There are several consumer concepts that drive the success of every SEM activity I do.
1) Perceived Value.
2) Perceived Ease of Use.
3) Perceived Future Peril
When a visitor searches for an item, and they see a search result or a sponsored link, they run through these concepts in a fraction of a second.
“Is there anything in this for me?”
“Is it easy to find out?”
“If I stick my head in, will I get hurt?”
I think that if any of these three perceptions are interrupted during a visitors search process or purchase consideration cycle, the cost to convert that visitor to a customer goes up exponentially.
If your website or marketing effort doesn’t make the answers to concerns like these automatic and clear, you are going to have to spend a lot more energy finding business on the web.