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General search engines, such as Google, connect consumers to relevant information sites. Many of these destination sites are beginning to sell paid listings in their own site search results; a comparison shopping site is a perfect example. It's an online hub for shoppers who search for products by category, or a keyword query. But on shopping engines, merchants are the content. These merchants can participate further by purchasing enhanced search results listings. On content sites where information (not sponsors) forms the bulk of web site material, keyword advertising may now exist. These topic-oriented sites can act as vertical market search engines for advertisers, according to Fredrick Marckini, CEO of iProspect, a search engine marketing firm. Why not reach your target audience once they've landed at their favorite destination site? Vertical market shopping engines are everywhere. Amazon.com is best known as a marketplace for book lovers. eBay is a hot spot for buyers and sellers to transact with each other. The National Gardening Association educates and inspires gardeners. Today's marketers are lucky. Niche topic sites such as these continue to launch while a growing number of them sell search-based keyword advertising. How can marketers get involved? Let's look at eBay as an example. In June 2003, eBay released their Keywords on eBay program, in partnership with AdMarketplace, to eBay sellers and select partners . By purchasing keyword banner ads, eBay sellers drive buyers to their merchandise (see Figure 12.1). Figure 12.1. eBay merchants can drive traffic to their merchandise listings through keyword banner ads on eBay. Here's a relevant banner that appeared in a search for "women's shoes."
To get started, eBay sellers start at https ://ebay.admarketplace.net and complete these steps:
Not surprisingly, the eBay seller who agrees to pay the most for a click earns higher preference in the rotation and higher frequency with which their banner is shown (obviously, higher ad revenue for eBay, too). This is an opportunity for eBay sellers to cut through the marketplace clutter and reach a highly targeted audience through keyword advertising. |
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