Sports retailer HockeyGiant detailed to Internet Retailer how it managed to optimize its paid search campaign on Overture, increasing transaction rates while it kept paid listings costs roughly even. The new Overture Conversion Counter tool made the optimization possible. Through the more detailed tracking, HockeyGiant was able to give up spending on top placements in the specific categories where second-tier placements turned out to have a higher return relative to the media cost.

Kevin Lee's ClickZ column today happened to cover the topic of what to do with underperforming listings, and he recommended going through a checklist of creative-related questions before nixing specific placements.