In 2014, 2.6 billion people were using smartphones. By 2020, that number is expected to skyrocket to 6.1 billion – or 70% of the world’s population. As we rapidly become more and more connected digitally, significant strides are being made that bridge the gap between physical shopping experiences and the refined targeting that a digital advertisement can offer. “Beacons” are shaping up to be a very promising solution in this regard.

Beacons are an inexpensive piece of hardware that can be attached to a wall or a countertop. Using a Bluetooth connection, they send a signal to nearby mobile devices (up to 100 meters) that have the appropriate app downloaded.

While beacons are only in their infancy, there is a lot of hype around how they can be fully utilized and which industries can benefit from them. Retail brick-and-mortar stores are undeniably poised to profit from beacon technology.

But that isn’t the only sector that could benefit from its emergence – event organizers, transit systems, educational facilities, the hospitality industry, professional sports, payment processors and even home automation systems all have the potential to prosper. In fact, some of the world’s most recognizable brands are already buying in – Virgin, Macy’s, Major League Baseball, American Eagle, Walgreens and Walmart are just a few of the many who are investing in beacon infrastructure.

Imagine walking into your favorite clothing store and having your smartphone immediately notify you of all their hottest sales and promotions currently available. That’s precisely what beacons are capable of doing – sending highly contextual, localized and personal messages at the most opportune moment once a consumer has set foot within transmission range.

By cross-referencing personal information and purchase history via a compatible app, a consumer’s mobile device can essentially transform into a highly personalized and contextualized marketing medium. Whether the goal is to communicate items on sale, product recommendations or even the location of a specific item, the possibilities are endless. Additionally, targeting methods can be refined even further based on the time of day, the customer’s demographic and browsing history, not to mention the opportunity to gain even deeper insights and analytics than ever before. Even items can be used to trigger beacon technology, displaying images, reviews or videos about each product the consumer approaches.

The beacon-detecting app could also be taken a step further by facilitating contactless payments. By creating a profile on the app, shoppers will also have the option to exchange other information, including payment information. Once you’ve chosen the item of your liking, it’s tracked and charged directly through your mobile device. No physical payment necessary.

A recent report by Business Insider suggests that beacons will drive $44 billion in retail sales this year – a 1000% increase over 2015. And with companies like Google and Apple working diligently to develop the framework, it’s hard not to get on board with the opportunities surrounding it. Beacon technology has the potential to dramatically change the way brands communicate with customers. The only question that remains is how your business will utilize it.

AdWords is a proven way to drive converting traffic to ecommerce sites, and there are numerous ways to optimize campaigns. But with limited resources, how do you know which ones are more worthy of investing your time and money? Here are five simple yet effective tips you can implement right away that will have a significant impact on the effectiveness of your AdWords campaigns.

Tip 1: Use Negative Keywords

If you use broad match or phrase match keywords without negative keywords, you’re likely paying for clicks that won’t get you conversions. This is a huge waste of your budget.

To figure out what negative keywords to use, check the keyword variations for your ads are showing that don’t make sense for your business. If you’re unsure of how to do this, there is an easy way to check. Under “Your Campaign,” click on “Keywords” in the top menu. From the “Details” dropdown menu, select “all.” Then choose “Search Terms” and this will show you all the search terms that have resulted in a click. You can select the terms and add them as negative keywords right from there.

Tip 2: Implement Ad Schedules

In AdWords, you can identify your high-converting time ranges, and by scheduling accordingly you can greatly improve the effectiveness of your ad dollars. If you’re a B2C business you might find that most of your conversions mostly happen outside of the 9-5 work day because customers are shopping in the early morning or evening, whereas B2B businesses may find the opposite to be the case.

Tip 3: Add Site Link Extensions

Site links give people more options to navigate your site directly from search results. This makes it easier for them to find exactly what they’re looking for. If a lot of people are searching on your brand name, but are clicking through to a deeper category or product page, include a sitelink within your ad to provide those searchers with single click access to the information they are looking for.

Tip 4: Implement AdWords Remarketing

AdWords remarketing will show your ads to people who visited your site but didn’t complete a required action. It enables you to reconnect with these visitors and keep your brand top-of-mind. There are several types of remarketing you can try on the AdWords platform, just one should help you to start boosting conversions.

Tip 5: Use High Intention Keywords

Although bidding on high volume search terms can increase your clicks, if the search term is too generic these keywords can often be less effective than lower search volume keywords that target people in a buying mind set.  For example, a broad term with a high search volume like “accounting software” could result in more clicks, but probably far fewer conversions compared to a longer more specific term, like “online accounting software for mac.”

Don’t Blow Your Budget

AdWords is a great way to get more traffic to your ecommerce site. But if it isn’t the right traffic and no one is converting, then it’s a waste. Whatever you end up doing, make sure to track improvements so you can further optimize!