I visited a large retailer this weekend and spent two hours in the store shopping with my wife.  We went to buy a few specific gifts but ended up walking down multiple aisles looking at hundreds of products!  Okay, that is an exaggeration but it got me thinking about the difference between online and offline shopping.  In other words, the superiority of online shopping versus in-store shopping!

In my opinion, there is only one advantage to being in the store, which is the ability to view the product with your own eyes, touch it, hold it, and make sure it isn’t defective or broken.  But as I thought about it more, there are just so many more advantages to online shopping.  Here is my brief, unscientific list:

1. When shopping online, you can compare hundreds (this time I’m serious) of products in such an efficient manner.  To duplicate this effort by visiting the mall for example, you would have to spend hours and hours walking all over the place, battling crowds and you are still limited to the stores located in the mall…advantage online shopping.
2. When you are online you can compare prices for identical items at different stores with the click of a mouse.  To replicate this effort, you would have to go to one store, then walk, drive, or call another, then another and so on.  This can waste a lot of time and money just visiting the different stores to get a price that takes seconds to view online…advantage online shopping.
3. Here is an easy one: shopping when it’s convenient for your schedule.  While most brick and mortar stores extend their hours during the holidays, few I know of are open 24 hours…advantage online shopping.
4. I believe every state has a sales tax, but if you purchase from an online store that doesn’t have a physical location in your state, then you are not required to pay sales tax.  I look for sites where I don’t have to pay sales tax.  The devil’s advocate will say you have to pay shipping which negates your “sales tax” savings.  While this is true, most sites offer free shipping depending on what you purchase and the larger, more respected sites offer free shipping on orders as low as $25.00…advantage online shopping.

These are just a few reasons I feel shopping online shopping is better than in-store shopping.  More traditional brick and mortar stores are developing robust e-commerce websites.  People are shopping more online, and if you are a business you should be marketing to these potential customers.  It just makes good marketing sense, search engine marketing sense!

The core of any online CPC campaign is the list of keywords that you choose to bid on. The keywords need to not only represent your company and its products/services, but they also need to be frequently searched on and relevant to the landing page that you drive traffic to. 

Google has had a few tools to help with keyword research and optimization, and recently launched the Google Search-Based Keyword Tool as its newest enhancement. This tool informs you of the keywords that you are currently missing out on, based on search query data from the content on your site. In other words, it allows you to see the most popular keywords related to your site, and focuses on the ones that you are not currently bidding on.  It also suggests landing pages to go along with each keyword suggestion.  In doing so, the tool helps you identify additional and relevant advertising opportunities that aren’t currently being used in your AdWords campaigns.

This tool will be extremely beneficial if you have the desire to capture more keywords related not only to your products, but also to the content on your website.  However, adding keywords is not the only way to improve your keyword list.

Below are a few suggestions to help optimize your CPC keyword list:

1. Keyword Research: There are many keyword tools that marketers use to compile their list of keywords.  Google offers several tools that will allow you to see the search volume, search history, average CPC, and additional keyword ideas.  Here are a couple:

a. http://www.google.com/sktool/#
b. https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal.

2. Aggressive Bidding Structure: Make sure you are showing
above the fold of the page for your most important keywords. This might require an increase in your CPC bid, but it is often worthwhile and should help improve your CTR.
3. Relevant Ad Copy & Landing Page:  After a search has been made on one of your keywords, you want to make sure your ad copy is relevant to the keyword searched upon, especially if you are in one of the top positions.  Also, it is extremely important that the landing page be relevant to the ad copy.  If the visitor is sent to a page that doesn’t have content related to the keyword or the ad, the visitor’s interest will be diminished.

Having a dominant presence for the keywords that mean the most to you and your business is essential for the success of your online marketing campaigns. Utilize the tools that are available to help improve your CPC campaigns.   Happy keyword hunting!