Don't Miss Out on Sales - Optimize for both Generic and Brand Specific Terms.

Are you maximing your site's search engine potenital. If you are optimizing for brand specific searches and ignoring more generic terms, you could be missing out on a large portion of traffic and sales.

A joint study by DoubleClick and comScore Networks suggests that many consumers conduct product-related searches weeks in advance of purchase and they prefer generic, non-branded, search terms.

According to the report, approximately 77 percent of keyword searches conducted by buyers across all four categories are generic, compared to 23 percent that are brand-only or a branded word plus another item.

Many online marketers measure search marketing campaign effectiveness based on clicks that lead to a purchase in the same session or within a few days of purchase.

However, the study finds most buyers complete their relevant search activity well in advance of the online purchase. In the travel category, 64.7 percent of buyers' final searches occurred at least two weeks before the purchase; 21.6 percent searched a week or more before buying; and 23.8 percent bought during the same session.

Try including more generic terms in your site's search engine optimization strategy and track the results.