5 Effective Ways to Use the Google AdWords Keyword Planner

The Google AdWords Keyword Planner is a free tool provided as an aid to help build out your Search Network keyword lists.

Here are five ways you can use the Google AdWords Keyword Planner and have a healthy account:

1. Get keyword ideas

Are you struggling to build a keyword list that is relevant to your business, products, and/or services? The Keyword Planner has a couple of solutions to help you find what people are searching for when looking for your products or services.

In the Planner you can click on “Search for new keywords and ad group ideas” in order to simply tell Google what your product or service is, or by providing a URL for a page on your site that is highly relevant to your business, or selecting your product from a large list of predetermined categories.

The Planner also has an option to refine suggested keywords by adding targeting for specific locations, languages, search networks and even adding negative keywords.

Fill out the information and let Google suggest new ideas that you hadn’t thought of.

2. Discover search volumes

The Keyword Planner can also help you find potential impression volume for a list of keywords you already have. To learn how much volume your keywords will have, use the “Get search volume for a list of keywords” feature.

Insert your keyword list and the tool can provide a search volume average breakdown for each keyword.

3. Learn how competitive your keywords are

Competition for ad rank can inflate your ad costs substantially. To get a better feel for what your competitors are bidding on, upload your keywords and Google will give you a ranking for each. The ranking will be either low, medium, or high, based on how many other people are bidding on a particular keyword. This can help you decide what types of keywords are high priorities for your competition as well as give you an idea about potential cost.

4. Get traffic estimates on a given bid

Want to know how much traffic your keywords could generate depending on your keyword bid? Use the “Get traffic estimates for a list of keywords” feature. Provide a list of keywords to the tool and it will produce a nice graph and table that show you what to expect based on your desired max CPC bid.

In the “Enter a bid” field you can put in a potential bid and the tool will show you daily estimates for clicks, impressions, and ad spend. This is particularly useful when launching new campaigns and trying to decide where to start your bidding.

5. Build new keyword lists by merging other lists together

If you are looking to expand your existing keyword list there is an easy way to find new keyword combinations. In the Keyword Planner, you can insert different keyword lists and it will merge them together to make new combinations.

The Keyword Planner has many great features that can help you think outside the box and strengthen your keyword lists. There are other third-party keyword research tools out there you can try too. Perhaps the best feature about the Google AdWords Keyword Planner is that it is completely free. It’s hard to beat that.

https://www.portent.com/blog/ppc/5-effective-ways-use-google-adwords-keyword-planner.htm?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+conversationmarketing%2FMRJI+%28The+Portent+Blog%3A+Conversation+Marketing%29

What Does Google’s Trial of 4 Ad Positions Tell Us About the Future of Search?

No doubt you’ll have heard by now that Google is trialling 4 top ad positions on some searches in the United States, and the trial looks to be in full swing.

A quick search in AdWord’s preview tool returned one of what I’ve affectionately called “the 4 tops”. (Not one of these – they’re much more fun.)

Why are Google doing this?

The cynical view would simply be that it’s a test to see if more ads equal more revenue. More ad positions would result in more ad clicks and therefore more revenue for Google. The cynics among us might even guess the move is in response to the Adblockalypse – the rise of ad blocking software which is undoubtedly affecting Google’s display network revenues.

But the non-cynical view is that most of the changes rolled out by Google have the user’s best interests at heart. And if I’m really honest, there are some searches where the sponsored results return better, more relevant options. Speaking from experience, any time I search with the intent to purchase or transact, I find the sponsored results much more useful. As long as Google continues to use the 4 tops when it makes sense, I, for one, will be happy.

Thinking about the future of search

I think there is one obvious takeaway, and one that’s a bit more philosophical.

The obvious takeaway is, if you’re not investing in paid search, you should. Now.

Increasing the number of ad positions above the organic results means your customers are going to have to scroll a long way down the page, past some very enticing adverts, before finding your organic result.

Granted, not all searches will return the 4 tops, and in some instances organic results are preferable. But increasingly the searches that have purchase or transactional intent return a results set heavily weighted toward sponsored results.

This segues nicely into my more philosophical takeaway…

The time has come for marketers to stop thinking about organic and paid search as different entities. Instead, we should think about what’s best for our users in terms of what kind of result makes sense for them in this context.

Let’s face it, neither organic nor paid are free. Both have a cost per click. Both require us to understand the language (keywords) of our users, creating engaging landing pages and optimising campaigns for a desired result. Both have their place in any user-centric digital marketing strategy.

Yes, tactically you need to do different things and use different skills but, at a strategic level, search should just be search.

“What do my users want to do when they enter a query into a search engine?” is the question every marketer should be asking when creating their search strategy. The answer that comes back will define how and when to use paid versus organic.

For example, if your business has a fast-moving, price-sensitive inventory, you might decide paid search gives your users the best results because your ads can react to the changes in your inventory in near real-time. If your business has a much longer sales process, where the user conducts a lot of self-paced research before purchasing, you might decide organic search will provide the best results.

What do you think?

Are you managing search with a strategy that combines organic and paid? Or do you have a separate strategy for each type of search? Please share your thoughts.

https://www.rocketmill.co.uk/4-ad-positions

Six Things You May Be Doing Wrong with Google Adwords

AdWords is a tool Google offers advertisers to help them gain traffic and, ultimately, sales through pay per click advertising. While AdWords is relatively easy to use, there’s a good chance you’re not maximizing your return-on-investment (ROI) due to some simple, easily correctable mistakes.

Here are six common areas where advertisers tend to make AdWords faux pas and ways that they can be improved.

TOO MANY KEYWORDS IN AN AD GROUP 

Using too many keywords in an ad group makes it more difficult to fit those keywords into your ad copy. Deftly incorporating keywords into ads so that the copy sounds natural is an art and a science. But if you include too many keywords, you won’t be able to properly customize the ad so that it matches the term being searched for.

For example, consider a retailer who sells a variety of shoes for athletic endeavors. If they create an “athletic shoes” ad group that includes keywords such as running shoes, tennis shoes and cross-trainers, it will likely result in a generic and vague ad, such as “Find assorted athletic shoes for men and women.” Consequently, when someone searches specifically for “running shoes,” they’ll be less inclined to click on the retailer’s ad because it’s doesn’t closely match-up with what they are looking for, which will lead to a drop in the retailer’s click-through rate.

Recommendation:  Group your keywords together as tightly as possible in an ad group and select keywords that reflect what someone would actually search for. For example, the athletic shoes retailer would be better off creating an ad group for Running Shoes, Tennis Shoes, Cross-trainers, etc. Then, under the Running Shoes ad group, they might include the keywords “shoes for running,” “quality running shoes,” “trail running shoes,” “road running shoes,” etc. To keep it simple, a general rule is to include no more than 15 keywords per ad group.

When it comes to selecting what keywords to include in your ad group, it’s best to mix common sense with Google’s AdWords Keyword Planner.

By breaking up your ads and keywords into themes, the easier your campaigns will be to monitor and optimize and the more likely a consumer will be to click on your ad.

NOT USING NEGATIVE KEYWORDS

In many cases, advertisers either don’t know to use negative keywords, or they are not adding or updating them consistently. Negative keywords might include locations where your services are not provided, terms that would reflect poorly on your brand, or related products that you don’t sell or don’t want to sell.

For example, if you sell knitted scarves and mittens but you don’t sell leather gloves, you’d want to add “leather gloves” as a negative keyword so that you are not wasting clicks or spending money on clicks that don’t matter to your website.

Recommendation: In addition to including words that you don’t sell or don’t want to sell, it’s also a good idea to include terms that generate a lot of clicks, but not conversions. You can find that information by running a Search Terms Report in Google.

You can also use negative keywords at different levels of your account. For instance, if you sell road and mountain bikes but you’re running a specific campaign to raise awareness for your mountain bikes, you might include “road bikes” in your negative keyword terms for that particular campaign.

NOT USING LANDING PAGES

Landing pages are super important for ensuring that you are directing people to the product/services that they are looking for.  Sending someone to your home page to find a specific product will only serve to overwhelm and frustrate them – especially if you’ve listed numerous other products on your home page. If a potential customer has to take the time to hunt for what they are looking for, more often than not, they won’t.

Recommendation: Make life easy for visitors and create specific landing pages for each of your products. This way, when someone shops for a product that you offer, they’ll be taken directly to that product page on your site.

This not only creates a better user experience for your prospective customers, it will also increase your relevance for that product’s search term. Google will recognize that your landing page is providing the information that the searcher is looking for and will likely improve your quality score.

NOT USING AD EXTENSIONS

AdWords allows you to created ad types that aren’t necessarily part of a standard pay per click ad, which typically includes an ad headline, description, and display URL. These other ad types are known as “ad extensions” and include sitelink extensions, call-out extensions, and review extensions.

Sitelink extensions are additional ads that can go under your ad. Since they also include a headline and a product description, they are essentially an ad unto itself. The beauty of sitelink extensions is that they give you more ad space to promote more of your products—all without extra cost. You only pay for the click, not to post all the different elements of the ad.

In addition to sitelink extensions, two other valuable ad extensions are:

Callout extensions – Google recommends that advertisers use callout extensions to draw attention to unique selling points and important product details and benefits. For example, “100% made in the USA. Free shipping. Free returns. 24/7 customer service.”
Google will rotate call-out extensions and sitelink extension based on viewers search history.

Review extensions – Review extensions are reviews of your product from a legitimate third party. In other words, it can’t be from someone’s Facebook comment or a review on your website. Review extensions add authority and authenticity to your company, products and services. When a user clicks on the review extension link, it will take them to the review page, blog post, etc. What’s more is that when someone clicks on a review extension, you don’t have to pay for that click.
Recommendation: Use ad extensions.

NOT BIDDING ON BRAND TERMS

Oftentimes advertisers don’t feel that they need to bid on the name of their company because it already ranks high in organic searches. While that may be, the reality is that someone else may bid on your brand term. If you’re not bidding on it and someone else does, their paid ad might show up above your organic listing results, leading a user to click on their ad instead of yours.

Recommendation: Bid on your brand terms because there are many advantages of doing so. First and foremost, it is incredibly inexpensive for you to bid on your brand terms. And if your brand is well-recognized, you should easily and cost-effectively be able to get the number one ad position for all branded searches. So it won’t cost you much and it will drive a lot of traffic, which means higher ROI.

Another reason why it’s beneficial to bid on your branded terms is because it will give you two listings on a page: your paid ad and your organic search result. What’s more is that, compared to an organic search result, you have more control over the messaging that a searcher sees and the landing page they are sent to when you bid on branded terms. This translates into more control over the user experience and conversions.

The bottom line is that even the most recognized brands in the world pay for ads using their brand terms, so it’s just smart advertising to do so too.

NOT KNOWING WHAT YOUR GOALS ARE

In order to be clear on what you can spend on your AdWords ad campaign, you must be clear on your goals and the value of your products. For example, a retailer who spends $55 on keywords clicks to sell $50 shoes is not running a cost-effective AdWords campaign.

Recommendation: Look at the big picture and know what your ROI needs to be so that you can set an appropriate cost per acquisition. Ask yourself this question: Is your goal to make more sales or to lower the cost of your sales? Typically it can only feasibly be one or the other, which is why it’s critical to figure out whether volume or CPA is the goal. That will help determine your ad spend.

Being aware of these common Google AdWords pitfalls will make AdWords less expensive and more profitable over time. These tips are also exponential in the way in which they can help your AdWords campaign. If you can get more clicks and conversions, you’ll ultimately rank higher, which will help you continue to get more clicks and conversions.

http://www.accelerationpartners.com/blog/six-things-doing-wrong-google-adwords

Search vs. Display: Which AdWords Network Should You Use?

Here at WordStream, our team of consultants analyzes thousands of PPC accounts. While our customers’ pain points tend to vary, many of their issues can be tracked back to one major misstep—their campaigns are set to run on both the Search and Display Networks simultaneously.

99% of the time, this practice will wreak havoc on a PPC account. The main problem is, these networks target users in two completely different scenarios. Not to mention, since metrics across each network are combined, it is challenging to assess how each is performing, and it eliminates the option to segment one’s budget by network.

Quite frankly, applying the same strategy to both networks is like trying to fit a round peg in a square hole…it just doesn’t work. If you have any campaigns opted into both networks, save yourself from future pain and agony and start separating them. In today’s post, we’ll do a deep dive outlining the components of each of these networks and examine what types of advertisers should be utilizing them.

A Quick Note on Search Network with Display Select (SNDS)

Before we delve into the intricacies of each network, I want to address one caveat to this rule, which is Google’s recent innovation, Search Network with Display Select (SNDS). If you’re an avid reader of this blog, you may remember a post from a few weeks ago, complete with a Google video broadcast (featuring our in-house celebrity, Rich Griffin!), touting the benefits of this new, hybrid campaign model. SNDS allows advertisers to opt their search campaigns into the GDN in a limited fashion. Essentially, AdWords claims that it will use “improved signals and methods of predicting where your ads are likely to perform best” to ensure that display ads are only shown in locations that are highly relevant to the advertisers’ “ideal” user.

As Rich mentions in his Google hangout video, this setting is reminiscent of Enhanced Campaigns, whereby AdWords pushes advertisers to expand their reach and appeal to a broader range of customers. For less-than-savvy PPCers, or advertisers who have limited time to dedicate to account management, this low-effort option may feel like a godsend. That said, it comes at a price. In shifting to this model, you are sacrificing significant control over GDN performance and putting a great deal of faith in Google. For advertisers who have the time to do so, we highly recommend sticking with the traditional best practice of managing the Search and Display Networks through separate campaigns.

When to Use the Google Search Network

Running ads on the Search Network is the most common, well-known form of PPC advertising. With this network selection, your ads will be eligible to appear on Google SERPs. If you want to expand your reach, you can extend your targeting to include “search partners,” a group comprised of smaller search engines, such as AOL.

This advertising format is incredibly effective because it targets an active searcher, who is on a mission to find something. As you can see in the example above, the searcher is looking for a plumber in Virginia. Upon submitting the query, both paid ads (highlighted in the red boxes) and organic listings appear. Sure, the plumbers could rely on their organic (read: free) listings, but chance are, they will be more successful if they run ads on the Search Network. Not only are paid ads more robust, but they allow the plumbers to include extensions with additional links, phone numbers and addresses. Since the Search Network connects advertisers to people actively looking for their products, search campaigns typically drive more conversions than display campaigns.

You should be running a Search Network campaign if:

• You’re working with a limited budget: In general, when clients are restricted to a small budget, we recommend starting with the Search Network. This format is more likely to drive direct conversions, making it easier to measure and justify your PPC efforts. Once you’ve mastered Search, it may be advisable to expand to the Display Network, which can boost visibility, leading to an uptick in search volume for your business.

• You sell an “emergency” product: If your product or service offering is something that users look for on a when-needed basis (plumbers, locksmiths, electricians, etc.), you should be advertising on the Search Network. For these industries, it is imperative that your ad appears when the searcher is in need of your services.

When to Use the Google Display Network (GDN)

In addition to traditional search advertising, Google also gives advertisers the opportunity to place their ads on a variety of sites across the internet. This collection of websites, which ranges from blogs to news sites and even YouTube, is referred to as the Google Display Network (GDN). According to Google, the GDN includes over 2 million sites that reach over 90% of global internet users. Given the expansiveness of this network, it is incredibly appealing to advertisers who are looking to expand their online presence.

When users are on the GDN, they may not necessarily be in “shopping mode.” Instead, they are going about their daily internet activities—catching up on news, reading blog posts, watching video clips, etc. In order to gain traction on the GDN, your ads must attract the users’ attention and entice them enough to click through to your site, leaving the content that they were originally engaged with. Accomplishing this is no easy feat—even with top-notch ad creative, it’s tough to draw users to click on ads while they are perusing the Display Network.

But don’t write the GDN off yet—while clicks may be scarce, ad space on the network is plentiful. It is the ideal space to promote brand awareness and its vast reach is appealing to advertisers who are looking to broaden their fan bases. By increasing your brand’s visibility, you may reap more clicks on organic listings or see an uptick in brand-specific searches. These clicks are also less costly than clicks on the search network.

You should be running a Display Network campaign if:

• You want to familiarize people with your brand: Many advertisers leverage the Display Network to promote brand awareness. Since the GDN is so expansive, it offers many opportunities for advertisers to connect with their audiences. Don’t worry—this doesn’t mean you’ll be “shooting in the dark” with your display ads. AdWords provides a variety of targeting options, ranging from managed placements (specific sites selected by the advertiser) to website groupings based on audience characteristics and more. By appearing on reputable sites that are popular amongst your target audience, you can quickly familiarize these people with your brand.

• You have a lengthy sales process: If you sell a product or service that consumers are not likely to purchase immediately, you need to ensure that your brand stays top-of-mind for prospects as they consider making a purchase. To do this, we recommend utilizing remarketing, through the GDN. This strategy allows you to show ads to anyone who has visited your site in the past, encouraging them to return and convert. For example, a friend of mine spent some time on the Tiffany’s website a few months ago, as he was considering proposing to his girlfriend and wanted to price out ring options. After visiting the site, he was added to Tiffany’s remarketing list and was inundated with their engagement ring ads as he perused the internet. The jeweler did such a good job of re-engaging with him that he took the plunge and bought a ring much sooner than originally planned!

• You have a sexy product: Since the GDN allows advertisers to display image ads, it is ideal for advertisers who sell luxury products whose ads are enticing to the eye. Since display advertising relies largely on distraction, it’s helpful to have an appealing product to promote. Take the ad down below, for example. Don’t tell me you wouldn’t give that a second glance!

• You have compelling video collateral: If you’ve already invested significant time and energy on bad-ass video collateral, why not put it to good use? YouTube attracts hoards of traffic (upwards of 1 billion views per day), meaning the advertising potential is huge. Plus, given the popularity of YouTube advertising, Google has made it increasingly easy for advertisers to establish video campaigns (especially for those who can leverage existing creative). This can be an incredibly powerful way to connect with your target audience. People are more likely to engage with video content than text or image ads and, with Google’s TrueView option, you only pay for users who demonstrate a true interest in your video (by watching it for 30 seconds or more).

Utilizing a Dual-Network Strategy

In reading the descriptions above, you may have noted that your company would benefit from boththe Search and the Display Networks. We advise many advertisers to run campaigns for both, when budget permits.

However, to truly reap the benefits of each network, do your due diligence and break them into separate, network-specific campaigns. From a strategic standpoint, this will allow you to craft your messaging based on the scenario in which your audience is viewing your ad. From a more logistical standpoint, this segmentation is critical. Not only does it allow you to set specific budgets and bids per network, but it will keep your data “clean” and help you to make more impactful optimizations.

Let’s take click-through rate, for example. Ads on the Display Network typically garner lower CTRs than their Search Network counterparts (which comes as no surprise, given the context in which they are shown). If the campaigns are not segmented, the CTR data can be severely skewed, making it challenging to analyze performance.

http://www.wordstream.com/blog/ws/2014/05/20/google-adwords-search-versus-display

What Is A Good Click Through Rate (CTR)?

What is a good click through rate?

It’s the age-old question asked by PPC managers and clients alike. Though we can agree that higher is better, much debate remains as to what constitutes a good vs. subpar account CTR. Below, I’ll give a definitive answer, though I acknowledge that many factors are at play. Additionally, I’ll be answering this question only in regards to Google AdWords and Bing Ads.

What Are These Factors?

Network – Search Network text and Google Shopping campaigns will, for the most part, have significantly higher CTRs than Display campaigns, although remarketing campaigns do have the potential for better CTRs than other types of Display campaigns.

Relevance – This factor combines the complete search experience from query to landing page.

Instead of listing them individually, I include bid, keyword match type, negative keywords/audiences, quality score, and ad copy as part of the overall relevance factor. All of these items need to work together in order to yield a higher CTR.

Ad Rank – Even with high relevance throughout, ad position will sometimes be low. Take into consideration both Google Shopping ad units and ad extensions and the prominence of a standard text ad diminishes greatly. Finally, if your ad is below the fold on searcher browsers, you’ll potentially accrue many impressions without the ad ever being seen!

Device – Dovetailing off ad rank, CTR will vary by device. I generally find mobile CTR to be higher than desktop and tablet. However, volume tends to be much lower. Mobile ads will also take up much of the screen, often giving users only paid options before having to scroll.

Data – My general rule of thumb is to have at least 100 impressions on any given campaign, ad group, keyword, or piece of ad copy before optimizing. There are always exceptions, but this threshold is a good baseline, as it gives the specific item a fair chance to succeed.

Vertical – CTRs will vary by vertical, especially when considering competition. For example, “lawyer” related terms are often extremely expensive and have vast search volume. Any of the above factors may be influenced, causing fluctuations in CTR.

So What’s The Verdict?

Based upon these factors, a good account CTR is 2%.

Others would argue that 2% is too low. I’m not advocating that once you hit 2% CTR, you’re in the clear. You should constantly strive to improve CTR in conjunction with your cost per conversion and conversion rate goals. My stance is that with all factors considered in today’s PPC world, a 2% account CTR should be deemed good.

Considerations

When I say a 2% account CTR, there will most likely be individual campaigns with better CTRs and those with worse. For example, your branded and Shopping campaigns may have CTRs much higher than 2%, while others may be below this percentage. In addition, Display Network campaigns will accrue many more impressions at lower CTRs, weighing down the overall account CTR more than search campaigns. With these considerations, my stance remains that a good account CTR is 2%.

Clients will inevitably ask how their CTR compares to others in their vertical. My answer tends to be cautious, as there are no definitive studies comparing CTR across verticals. There are studies, but none with conclusive data that I would be comfortable standing behind.

Using Google’s native tools, we are able to glean competitive data, but these figures are only estimates. The Auction Insights report provides interesting data comparing metrics such as impression share, average position, and overlap rate to your competitors.

Final Thoughts

Both clients and managers will also constantly question how to improve CTR. At the basic level it all comes down to one of the factors outlined above, relevance. Create a well-structured account that easily gives searchers answers to their questions (queries).

You should always be striving to achieve a higher CTR. A 2% CTR is good, but continually improving this metric will make your account great.

http://www.ppchero.com/what-is-a-good-click-through-rate-ctr/