When a user clicks on your ad, you\u2019ll pay. So, choosing the right keywords is critical to make sure that the right people land on your content. After all, you don\u2019t want to waste money going after the wrong audience. See? A penny saved\u2026<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s break down how to conduct PPC keyword research to make it easy as pie for those new to the space.<\/p>\n
How to do keyword research for PPC<\/h2>\n
It\u2019s important to nail down the right keywords and search terms before embarking on your PPC campaign adventure. Keyword research for PPC differs from SEO keyword research so it\u2019s important to keep the strategies separate, even if they have some overlap. Here\u2019s how to do keyword research for PPC in four straightforward steps:<\/p>\n
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1. Brainstorm ideas<\/h3>\n
The first step of your keyword research<\/a>: brainstorm ideas. Your focus here should be high-intent keywords and product-specific keywords because these powerful terms will lead searchers right to you.<\/p>\n High-intent keywords reveal that a person is ready to take action. Product-specific keywords directly relate to your market and product or service.\u00a0 For example, if you own a health food shop, \u201cgluten-free crackers\u201d may be a specific keyword for your store. Making a robust list of high-intent and product-specific keywords will already put you in a strong position when it comes to creating campaigns.<\/p>\n What\u2019s next?<\/p>\n For a PPC strategy to succeed, you need to keep a close eye on the competition. As opposed to an SEO strategy<\/a>, the stakes are high when deciding your keywords in PPC advertising. This is because you pay per click and therefore want to guarantee that you target buyers with intent, otherwise, your budget will go down the drain before you know it. And nobody wants to see that happen.<\/p>\n Checking out what\u2019s worked for your competitors\u2019 PPC strategies will help you level up your own. You\u2019ll need to optimize your strategy and constantly adjust your keywords to make sure you’re ahead of the game.<\/p>\n Our 7-day keyword filter<\/a> can help with this, as it provides you access to the latest keyword info for any seven-day period. Yes, even from as recently as last week.<\/p>\n When investigating keywords, you\u2019ll need to look at cost per click<\/a> (CPC) and quality score. A high-quality score means that the ad will cost less while ranking higher. Your maximum bid is multiplied by the quality score for your cost-per-click, or CPC. We\u2019ll get into the quality score in more detail in a minute though. When focusing on keywords, make sure you have a mix of short-tail and long-tail keywords<\/a>.<\/p>\n There are two major keyword research tools that help you expand your keyword list: Google’s Keyword Planner and Similarweb’s Keyword Generator Tool<\/a>.<\/p>\n If you need help planning your PPC keywords with tools that cover research, bid estimates and tailoring your advertising plan specifically for Google Ads then Google Keyword Planner is your go-to.<\/p>\n Dig further into keywords based on category to unlock more detailed subcategories and maximize relevance to your topic, Similarweb\u2019s Keyword Generator Tool should be your next click (the link is right above).<\/p>\n This tool works its magic to give you new keyword ideas you may not have even considered before. You can then sort by the match types (phrase match \/ exact match, related keywords \/ broad match, trending keywords<\/a>, and question queries<\/a>) as well as data metrics (volume, yearly website traffic trend<\/a>, CPC, organic vs. paid search, and the website winning the most traffic) per keyword.<\/p>\n Our keyword generator tool also lets you build a list of strategic long-tail keywords. Enter a general search term and it will pop out hundreds of keyword suggestions from exact, high-volume terms to related long-tail keywords.<\/p>\n And, you won\u2019t be left in the dark to make decisions. <\/b>We will arm you with a wide range of information about each word, including search volume<\/a>, trends, cost per click (CPC), website leaders for specific terms, organic vs. paid, and the current search term leader.<\/p>\n Next stop, analyze top PPC landing pages<\/a>. You can easily gain insight into what your competitors are working on, what their key focuses are, and even where they drive their paid traffic. Time to see under your competition\u2019s hood.\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n Pro Tip: <\/i><\/b>Consider location-based queries as indicators of user intent<\/a> because if a person searches for a product near them, they are most likely reaching a purchasing decision<\/a>. For example, \u201cAdidas shoes in Chicago\u201d shows a higher user intent than \u201cAdidas shoes.\u201d<\/p>\n At this point, you\u2019ve got yourself a healthy list of potential keywords that fit your digital marketing strategy<\/a>.<\/p>\n Now what? Organize your PPC keyword research in a way that makes implementation easy.<\/p>\n To do this, combine all your terms into one master keyword list and remove any duplicate terms. Three major factors to consider when creating your master list are:<\/p>\n These factors directly affect your SEO performance so consider what your strategy\u2019s priorities are. Are you trying to get as much organic traffic as possible? Improve your ranking for specific keywords? Take more of your competitors’ traffic share<\/a>? The answers to these questions will guide how you prioritize your master keyword list.<\/p>\n Do you remember what your ultimate goal is when searching for PPC keywords? Advertising your products successfully to your target audience. Not all keywords will be relevant to all of your products and advertisements, so group your PPC keywords into different ad groups based on similarity. The key is to get as specific as possible to ensure that your keywords are relevant and successful and that your time and budget aren\u2019t wasted.<\/p>\n For example, let’s say you own a small health food store and you\u2019re running a PPC ad. Group \u201cvegan chips\u201d with \u201cvegan cheese\u201d and \u201cfaux-meat substitute,\u201d and put \u201corganic oranges\u201d with \u201call-natural baby food.\u201d<\/p>\n Congrats! You know how to do keyword research for PPC. Next step: prioritize.<\/p>\n It\u2019s clear that not all keywords are created equal. Now that you\u2019ve gathered a list of potential keywords, you need to prioritize them to create the perfect ads. Let’s look at some of the most important factors to take into consideration.<\/p>\n I said it before, but I\u2019ll say it again. When using a PPC strategy, you have a small margin of error. Every mistake you make will cost you valuable money. So, don\u2019t take risks with your keywords…at least not at the beginning of a new campaign. Stick to terms that have the highest potential for turnover and purchase, ultimately maximizing your ROI.<\/p>\n Google rates each keyword with a \u201cquality score.\u201d Your quality score helps to determine your CPC and ad rank in the bidding process. Understanding your quality score is a must in building a successful PPC campaign<\/a>.<\/p>\n A high-quality score brings down your CPC, which is a good thing. It helps your ad rank higher. To calculate your ad rank, use this formula:<\/p>\n Ad Rank = Quality Score x Max CPC<\/b><\/p>\n What impacts your quality score?<\/p>\n Search volume and search value are fundamental parts of any PPC keyword research plan. The higher the search volume, the more people are looking for it. But your goal isn\u2019t to automatically target those keywords, it\u2019s to find the most relevant, cost-effective keywords for your business.<\/p>\n That means evaluating each keyword thoroughly. If you find a keyword with high volume and low competition, take a minute or two to critically analyze if that means you\u2019ll maximize your ROI and get cost effective clicks, or if that search term is a flop. Bottom line, while volume matters, value matters more.<\/p>\n As discussed before, intent is everything when talking about PPC. One more time for the people in the back, intent is everything<\/i>. Find customers that are ready to buy as soon as they find your site. Those looking for information or inspiration will be a waste of your PPC budget<\/a>.<\/b> This is different from SEO keyword strategy, which doesn\u2019t cost money and therefore allows you to be broader and less intent-based.<\/p>\n Be aware of keywords that have double meanings or could be used in a completely different context. You can add these as \u2018negative keywords\u2019 into your ad group to ensure your ad won’t appear in searches for these terms. Example? Think of a query that includes \u201clogin.\u201d Is the searcher looking for information into your topic, rather just trying to log in to an existing account?<\/p>\n\u201cThink of PPC as an online auction. It\u2019s exciting, high-paced, and constantly changing.\u201d <\/a><\/span>Tweet this<\/a><\/span>\n PPC is a great way to reach your audience but requires a bit of understanding and a lot of research in order to do it successfully. When done right, PPC keyword research can bring your product or service in front of new customers easily.<\/p>\n Think of PPC as an online auction. It\u2019s exciting, fast-paced, and constantly changing. You can\u2019t just set a PPC campaign, let it go, and check back in after a few days or weeks. You\u2019ll need to track and adjust it often to make sure your budget is being used effectively. And of course, you\u2019ll need to keep an eye on your competition<\/a> to make sure that you\u2019re ahead of the game.<\/p>\n Ready to begin creating your PPC strategy? Download our must-have guide to create a winning PPC Strategy, so you always have the best practices at your fingertips.<\/p>\n
\nPrime example: <\/b>If someone searches for a product price, it\u2019s likely that they\u2019re ready, or looking to, make a purchase. Words like \u201cbuy,\u201d \u201cvisit,\u201d and \u201cpurchase\u201d are also clues that a searcher has the intent to buy now.<\/p>\n2. PPC competitor research<\/h3>\n
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3. Expand your keyword list<\/h3>\n
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4. Group your PPC keyword research<\/h3>\n
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Prioritize your keyword groups for 5 factors<\/h2>\n
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<\/p>\nFactor 1: Small margin of error<\/h3>\n
Factor 2: Quality score<\/h3>\n
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\n<\/b><\/li>\nFactor 3: Search volume and value<\/h3>\n
Factor 4: Search intent<\/h3>\n
Factor 5: Negative keywords<\/h3>\n
PPC \u2013 It\u2019s all about the right strategy<\/h4>\n