E-commerce Insights: Take a Page From the 14th Century

To understand which online offers matter most to a given retailer, study that retailer’s paid search copy. For a cross-industry perspective on successful paid search copy, consider these observations on effective offers from the search gurus at Yahoo!, Google and MSN:

1. ‘Official site,’ specificity and free shipping. Diane Rinaldo, Yahoo! Search Marketing’s retail category director, offers three recommendations for increasing clickthrough on paid search ads:
• When you’re the official site, use the words “official site.”
• Include a timely description.
• Tie your online copy into your offline messaging.