compared to spring levels.

Let’s unpack what happened — and what you can still do about it.

☀️ June 2025: When the Heat Hit Hard

Ireland isn’t exactly known for scorching summers, so when temperatures climbed past 25°C for multiple days in June, everything changed — including user behavior.

People spent more time outdoors and less time in front of screens.
Desktop usage dropped off; mobile traffic surged.
During the warmest parts of the day (12–5 PM), engagement and conversions took a dive.

Across many campaigns we monitored, Facebook lead volume was down 25–30%, while Google Ads conversion rates slipped by 15–25%, even with consistent budgets and strong creative.

🧊 Cold-Weather Products? It’s Not Your Season

If your product or service is one that tends to sell better in cooler months — think home insulation, heating systems, or even financial services — then June and July will always be a tough sell.

You’re fighting on two fronts:

People aren’t in the headspace to buy.
The heat actively pushes your product out of mind — who wants to talk about insulation when they’re sweating?

For campaigns in this category, we’ve seen an extra 10–15% drop in conversions, on top of the seasonal heatwave impact.

✈️ And Then… Everyone Went on Holidays

As July rolled in, we saw a bit of a bounce. Cooler mornings, more predictable routines — for a few days, lead gen looked promising again.

But by the second week, conversion rates dipped again, right on cue with the summer travel season kicking in.

Kids are off school.
Professionals are out of office.
And even those staying local are mentally “checked out.”

Whether it’s Spain, Galway, or just the garden with a cold drink, fewer people are online making decisions or filling out lead forms. We’re seeing another 10–15% drop across lead-based campaigns in the first half of July — and we’re only halfway through.

📊 Let’s Put This Together

Here’s what we’re seeing for Irish advertisers this summer:

Factor	Impact on Campaigns
June heatwave	-20% to -30% in lead volume
Cold-product timing	-10% to -15% extra drop
Summer holidays (July)	-10% to -15% further drop
Total potential impact	-40% to -50%

This isn’t to say everyone is losing — seasonal brands (fans, outdoor gear, travel) may be flying. But if your service is better suited to cold weather or long-term planning, summer is your slow season, plain and simple.

✅ What You Can Do Right Now

Here are a few quick wins we’re recommending to clients:

Lean into awareness over conversion.Shift your focus temporarily — build brand presence and warm up your audience for a stronger Q3.
Tweak your ad timing.Run your ads earlier in the morning or later in the evening, when people are more active online and out of the sun.
Make your messaging reflect the moment.Even a simple line like “Too hot to think about this? Save it for September — but book now” can keep your message relevant.
Lower your budget or pause cold offersIf you're spending hard on something that only works in winter, it may be smarter to downscale now and relaunch big in late August.

Final Word

The heatwave in June 2025, followed by the July travel season, created a perfect storm of poor performance for lead-gen campaigns in Ireland — especially for off-season products.

But this isn’t new. It happens every summer in some form — this year just came in hotter and earlier than most.

If your CPL is up and your conversions are down, it’s not your ad strategy — it’s the season. Don’t panic. Stay smart, adjust your expectations, and make your comeback when your audience returns to normal routines in late August and September.

Need help auditing your summer campaigns or planning for a stronger Q3? Let’s chat.