Keyword Decisions in Sponsored Search Advertising: A Literature Review and Research Agenda

TL;DR

This paper reviews the current research on keyword decision-making in sponsored search advertising, proposing a comprehensive framework and identifying gaps and future research directions in the field.

Contribution

It introduces a new overarching framework for keyword decisions in SSA and provides a systematic review of existing literature, highlighting research gaps and future opportunities.

Findings

Identifies four levels of keyword decisions in SSA.

Reviews techniques, features, and metrics used in current research.

Suggests future research directions and gaps in the literature.

Abstract

In sponsored search advertising (SSA), keywords serve as the basic unit of business model, linking three stakeholders: consumers, advertisers and search engines. This paper presents an overarching framework for keyword decisions that highlights the touchpoints in search advertising management, including four levels of keyword decisions, i.e., domain-specific keyword pool generation, keyword targeting, keyword assignment and grouping, and keyword adjustment. Using this framework, we review the state-of-the-art research literature on keyword decisions with respect to techniques, input features and evaluation metrics. Finally, we discuss evolving issues and identify potential gaps that exist in the literature and outline novel research perspectives for future exploration.