Thursday, October 02, 2008

Keywords That Will Boost Your PPC Campaign

It all comes down to choosing the right of keywords and phrases. By researching what works best you should come up with quality keywords and phrases that give results. Make a list to start with and consider what will work for you. Start with one of the very popular keywords, “credit”. This word gets typed into search engines every day- maybe even every minute. But if everyone else is using it how can you make it work, too? The best method is to include some related terms that are specific to your business.
Think about how searchers might be interpreting the keyword in question. Someone looking for the word “credit” may be trying to find out how to get a credit report, how to improve their credit, what lenders will offer loans to someone with poor credit, or how to consolidate credit card bills. Once you’ve got a list of concepts that the word might be related to, it’s time to condense them down.
These longer concepts become a series of terms that people search for, all related to your basic keyword. “Credit” becomes “free credit report”, “get better credit”, “bad credit loan” and “consolidate credit cards”. There are lots of other options, and these words are just a little different from the original keyword. You can keep expanding from there.
Stick to the basic concept, but expand your horizons. There are plenty of credit related search terms, like the names of the individual bureaus, consolidation companies and more. Mix them in as part of your first list, and you’ll have created a number of different keyword groups from just one starting term. Go on to create ad groups made up entirely of consolidation companies, for instance.
Add an extension like .org, .net, or .com to the search term, or consider a country you’re trying to target. The domain doesn’t have to exist, it’s just a specific term the search engine will consider. Some people still use the country index and you’ll be able to target them with your ads and increase your chances of a sale.
Remember to avoid very general keywords. There’s too much competition for these. Instead, expand on related terms, and rephrase existing keyword phrases. It’s easy to turn “free credit report” around to get “credit report free”. While the concept is the same, this phrase will reach a different set of viewers. Just ask yourself what your target audience is going to search for, and use the answers to that question to choose your keyword groups. Remember that search terms can be in an unusual order.
PPC campaigns are often trial and error, but you can hit the ground running if you have the right combination when you first start out. Careful thought and a lot of brainstorming can result in the perfect ad for your product, you just need to do some work at the start.

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