5.Spend your time effectively by researching more niche keywords using Overture’s search term suggestion tool: http://inventory.overture.com/d/searchinventory/suggestion/ or WordTracker: http://www.wordtracker.com/moreinfo.html

6.As a general rule of thumb, it is better to bid for 10-20 keywords rather than only a few which will not yield as much results.

7.Choose and bid cautiously on a variety of keywords. The key is to Test. Under-performing keywords should be replaced by new, better performing keywords.

8.In case of using Overture, seriously consider buying a “Premium Listing” which means you hold top 3 positions for that keyword phrase. This is because other major search engines show only first listings.

9.Use a tracking service or software to track your traffic from PPCs to whichever page you directed them to. This is to calculate and justify if cost of advertising on PPCs is worth it, considering number of sales it will bring. Never send those PPCs traffic to your home page.

10.Try to be as objective as you possibly can in writing your title and description of your site. Don’t use subjective languages like “the best” or “number one” but rather in an objective manner of just listing your product or service benefits in a unique way.

These are 10 short tips that can help you in gaining a better ranking in PPCs and getting that highly targeted ‘Clicks’ that will be worth it if it converts into sales.

Research Implications

Know thy consumer. This research indicates how important it is to develop a psychological profile of your ideal consumer. You need to know what consumer frequents your market and from this you can begin to develop, first intuitively, then through ongoing research, a profile of your target customer’s consumer style.

For instance if you sell your product or service over internet you can be pretty sure that you are marketing to people who operate out of a limited number of consumer styles such as perfectionistic; novelty/fashion; and price conscious consumers. These are all information oriented consumers who engage in seeking information before they purchase.

If you are marketing to other businesses then you’re once again probably going to need to market with an orientation to providing sound information coupled with powerful and relevant benefits because you’ll be dealing with perfectionist and price conscious consumers.

Also, realize that with this information you can work to turn people from one style to another. For instance you may be able to convert a price conscious consumer to one who is brand loyal by providing consistent quality for a lower price. You may be able to convert confused-by-overchoice consumer into a brand loyal consumer by providing simple, straight forward information combined with quality that cuts through information overload.

Conclusions

Study your target market and actively work to know how they think and this will open up new marketing creatives that will better target their particular consumer style. This should prove to increase your bottom line if done thoughtfully and consistently.

Sproles, Elizabeth & Sproles, George (1990). Consumer Decision-Making Styles as a Function of Individual Learning Styles. The Journal of Consumer Affairs. Vol. 24. Issue 1.

***********************************

Darrin F. Coe, MA holds a master’s degree in professional psychology and specializes in consumer thinking. His latest report, “The Internet Consumer Exposed” is packed with eye-opening insights about psychology of internet consumer at http://consumer-thinking.com/exposed1.

***********************************