What Drives Paid Search Success? A Systematic Literature Review Completed Research

Whilst paid search has received much scholarly attention across various research fields, the findings have not yet been synthesized. As user behavior in paid search is influenced by such a wide range of factors, synthesizing the findings would, however, avoid 'omitted variable biases'. In our systematic literature review we analyzed over 1,000 sources and identified 34 relevant research papers. These are organized around the three main decisions every advertiser faces when approaching paid search: which keywords to use, which ad positions to target, and how to craft ad copies. We then draw out empirical generalizations and outline a research agenda. In particular, we propose a research framework that researchers and practitioners alike can employ to avoid the risk of omitting variables when analyzing the success factors of paid search.