Nigeria, Sept. 29 -- Google has urged Nigerian businesses to rethink their search advertising strategies ahead of Black Friday and the festive shopping season, as consumers increasingly use longer queries, voice commands, and images to find products and services.

The Director, East and West Africa, Google, Mr Olumide Balogun, gave the advice in a statement in Lagos.

Nigerian businesses Balogun said businesses should begin preparations early, noting that Black Friday, scheduled for Nov. 27, and the December festive season were critical sales periods, making September and October key months for preparation.

He said that changing consumer behavior meant businesses could no longer rely solely on predicting the limited set of keywords cust...