Paid search advertising is a critical source of traffic for sellers on e-commerce platforms. As the mobile Internet gains prominence as the main channel for reaching consumers, sellers need to know how to select and bid on keywords in online versus mobile search settings. This study compares the differential effects of paid search keywords in online and mobile settings on both direct and indirect sales, along with the moderating roles of keyword specificity and keyword cost. Two field studies and two lab experiments consistently show that a paid keyword in a mobile setting can prompt higher direct sales than it does in an online setting, but it generates lower indirect sales in general. Moreover, while keyword cost attenuates this positive relationship between mobile searching and direct sales, keyword specificity and keyword cost attenuate this negative relationship between mobile searching and indirect sales. Empirical evidence also reveals the sales and return on investment of paid search keywords in mobile and online settings. This study enriches previous literature by detailing new insights into the distinct settings of mobile and online search advertising.Keywords Mobile . Online . Paid search advertising . Keyword specificity . Keyword cost Paid search advertising is a critical source of traffic for sellers on e-commerce platforms such as Amazon, eBay, and Taobao, enabling them to connect with consumers who seek product information (Fang et al. 2015;Lu and Zhao 2014). This vital marketing tool accounts for 44.2% of digital advertising spending (eMarketer 2017). To insert their advertisements onto the platforms, sellers bid on keywords that they predict will match consumers' search queries. Many studies thus suggest keyword bidding strategies (Du et al. 2017;Gerstmeier et al. 2009) and analyze the effects of different keyword characteristics (e.g., brand-related, popularity) on click-through rates, conversions, and product sales (Ghose and Yang 2009;Lu and Zhao 2014;Rutz et al. 2012). Despite this extensive literature (Table 1), most scholars investigate paid search keywords in online searching through personal computers (PCs), rather than mobile searching through mobile devices.Yet the vast penetration of mobile devices indicates that mobile Internet is taking over as a dominant channel for sellers to reach consumers (Lamberton and Stephen 2016). Mobile and online accesses are essentially different since ( 1) mobile devices are easier access and spatially and temporally flexible (Xu et al. 2017); (2) mobile Internet is operated by a directtouch rather than a mouse-driven interface (Shen et al. 2016); and (3) mobile devices provide smaller screen size and less display space (Ghose and Han 2011). Noting these differences, several studies have investigated both mobile and online advertising. For example, Han et al. (2013) identified cross-channel synergies between online and mobile advertising, Xu et al. (2017) revealed the effects of tablets on consumer purchases through PC and mobile devices, and de Haan et...
PurposeThis study investigates the effect of keyword portfolio characteristics on sales in paid search advertising. The authors propose two keyword portfolio characteristics (variety and disparity) and examine the effects of portfolio variety and portfolio disparity on direct and indirect sales in both PC and mobile environment.Design/methodology/approachBy conducting a field study at a large e-commerce platform, the authors use a negative binomial model to develop empirical findings that provide insights into paid search advertising strategies.FindingsFor main effect, (1) portfolio variety has a negative effect on direct sales. However, (2) portfolio disparity has positive effects on both direct and indirect sales. Advertising channels influence the contribution of keyword portfolio to sales. (3) On mobile devices, portfolio variety positively affects both direct and indirect sales. However, portfolio disparity negatively affects both direct and indirect sales. (4) On PCs, portfolio variety negatively affects both direct and indirect sales. However, portfolio disparity positively affects both direct and indirect sales on PC.Practical implicationsThe findings provide advertisers with insights into how to manage keyword portfolio between mobile devices and PCs.Originality/valueThe current study shifts the attention from keyword to keywords (keyword portfolio), which extends the paid search literature. Moreover, it also contributes to the literature by comparing the relative effectiveness of mobile and PC search advertising.
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