Google AdWords Keywords Research

Everyone wants to get the best outcomes possible from their Google AdWords PPC campaigns. Many different factors come into play, but keyword research is one of the most important. If you get that process wrong, your ads will never reach the right people. Getting it right can mean you achieve a low cost per click and cost per conversion. It can also result in you driving the right target audience to your website.

The last thing you want to do is target keywords that don’t produce the desired results. So, you often have to mess around with different concepts and ideas. However, the information on this page will help you to start on the right path.

WHAT IS KEYWORD RESEARCH?

Keyword research is the process of determining which words and phrases you’ll target with your Adwords campaign. There are many different methods you can use to uncover the most lucrative terms. There are also free online tools that anyone can use to help facilitate the process. Once you find the best keywords, you can then incorporate them into your PPC strategy and start pushing ads in their direction.

WHAT’S THE BEST WAY TO START THE RESEARCH?

Before you do anything else, it’s critical that you take a look at your landing pages. They are the URLs to which your ads will link. If you’re an SEO expert, you will have already used most of the best keywords on those pages. Go through all the text and you should get a decent idea about the best words or phrases to target. There are four main categories of keywords on which you need to focus.

They include:

Brand Keywords

Brand keywords include anything related to brand name and trademarks. For instance, the world’s top sportswear company would always target the word “Nike”.

Generic Keywords

Generic keywords usually relate to the services or products in which you specialise. So, the same company we used for the last example might target words like:

Trainers Shorts T-shirts Tracksuits

Related Keywords

Related keywords are often terms that don’t’ describe your product or service directly. However, they are closely connected. In the example we’re using, you might like to focus on words like:

Sport Football Fashion Hockey Cricket Comfortable clothing Competitor Keywords

When you perform enough market research, you should identify some of your closest competitors. Make sure you also use their brand names and trademarks when launching a new campaign. If an internet user searches for their website, they will also discover yours. However, it’s important you understand that targeting your competitor’s keywords can become expensive.

They include:

Brand Keywords

Brand keywords include anything related to brand name and trademarks. For instance, the world’s top sportswear company would always target the word “Nike”.

Generic KeywordsGeneric keywords usually relate to the services or products in which you specialise. So, the same company we used for the last example might target words like:

• Trainers
• Shorts
• T-shirts
• Tracksuits

Related KeywordsRelated keywords are often terms that don’t’ describe your product or service directly. However, they are closely connected. In the example we’re using, you might like to focus on words like:

• Sport
• Football
• Fashion
• Hockey
• Cricket
• Comfortable clothing

Competitor Keywords

When you perform enough market research, you should identify some of your closest competitors. Make sure you also use their brand names and trademarks when launching a new campaign. If an internet user searches for their website, they will also discover yours. However, it’s important you understand that targeting your competitor’s keywords can become expensive.

HOW CAN AN ADVERTISER REFINE THEIR KEYWORDS?

When it comes to choosing the best and most useful keywords, the marketer needs to undertake a brainstorming session. Firstly, they must try to put themselves in the minds of their audience. Spend some time thinking which words you would type into a search engine if you were looking for your products. Create a list of broad terms, and then try to narrow the field. Ideally, you want to end up with the most specific keywords possible. That is how you will attract the right people and achieve lower costs.

For the purpose of this section, let’s presume you own a business that sells musical instruments and you want to promote guitar lessons. You might begin with the words “instruments” and end with something far more specific. The process could go something like this:

Instruments – string instruments – six strings – guitar – guitar lessons

While all of those keywords will mean you target the right people, you will always get better results from the last one. That is because the people typing that term into search boxes are specifically looking for that service. Does that make sense? You’d want to target all of the words mentioned above, but you’d focus most of your efforts on “guitar lessons.”

You should also try to include different variations of the same words. For instance, some people might type “learn guitar” rather than “guitar lessons”. They might also use the phrase “how to play the guitar.” Adding all those varying keywords to the same ad group should mean you optimise your results.

WHAT ABOUT WORDS PEOPLE SPELL INCORRECTLY?

That’s a good point. Many people spell words incorrectly and rely on Google for the correction. Some of them do that because they don’t know the right spelling. However, most of the time it happens because their fingers hit the wrong keys. For whatever reason, human hands tend to make the same mistakes. So, if there are words you always type incorrectly, you can bet other people experience the same thing. You should always try to include relevant misspelt keywords for the best results. Using the last example, you might like to consider things like:

• Ukalaylee (Ukulele)
• Gitar (Guitar)
• Peeano (Piano)
• Keybored (Keyboard)

The best thing about targeting incorrect words is that you aren’t going to pay much for each click. That is because the correct spellings are used more frequently. However, you could catch the attention of that small percentage of people whose fingers slip.

WHAT ARE THE BEST TOOLS FOR KEYWORD RESEARCH?

 As we mentioned only a moment ago, there are some excellent free tools to help with keyword research. Most of them come from private marketing companies. However, Google released a fantastic Keyword Planner that you won’t want to overlook. The tool exists within your Adwords account, and there are plenty of guides available online. Nearly all those apps present you with some vital stats related to searches. For instance, they let you know how many people have searched for each keyword during the last month. They also inform you about the level of competition for each term. So, it makes it much easier to predict results and find keywords with low CPC.

For the purpose of this section, let’s presume you own a business that sells musical instruments and you want to promote guitar lessons. You might begin with the words “instruments” and end with something far more specific. The process could go something like this:

Instruments – string instruments – six strings – guitar – guitar lessons

While all of those keywords will mean you target the right people, you will always get better results from the last one. That is because the people typing that term into search boxes are specifically looking for that service. Does that make sense? You’d want to target all of the words mentioned above, but you’d focus most of your efforts on “guitar lessons.”

You should also try to include different variations of the same words. For instance, some people might type “learn guitar” rather than “guitar lessons”. They might also use the phrase “how to play the guitar.” Adding all those varying keywords to the same ad group should mean you optimise your results.

WHAT ARE NEGATIVE KEYWORDS? Everyone wants to make sure their ads are as relevant as possible. That helps to improve Quality Score and reduce the amount you pay for each click. Compiling a list of negative keywords is essential for that task. There are going to be many associated terms and phrases that you won’t want to target. Letting Google know about them will help to control costs and improve your results. The musical instrument seller from the last example might not sell percussion products. In that instance, he might add negative keywords like:

• Bongos
• Drums
• Kettle Drum
• Etc

When he does that, Google will refrain from pushing ads towards people searching for those products. That is the case, even if they also include some favorable keywords. At the end of the day, there’s no point sending someone to your website to buy something you don’t keep in stock. It’s a wasted click, and it will only cost you money.

HOW CAN SOMEONE MEASURE THE PERFORMANCE OF KEYWORDS?

That’s easy; you just need to check your Google AdWords account. There is a keywords section at the top of the page that should tell you everything you need to know. It should tell you how much you’re paying for each click and your click-through rate. It makes sense to focus on keywords with the lowest CPC and the highest conversion rate. If you set your analytics up correctly, you can track conversions using the inbuilt Adwords tools.

When you notice particular keywords are not performing as expected, you should remove them from your list. That will help to make it more relevant and ensure you’re targeting only the most suitable internet users. Every click counts, and you can’t afford to promote your website using keywords that are not closely related to you products or services.

Just don’t forget there are professionals out there who can handle all the hard work on your behalf.