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Are you interested in using pay-per-click (PPC) keywords to market your business? Does the act of just saying the phrase PPC elicit a feeling of imposter syndrome because you aren’t entirely sure what PPC entails and worry you may be getting in over your head?

While there’s no getting around the fact that finding PPC keywords is a time-consuming business, putting in the research to find the right keywords increases the odds that your ads will get in front of the proper audience.

What is PPC?

Pay-per-click is a type of internet marketing that allows advertisers to pay a fee every time someone clicks on their ad. PPC essentially allows you to buy site visits rather than having people visit in a more organic fashion.

You may have noticed, when you conduct a search on Google, the first few results that pop up are prefaced with the word “ad”. These are sponsored links that have been selected by the search engine. Search engine advertising allows businesses to bid for ad placement anytime someone makes a search related the keywords used by that business. Let’s say, for example, you have a saltwater pool installation company and decide to bid on ad placement using the key word “saltwater pools”. If your ad is selected, it will appear at the very top of the search engine results page.

The idea of paying for every click you receive may seem cost prohibitive but consider this—if you pay $5 for a click that leads to the installation of a $25,000 saltwater pool, we’d say that’s money well spent. Will every click lead to a sale? Certainly not, but the ratio of low-cost clicks to high-dollar conversions tends to make the investment worth it.

When it comes to PPC, knowing how to pick the right keywords that will allow your ad to show up at the top of the search engine results is critical.

How to Select the Right Keywords

The frequency of your ad’s appearance in search engine results hinges upon choosing the right keywords. Some categories of keywords to consider include:

• Branded keywords: People include brand names in their searches when they are looking for specific information like “Android phone repair” or “Sydney Opera House parking”.

For business owners, these keywords are often the easiest to come up with as they include the name of your brand along with the products/services you offer. Branded keywords tend to be cost effective and offer the best click through and conversions rates. When people use branded keywords, they tend to know exactly what they’re looking for.

• Commercial Intent keywords: People using commercial intent keywords are ready for you take their money. They are prepared to make a purchase and are looking for incentives to buy from you. Commercial intent keywords are usually broken down into two categories: “buy now” keywords and “product” keywords.

“Buy now” keywords include phrases like “buy”, “discount”, “coupon”, or “free shipping”—words used when someone has already made up their mind to buy and is looking to snag the best deal.

“Product” keywords usually indicate the person searching is not as ready to buy as someone using “buy now” keywords. Rather, they are conducting research before they pull the purchasing trigger. Branded keywords fall under product keywords, as do phrases like “best”, “cheapest”, “comparison”, and product categories like “camping accessories” or “deep sea fishing gear”.

• Low-Intent keywords: Let’s go back to the saltwater pool business. A low-intent keyword for this business would be the word “pool.” These are words that are more broad and less specific. Some marketers are in favor of bidding on a few low-intent keywords in the hopes it might increase brand awareness. However, if you are in the business of installing pools, bidding on the word “pool” is, in our opinion, a waste of time. The people conducting the search could be looking for pool repair, pool installation, or a local pool for swimming.
• Long-tail keywords: Just as the name suggests, long-tail keywords are longer, very specific phrases that tend to be low-cost with less competition. A long-tail version of the keyword “pool” might be “saltwater pool installation in Sydney”.
• Competitive keywords: Competitive keywords are words you glean by researching the keywords used by your competitors within your industry. Including competitive keywords in your keyword list can give you an advantage over your competition.

Wondering how to find out which keywords the competition is using? One of the easiest ways is by using WordStream’s Free Keyword Tool. Simply enter the URL of your competitor, click “search”, and you’ll receive a list of competitive keyword data.

Finding the right keywords to use in PPC advertising is critical, so much so that it can determine the success or failure of your ad campaign. If you’re interested in search engine marketing but aren’t sure where to start, contact us at Digital Canteen. We will work closely with you to create an ad campaign that works for you without burning through your budget.

Thanks for reading,
Digital Canteen Team
02-9025-4304