PPC Keyword Research Tips

Get the Best Results with these Pay-Per-Click (PPC) Keyword Research Tips

Now that you know exactly what Keyword Research is and some of the online tools you can use, let’s take a look at some PPC or Pay-Per-Click Keyword Research Tips.

PPC Keyword Research is the process of choosing the right keywords to bid on that will most likely yield clicks and conversions. This practice is used to ensure your ads appear at the correct time and place when your target customers are searching for your specific product or service.

Keyword Match Type

The effectiveness of the keywords you choose is directly impacted by the keyword match type you select. Broad match, for instance, lets Google leave things open to their own interpretation, so it’s good to be specific in certain cases to reach a targeted group or demographic.

Negative Keywords

Negative keywords are almost as important as other keywords that you’ve narrowed down in your selection. They can prevent your business from coming up in irrelevant searches and even worse, getting irrelevant clicks.

Tools like WordStream Advisor’s QueryStream will help you see what potential customers are entering to reach your ads. From there you can exclude the irrelevant words.

Conducting negative keyword research is just as important as regular keyword research when it comes to PPC because if you’re not excluding irrelevant words you could be wasting money on these irrelevant clicks. You can remove these searches that aren’t related to your business.

A lot of money goes to waste if you don’t follow this strategy. This is highly important when using broad or even phrase match types. It’s also a good idea to set negative keywords before your campaign goes live.

Don’t Copy Every Strategy

Copying your competitors isn’t always the right thing to do. Competitor research can be a treasure trove of knowledge, but if you see that a competitor is spending a lot on certain keywords that wouldn’t benefit your business and are costly, you should reconsider it before adding them to your list.

Research Associated Costs for Each Keyword

Most keyword tools outlined in the previous blog typically include metrics around the cost-per-click (CPC) associated with each word. Keeping costs in mind will help you determine if certain keywords are feasible for your budget in upcoming marketing campaigns.

Bid Highest on Commercial Intent Keywords

If you’re looking to target the most interested and qualified searchers to drive more conversions and sales, you should allocate most of your budget on commercial intent keywords. These keywords or phrases contain words like “buy now,” “discount,” “free shipping,” brand names, and any other terms that show the customer is ready to buy your product or service.
While you may still need to target keywords outside of this list, allocate a higher percentage of your budget to keywords with high commercial intent since they’re the most likely to yield the highest return.

Group Your Keywords Properly

Once you’ve identified high-intent, commercial, and appropriately priced keywords you need to group them in order to configure your campaign. You should approach structuring your ad groups using small groups of tightly related keywords. If your list of keywords seems long and overwhelming there are resources online to help with keyword grouping.

Using these tips over the course of time will definitely help your business grow stronger, relevant, and connect you to customers ready to experience what you have to offer.