Keyword Selection (and Negative Keywords)

Selecting keywords is tedious and time-consuming but careful keyword selection is well worth the effort. While selecting keywords, you need to consider all of the ways your customers request products. What do they call your products? How do they ask for them when they call you? You want to consider all the possible ways your potential customers might refer to your products and services.

For instance, gluhwein is a traditional German drink made of wine. You add spices to any red wine, heat it, and drink up but it goes by multiple names. Some people call it mulled wine and have no idea there are other names for it. Others simply call it “hot spiced wine.” If your product site is about gluhwein, you might miss unthinkable opportunities if you do not look into other names for your product. Listen to how people refer to your products when they call you. The question usually begins something like, “I am looking for…” They are the people who think you might have what they want but are not sure because they call it one thing and you call it another.

Use keyword phrases. Searching is becoming more specific as people become more sophisticated search engine users. Most searches are composed of multiple words (i.e. “keyword phrases”); often more than two. Use keyword phrases in your PPC ad marketing and integrate them into your site in a way that adds value to your content. Using the gluhwein example, you might use phrases such as “gluhwein spices” or “how to make mulled wine.” Many - maybe most - of the most successful PPC ads I have ever set up utilize keyword phrases.

Understand the keyword matching system of your PPC program. Be clear about how your PPC program matches your paid keywords to searches sent to their servers so you will get what you expect from your ads and maximize your click through rates. Most PPC search engines allow you to set up keywords for broad match, exact matches, phrase matches, and negative/excluded matches. The various PPC search engines generally work in a similar fashion. This is how Google explains their keyword matching options (from Google Adwords):

Broad Match - This is the default option. If you include general keyword or keyword phrases-such as tennis shoes-in your keyword list, your ads will appear when a user’s query contains tennis and shoes, in any order, and possibly along with other terms. Your ads will also automatically show for expanded matches, including plurals and relevant variations. Because broad matches are sometimes less targeted than exact or phrase matches, you should create keyword phrases containing at least two descriptive words each. You can also try the Keyword Tool and the other three matching options to further refine your targeting. Finally, keep in mind that other advertisers may have bid for the same broad-matched keyword combinations that trigger your ads, increasing your actual CPC amounts. Using exact, phrase, or negative matches can help you keep your costs low.

Phrase Match - If you enter your keyword in quotation marks, as in “tennis shoes,” your ad will appear when a user searches on the phrase tennis shoes, in this order, and possibly with other terms in the query. For example, your ad will appear for the query red tennis shoes but not for shoes for tennis. Phrase matching is more targeted than broad matching, but slightly more flexible than exact matching. To ensure your ads are as targeted as they can be, you may want to include at least two descriptive words in your keyword phrases.

Exact Match - If you surround your keywords in brackets-such as [tennis shoes]-your ads will appear when users search for the specific phrase tennis shoes, in this order, and without any other terms in the query. For example, your ad won’t show for the query red tennis shoes. Exact matching is the most targeted option. Although you won’t receive as many impressions with exact matching, you’ll likely enjoy the most clicks, because users searching for terms in this manner typically want precisely what your business has to offer.

Negative Keyword - If your keyword is tennis shoes and you add the negative keyword -red, your ad will not appear when a user searches on red tennis shoes. You can apply this option for a keyword at both the Ad Group and campaign level.

and you enter/submit the keywords like so:

• keyword = broad match
• [keyword] = exact match
• “keyword” = phrase match
• -keyword = negative match

Spend time discovering, setting up, and managing your keywords and keywords phrases. It will be time will spent and will pay off. If you have any questions, feel free to contact me.

Subscribe to the Lead Optimize.com Newsletter and get two free e-books immediately.