Choosing the right keywords

Selecting keywords is one of the most important parts of creating a successful AdWords campaign. Stuart Small of Google recommends a simple five-step process.

Step 1: Expand

First, come up with as many relevant keywords as possible. What does your business sell and what are your advertising goals? If it's to sell insulation materials some good keywords might be ‘roof insulation’ and ‘reflective insulation'. Even better are keywords focused on specific circumstances like 'specifying insulation'. List all keywords that come to mind. It's a good idea to avoid less specific keywords, like ‘insulation,' which usually cost more and won't necessarily relate to the user's specific search.

Google AdWords provides a free keyword tool that generates keyword ideas. You simply access the tool, enter keywords similar to the ones you want to find, and sort the results.

Step 2: Match

Google offers different keyword-match types to relate to a user's search. They include broad match, phrase match, exact match, and negative match.

• Broad match means that all searches using that word (in any order or combination) will display the ad. For example, ‘roof insulation' will show an ad for all searches with the words ‘roof' and ‘insulation'. This could include searches for ‘specialist roof insulation' and ‘cheapest DIY roof insulation’. This is the default setting for all keywords.
• Phrase match requires the words to appear in order. “Specifying insulation” (entered with quotation marks) shows ads for searches with ‘specifying' and ‘insulation' in that order. Ads won't appear, however, for searches with any words between ‘specifying' and ‘insulation' – ‘specifying sound insulation’ for example. This narrows the audience.
• Exact match shows ads when the exact phrase is used in the search – without any other words before, between, or after. So ‘[sound insulation]' (with brackets) shows an ad for searches with just the words ‘sound insulation', not ‘specifying sound insulation’ or ‘sound insulation recording studios'. This further narrows the audience.
• Negative match eliminates phrases for which an advertiser doesn't want an ad to appear, such as ‘cheap' or ‘DIY'. Negative matches are selected by entering negative keywords with a minus sign, such as ‘-DIY'. This option prevents an ad from showing to people searching for ‘DIY sound insulation'
.

Step 3: Scrub

AdWords is geared toward relevance. Keywords that reflect this return strong results. Irrelevant keywords should be removed from the keyword list. Delete any words that don't relate to your business or advertising goals. Two- and three-word phrases usually work best.

Step 4: Group

Keywords should be organised into similar themes, products, or types in separate ad groups. That way, each ad can be written specifically for similarly grouped keywords.

Step 5: Test and refine

Users are constantly searching for different things, so advertisers must regularly test and refine keywords. Build on keywords that work, and delete others that don't.

 

Adapted from an article by Stuart Small, industry leader for B2B marketing at Google, and published on B2B Marketing Online.

 

Editor’s note

As Stuart points out in ‘Step 3’, choosing your AdWords is only part of the equation. Linking your ad to useful and relevant content is just as important. As well as linking direct to your website consider linking to your company profile on ribaproductselector.com where – depending on your subscription – visitors can find CPD details, live NBS specifications, and downloadable product catalogues, all in one place. Find out more...

 

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