Online search advertising
has its disadvantages such as high competition.
Online search advertising can potentially reach the one billion users of the Internet, according to Web Pro News. Online search advertising is a form of paid online advertising where advertisers bid for keyword placement of their advertisement on search results pages in search engines such as Google, Yahoo and Microsoft, according to Search Engine Land. This form of online advertising is called pay-per-click advertising. However, there are certain disadvantages to using online search advertising. Popular keywords have high competition which can drive costs up. Advertisers also battle a lack of trust on the part of Internet users.
Lack of Trust
Internet searchers do not receive the personal interaction they would receive at a physical store; because Internet searchers cannot physically handle or see the product, they do not trust it as much as an item they can physically try out. This lack of trust can lead to lower sales, even if people click the ad to view the offer.
Costs
Every keyword has a different cost associated with it. The competition for a particular keyword from other advertisers determines how much it will cost to appear on the search results page when that keyword is searched for by Internet users. Costs can easily skyrocket out of control if a popular keyword is bid on by many advertisers. As Net Profits Today shows, a poorly chosen keyword can cost the advertiser more money than he gains. If very few sales come in, the advertiser has just lost the money he put into the keyword which can amount to thousands of dollars.
High Competition
High competition on popular keywords drives the cost for those keywords up. A prime keyword that fits an advertiser perfectly may have competition driving the cost for that keyword above the break-even cost for that advertiser. At this point, it does not make financial sense for the advertiser to bid on that desirable keyword as he would be losing money whenever an Internet searcher searching for the keyword clicks on his ad on the search results page.
