aidakeywords.com

At the attention stage the prospect is engaged in a tangential activity, and the advertiser places a message in the prospect’s field of awareness, trying to attract his or her attention. Many techniques to attract attention are irritating, like web pop-ups and television commercials.

Even the sponsored links that appear on SERPs can be annoying to those who view Internet Search as a way of extending human knowledge, not commerce. However, if your prospect has any latent interest in the product or service, that irritation may subside quickly. Take this "long-tail" persona and scenario:

A twenty-something business school student is researching the Hudson Valley tourism market for her thesis in March, and searching for "eco-tourism". Her attention caught by a sponsored link for “eco tents” (this link would not have appeared in organic results). She has not heard of eco-tents but can imagine what they might be. Curious, she clicks to a landing page introducing the concept of eco-tents, and promoting them as an eco-friendly, affordable alternative for vacationing in St. John.

This was a successful use of an "attention" - level keyword for a PPC campaign. The advertiser configured Adwords to display the eco-tent ad for searches on eco-tourism, matching the keyword to a persona and scenario, rather than to the product offering. If the match is not close enough, there are no clicks - and no expense. But when the match works, Attention gives way to Interest.