We have a saying around here that goes a little something like this: Google is God.

And in terms of internet, I don’t think we’re too far off. Google is the most powerful entity on the internet right now and as it continues to expand and develop, it’s leaving its competitors further and further behind. Microsoft came to Yahoo a year ago suggesting a partnership to combine their resources so that together, they might give Google a run for its money. A year ago, Yahoo declined. Upon noticing no improvement in the field of competition as well as in Yahoo’s overall business success, Microsoft offered again last week.

But today Yahoo rejected their offer to buy the company for nearly 45 billion dollars. A statement released by the company claims that Microsoft has undervalued Yahoo. Now as shocking as it sounds to say that 45 BILLION dollars is undervaluing something, what further confounds me is why Yahoo isn’t so keen on forming a partnership/merging with Microsoft.

Perhaps someone more business savvy than I understands the intricacies of what’s going on here, but from a daily internet user’s perspective, and one who deals directly with the "internet gods," I think Google could use a little more stiff competition. Not to say that the products and services they offer aren’t adequate enough, but if Google were able to pull so far ahead of their competition, who’s to say their standard of customer service not to mention the cost of doing business with them wouldn’t get out of hand?

What do you think? Should Microsoft and Yahoo team up to take on Google? How do you think it would affect businesses who advertise and compete with these search engines? Would there be any consequences to such a partnership/merger?

That being said – here are some of my top tips for creating, managing, and optimizing your search campaigns. A couple of the tips included are goWholesale-specific, but for the most part these ring true across platforms:

Choosing Keywords

• Choose a complete set of relevant keywords. This means a mix of specific and broader keywords that relate to the products and/or services you offer. Specific keywords are great for buyers who know what they’re looking for, while broader keywords help general browsers hone in on your company.

• Do you dropship, liquidate, or sell closeouts? If so, don’t forget to add those keyword groups as well.

• Include keyword variations and synonyms. For instance, if you sell clothing, you may also want to bid on apparel and clothes.

Writing Your Ads

• Keep it short and sweet. Buyers tend to scan over listings quickly and will pick up on certain words in the ad that will make them click, which brings us into the next ad writing tip…

• Keyword insertion. This cannot be emphasized enough. By creating ads that mention the searched keyword in the title and description, you can increase your click-through rate by almost 10%.

• Know thy customer. Write compelling ad copy that is also highly relevant to your customers. They’re looking for the “WIIFM” – What’s In It For Me – in your ad.

• Capitalize the First Letter of Each Word in Your Title. This will make your ad stand out more.

• Include a call to action at the end of your ad, like “Visit us today”, “Shop now”, “Find out more”, or something related to an offer you’ve mentioned.

Landing Pages

• Make sure your ad’s landing page is as relevant as possible to your ad. Take buyers straight to the page that has the products they were just looking for (and this isn’t always your homepage). Also, if you also happen to sell retail on your site, make sure to land your ads on the wholesale section so as not to confuse potential wholesale buyers.

Bidding

• First page placement. Research has shown that the higher your position in search results, the more traffic you’ll receive – if you’re on the first page, as much as 80% more traffic.

• Featured Listings – These guarantee you top placement without having to worry about bidding.