Some good advice in this Marketing Sherpa article (free access until Feb 25th) from a training consultant at Overture named Mary O'Brien.

O'Brien says "that advertisers tend to split right down the middle, with 50% getting a better return from Overture and 50% claiming Google offers a better return." Hmmm.

Her tips are good advice, and are similar to suggestions I have for Overture advertisers. Here are the highlights of her tips:

• Tip #1. Repeat the keyword *in the beginning* of the title and the body.
• Tip #2. Include a credibility statement.
• Tip #3. Include price only if you're the low-price leader
• Tip #4. ...or you're the high-price leader.
• Tip #5. Write titles and descriptions that fit into categories.

O'Brien also has some advice on bidding:

Some people say, "I'll choose 15 or 20 keywords and bid till I get to number one," O'Brien says. "That strategy will get you broke.

Read the whole thing - but get there before Feb 25, if you want to see it for free.

¶ 2/15/2005