After you decide on your advertising goals, you'll want to build out your keywords. At first this might seem a difficult challenge but, if you're just beginning, here are 4 steps to get you started in creating an effective keyword list:
- Expand your keyword list to include as many relevant words as possible.
- Target the keyword list by using keyword matching options.
- Scrub or refine the keyword list.
- Group the keywords in thematic clusters to be paired with different ads.
Keyword Selection Step 1: Expand
First, review your site content to identify which keywords (word combinations and phrases) describe the main categories of your business. Make a note of every relevant keyword under each category you find. Expand the list by including all of your brand and product names as well as plurals and synonyms for each word or phrase on your initial list. Try to think like your customers. How might your customers ask for your product or service?
Keyword Selection Step 2: Target
Now target your keywords using keyword matching options if these are available at the search engine where you want to buy advertising. These matching options enable you to pin point ad delivery so your ads reach people precisely when they are searching for what you have to offer. Often, you can choose to designate each of your keywords as a broad, phrase, exact or negative match. Each type of match provides a varying degree of exposure.
For example, a broad-matched keyword will allow your ad to appear on your keyword as well as variations and synonyms of that keyword. A phrase matching will require a search to exactly match the phrase you specify or some variation. An exact match will require the phrase to be precisely what you specify and nothing else. A negative-matched keyword will never trigger your ad.
Keyword Selection Step 3: Scrub
After creating, expanding, and targeting your list of keywords, it's time to refine it. To do this, review your list and make sure you're satisfied with what you've come up with. Eliminate any keywords that may be irrelevant.
Keyword Selection Step 4: Group
You've already created different 'buckets' for your words based on your product lines. In this step you do an even more refined and granular grouping into thematic categories, which you might call Ad Groups. By organizing and grouping keywords you will be ready to write ad copy targeted to each group.
Following these four steps will help you choose the keywords which will optimize the budget you decide to set for your advertising efforts.
A side benefit, is that this process of searching and refining your advertising keywords, will often bring into view new keywords that you might wish to use in preparing content pages for your web site.
It adds tremendous extra power to the kind of web writing described in
Make Your Content Pre Sell
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