Posts filed under 'Strategy'

Building a Foundation with Strong Keywords

Go wide—with a range of specific and general words and phrases

Editor’s Note: This is another in a series of posts we’re calling “The Best of the YSM Blog.” These are posts containing timeless advice and best practices that never go out of style. Even if you read it the first time, it’s not a bad idea to review this information periodically to help get maximum performance from your advertising.

Originally posted February 3, 2009

[Below is an excerpt from Yahoo!’s Smart Start guide, which is packed with helpful content to assist you in making your campaigns as effective as possible. Whether you’re an expert search marketer or just starting out, the tips from Yahoo!’s “Sharon Goodsense” offer practical search marketing insights. Download Smart Start.]

Want to increase your conversion numbers? You may need to consider bidding on more specific keywords that contain things like the brands you sell and even specific model numbers. This will appeal to searchers who are closer—or ready—to purchase.

Start by looking online—and thinking like a customer
One of the best and easiest places to begin scouting out keywords is right on your web site. Look through all your pages and pick out the words that are most relevant and interesting to your customers.

• Put yourself in searchers’ shoes to come up with all of the possible ways they might be looking for what you offer.
• Consider bidding on keywords for your most profitable products and services first to spend most effectively within your budget.
• Think about what you want your customers to do (like become better informed or make a purchase).
• Review your competitors’ web sites to see what kinds of words they use to talk to customers
• Use the Find Keywords panel, on the left side of the Choose Keywords page in your account, to get possible keywords that relate to the products and services you want to promote.
• For a more advanced way to find keywords, check your web server logs. These logs can tell you what your site visitors are searching for and how they navigate through your web pages.

Customer mindset changes throughout the buying cycle
1) In the research phase…
Customers are usually just gathering information about product categories, product options and different retailers. They use broad or generic search terms during this phase. Keyword examples: television, camera, video game.

2) In the shopping phase…
Customers are comparing and narrowing their purchase options. They use more specific terms when searching during this phase. Keyword examples: plasma television, digital camera, zombie video game.

3) In the purchase phase…
Customers are ready to buy. They often know exactly what they want, and are going to use very specific search terms to find it. Keyword examples: 42” Brand X plasma TV, 8 megapixel digital camera, Zombieslayer II.

Specific keywords are often more effective than general ones

Broad keywords are great for driving traffic to your web site, but can cause you to go through your budget faster. And unfortunately, because they’re used during the research phase, they don’t lead to purchases or sign-ups as often.

To increase your chances of clicks leading to sales, it’s better to bid on more specific or niche keywords. This can slow your spending and potentially improve your results. As you’ll read later, you will need to continually monitor the performance of your keywords to make sure they’re working for your business.

If your keywords all appear to fall into one phase, now’s the time to make some changes. Look through your list of keywords and determine which phase of the buying cycle they apply to, then round out or amend your list so you’re not just focusing all of your effort and spending on one type of customer.

— The Smart Start Team

Free Ship = Good Tip

It’s the wonder offer that works wonders for your sales

Editor’s Note: This is another in a series of posts we’re calling “The Best of the YSM Blog.” These are posts containing timeless advice and best practices that never go out of style. Even if you read it the first time, it’s not a bad idea to review this information periodically to help get maximum performance from your advertising.

Originally posted February 13, 2009

When I was a kid, my grandfather always used to say, “there’s no such thing as a free lunch.” He’s still right, but today the word “free” doesn’t raise as much of red flag as it did in Gramps’ day. In fact, more and more consumers are recognizing the value of free, especially when it comes to their online purchases and how they’re shipped. Because when it comes to shipping, “free” can be the key that unlocks the door between advertisers and customers.

Determining factor
According to a new study of 9,000 shoppers conducted by ForeSee Results, free shipping had a huge effect on holiday sales in 2008. The study showed that free shipping offers play a major role in whether consumers buy in a store or online, and, when purchasing online, where they shop. Avoiding shipping costs was the third most common response for why shoppers choose to buy in a store rather than on a retail website, behind the ability to receive the product immediately and being able to see or feel an item before purchase.

Additionally, consumers gave retailers offering free shipping higher scores than those not offering it—in every satisfaction category. These categories included likelihood to purchase online, brand commitment, likelihood to return, likelihood to recommend, and overall retailer satisfaction.

How to promote free shipping
All of this adds up to one inescapable conclusion: Free shipping can work wonders. So if you offer this option, be sure to scream it out in all of your ads, because your customers will want to know about and take advantage of it.

This is also true for all of the other special deals you offer, from coupons to discounts to free gift wrapping. If you offer it, let your customers know about it! Free shipping and other special deals are the best first impression you could possibly make on potential customers, as well as a great way of ensuring loyalty in the ones you already have.

One note though: If you offer free shipping but with restrictions—such as minimum order amounts or only on certain items—be sure to make that clear, too. The ForeSee study showed that consumers don’t like surprises when it comes to free shipping, but they’re far more lenient if the rules are explained up front.

In this time of tightening belts and careful finance monitoring, consumers are more careful than ever about where their dollars are going. Free shipping is a great way to ease consumer concerns and grow customer loyalty at the same time.

— Noah Belson, Content Quality Analyst