Here’s our list of six facts about keywords in PPC ads:

1-Because of the way PPC campaigns and ad groups have to be entered, keywords determine both of the following: a- which topics or searches will trigger an ad, and b- which text ad(s) will be displayed to the searcher.

2-Keywords are not at the top of the hierarchy of PPC account organization. The “right” keywords must not only be present – they must also be well organized in other ways to be successful.

3-Unlike their use in SEO which has one form that we’ll call “phrase match”, a single keyword or string of words (key phrase) in PPC ad programs has up to 4 matching options: Exact, Phrase, Broad and Negative. The first three options determine what queries will trigger an ad. Negative keywords act as “filters” to prevent ads from showing for keywords somehow related to the topic but not desired by the advertiser. Negative keywords “clean up” PPC ad display to make them more relevant to searchers and more profitable for advertisers.

4-When organizing keywords into topics (ad groups), we first have to be mindful of two things: a- the searchers intent or stage in the buying process as indicated by the keyword, and b- best practices re: the way search engine ad algorithms function.

5-An essential point in organizing keywords into ad groups and campaigns is to have keywords (and the ad groups they reside in) of equal value competing for budget. Budgeting is set one level above the ad groups, at the campaign level.

6-In Google AdWords, we can run reports that show the exact query that searchers used alongside the keyword (from our keyword list) and matching option that resulted in a click (and also a conversion). These are called Search Query Reports. These reports are useful but can be tedious to analyze. They send home two points: a- that valuable queries can be oddly structured, and b-without broad match and negative keywords, reaching many customers with an ad would be difficult indeed.

How to use these facts

The search engine ad process flows in this way: keywords (and related settings) determine who, what type of, and to some extent how many potential customers can see the ad. The ad must attract the searcher to click on it. Then, the website or landing page must then cause the customer to take the desired action or “convert”. So, the keyword initiates the process for two essential steps that follow.

Because of the PPC matching options and other factors, asking the question: “are we using xyz keyword for our ads” is not enough. A more useful question would be, “have we tested the cost per conversion for general and specific keywords and matching options to cover the topic of wxyz?

Assuming that appropriate conversion goals have been set, the best way to measure the effectiveness of PPC advertising is by return on investment, ROI. The main factors that contribute to that are cost per conversion, margin dollars (perhaps within product or service categories of different profit margins), and the total number of conversions.

Internet Search Engines – Used Like Telephone White Pages

For some businesses, a significant number of online searches are for the company’s name. Basically, these searchers use Internet search engines like the white pages of the phone book. Search marketers call these “recovery” searches (as opposed to “discovery” or “functional” searches where potential customers search for features or benefits of a product or service). For well-established local companies, we’ve seen recovery searches run as high as 20% or more of the total monthly phone calls or online inquiries.

Example from a Local Search Company

A few weeks ago, while doing research for an upcoming new client of ours, we noticed a tactic being used by a company we’ll describe as “a major provider of local search”. To clarify this example, we’ll call the local search company the “provider” and their client the “advertiser”. As part of the advertising program, the provider set up a profile type web page for one of the advertiser’s well-established locations. (Each city’s location of this advertiser had different names that reflect local home services companies they had acquired).

The provider optimized the advertiser’s profile page to be found for the advertiser’s specific location name in natural search results. The result: the provider’s web page came in above the advertiser’s own corporate website in natural search results. The provider also used the company’s name as keywords to trigger text ads. We find this situation to be significant for the following reasons:

• If the provider’s profile page had not been there, any potential customer would have found the advertiser’s own page in natural results anyway. The company name was unique with no common keywords in it.
• The provider’s directory page did not get first page results for functional searches like it did for recovery searches in natural results. (If it had, its presence would have been easier to understand or justify.)
• In their reporting of results, the provider co-mingled the results (phone calls or online leads) from their profile page in natural results with those from ad traffic.
• The provider does not supply the advertiser with a breakdown of how many leads (from either ads or natural results) come from correctly spelled recovery searches of the advertiser’s name vs. actual new clients acquired from discovery or functional searches.
• The example above involves advertisers paying for traffic, but a similar situation occurs when a company is paying by the lead. If you hire a lead generation company to provide customer leads, you should set guidelines and specify reports that clarify if or how much you are paying for leads gathered on your company name.

If you have more examples of useful and not-so-good tactics in this topic, please post them. If you need more clarification, post your question or give us a call.

Keywords, Negative Keywords and Ad Text Filtering

In their selection of keywords for their query, online searchers tell us in varying degrees what type of information, product or service he or she is seeking. Generally, in goods or services, more detailed or precise searches indicate that the searcher is closer to the act of purchasing.

Search engine ads have a unique feature for keywords called “matching options”. Google AdWords has the most robust options and the other engines have similar ones. In Google AdWords there are four matching options: broad, phrase, exact and negative. We use these to set both what we are looking to match with and filter with negative keywords to exclude parts of similar searches that are not related to our topic. For further filtering, the words in the text ads, called “ad text”, can be used to either attract a certain type of customer as in the example of an ad that includes the words: “Get More Info” or to filter out customers whom you are not interested in by including the words such as “Wholesale to Dealers Only” in the ad.

When Do KeyWords Trigger Search Engine Ads? Just In Time!

Search engine ads that are triggered by keywords deliver a highly targeted message to your potential customer at the moment they are searching online. We sometimes refer to search engine ads as “just in time advertising”. Rather than broadcasting a message to huge numbers of people, as in the mass media, when set up correctly, search ads appear at the moment they are relevant to the searcher. For local services and products, this includes ads only being shown to computer users in the appropriate geographic area.