4. Long-tail keywords — broad isn’t always better. The more traffic and volume isn’t necessarily better. Generic keywords or phrases typically have increased competition and are more costly. They tend to generate less qualified visitors who are researching or early in the buying cycle, therefore less likely to convert on the first visit or in the near future, if at all. Expand your keyword list with longer phrases to pre-qualify the searcher and capture them at a later stage of the buying cycle. Incorporate a mix of short- and long-tail terms to maximize opportunities and leverage budgets to determine where the best return on investment is achieved, the whitepaper advises. Use Google’s keyword research tool to access data that provides the search terms, their search volume and the competitiveness of the terms.
5. Determine whether Adword campaign options work for you. These options can benefit your online advertising efforts and save you money, the whitepaper notes. However, they aren’t useful in all accounts or campaigns, so implement them where appropriate. They include:
* Geographic targeting — market to users in your local area or expand to specific areas/states of the country. If certain parts of your business can only be serviced or delivered in specific areas, those keywords or ad groups should be broken into a separate campaign, so the offerings can be targeted appropriately for them.
* Day parting/ ad scheduler — this option is particularly effective if you have a good idea when your customers are searching for you, or if you drive visitors to a phone number and aren’t available 24/7. If you’re trying to maximize budget and have an idea of traffic patterns for your business, this should be considered. Remember other time zones, so you don‘t exclude any qualified visitors by shutting down too early.
- Companies:

Joe Keenan is the executive editor of Total Retail. Joe has more than 10 years experience covering the retail industry, and enjoys profiling innovative companies and people in the space.
