Have you ever done a very specific search, for example “iPhone 3g” and gotten taken somewhere that doesn’t even mention the iPhone? Many advertisers using paid search don’t realize they are not only missing a great opportunity, they could also be losing business to frustrated or impatient visitors.

Picking the right landing page is highly important in paid search advertising. If an advertiser is bidding on product specific keywords and directing traffic to those product pages, they have an opportunity to capture the buyer toward the end of the buying cycle. The visitor knows what they want, has already done the research and should be close to buying. In addition, bidding on more specific keywords will usually be cheaper than general keywords because there is less competition. Eliminate the need for your visitors to do an internal search. Pick a destination page that is relevant to what visitors are searching for and prevent visitors from leaving the site because they do not see what they are looking for.

Using Google Analytics is a great way to get insight into landing pages performance. Businesses can view top landing pages and exit pages. This is valuable because it can show where the best or worst places are to drive traffic on your site.

Keyword Insertion or Dynamic Text is a feature that is offered by Google, Yahoo and MSN for the creation of ad copy. It helps to make ads more relevant. In order to use keyword insertion, you will need to insert a code into the ad text. Then, once a keyword is searched, it will automatically replace the code with the keyword that triggered the ad. Keyword insertion has many benefits including increasing relevancy of your ads. However, there are many times when keyword insertion should be used with caution or not at all.

First, many advertisers might choose to bid on misspellings. This can be a cost-effective and strategic way to get more customers to your site, especially since there should be minimal competition. If your keyword is misspelled, then the dynamic text will also be misspelled in your ad copy. It is best to not use keyword insertion when you have misspellings as keywords, especially when it comes to your branded or trademarked terms.

Another case where keyword insertion may not be best is when you are bidding on keywords that are not relevant to the rest of your ad copy. For example, the ad below is talking about visiting Barbados, but the headline says italy vacations. This is a clear case of when you should not use keyword insertion.

Is everyone else using keyword insertion? When compiling research for ad copy, it is always a good idea to see what your competitors are doing. If you see that every ad has the same headline, it is probable that your competitors are all using keyword insertion. This is a great time to make your ad copy stand out.

Keyword insertion is an element that can be used to boost your click through rate and even your quality score; however there can be dangerous pitfalls to using this feature.

Almost every industry experiences seasonal cycles. Understanding seasonality in your industry can help you fine tune your online advertising.  Using tools like, Google Trends and Google Insights for Search can help you see trends and allow you to take advantage of an increase in market demand. Historical data should be used when determining your seasonal cycle. It is a good idea to look at several cycles in your season to make sure that there are not any economic indicators that have influenced the trending.

Online advertising is the ideal medium for seasonal advertising because the results are virtually instantaneous and the messaging is easily adaptable. Once you determine your peak periods of interest, you can allocate a larger budget to times when demand is higher and use specific ad messaging for your peak season. For example, summer tends to be the season when people are more interested in travel. By spending more on advertising and being more visible during those peak times, you can take advantage of a high demand season. Understanding off season can also allow you to change your messaging to offer off season discounts, as well as help save money in times that do not convert as well.

For most online retailers, the holiday season is the peak season. But when should you start to conceptualize your advertising strategy for the holidays? Many marketers realize the need to advertise during the holiday season but may not recognize there are other times of year when demand is high as well. Understanding your industry’s seasonal cycle can help businesses to advertise at the right time with the right message. Remember, it is never too early to start thinking of your seasonal advertising.