Whether you want to sell auto parts or you want to create a campaign that advertises your new food blog, you need to know which keywords are suitable to your brand. Not just any keywords, either: they must be relevant keywords with purpose. Not just any keywords will do when it comes to growing your brand, and while it may seem confusing and downright inconceivable that you can find keywords that can provide the best help to your brand, nothing could be further from the truth. You don’t have to be a marketing guru to figure out which keywords can work for your brand, either. Google AdWords can help you to find the best keywords for your brand and creating a compelling campaign that will put those keywords into action (i.e. more customers, more money).
It all starts with Google Keyword Planner (GKP). But first, you need to get a little old school. Grab a pencil and paper, because we’re about to…
Create a paper list
The greatest brainstorming tool is still a pencil and paper. Brainstorm the types of keywords and keyphrases you think potential customers search for as it pertains to your brand – you may even want to reach out to past/present customers as well as friends, family, colleagues, etc. to get an idea regarding what they’ve recently searched for on your website. Write their answers down, and highlight any words/phrases that show up more than once to indicate it may be a high-value keyword. Additionally, browse your social media messages and check to see if anyone has inquired about a certain product, service, etc. as of late. Write what you find.
Write any keywords/phrases that may come to mind. Go to your competitor’s website and social media pages to learn what keywords they may be using. For example, if they have posted a lot of content about snow shovels for driveways in the last month; if relevant, consider ranking for similar keywords.
Google Keyword Planner
We’re not going to go too deep into how to use GKP (Google has instructions for using Google Keyword Planner), but it’s extremely simple to use. From the main page, you can insert individual keywords and even a URL to generate ideas for keywords via the search for new keyword field. Want to use your paper list of keywords? Insert them into the multiple keyword lists field. You can even discover the search volume and how the keyword has performed historically via get search volume and trends. These three fields will tell you everything you need to know to find new keywords and research your findings to whittle your list down to only the top, highest ranking, and competitive keywords for your brand.
Plug in your most valuable keywords into Google
From there, choose the top five search results in Google. Search your keyword on their website to discover anything: from the categories where the relevant keyword is listed to how many times it actually pops up on every page. Keep in mind where the keyword pops up: is it in the titles/headers of certain pages, or is it buried among several sub-categories and seemingly irrelevant to your competition? This will allow you to also discover relevant niche keywords – and the more in-demand will little competition they are, the better (you can figure this out via metrics and forecasts – more on that in a moment). For example, if you want to rank for cheap hubcaps in Windsor and find that people are searching for custom hubcap decals yet the keyword isn’t ranking very highly, congratulations: you’ve found a niche keyword you can capitalize on.
Metrics and forecasts
Google has a fantastic breakdown on how to use metrics and forecasts so while we’re not going to get into it, know that it’s a great way to detail what your AdWords campaign will ultimately cost when ranking for certain keywords. From the number of clicks your ad will get to the number of impressions, cost, clickthrough rate (CTR) and even the overall, average cost per click (Average CPC), it’s perfect for creating a plan of action. On The Plan overview page, you can even get a breakdown as to what each campaign will cost for your keywords, allowing you to scale appropriately.
Keyword intent
Keep in mind what the searcher ‘needs’ when they search for your keywords and phrases. For example, if you are selling auto parts you probably don’t want to use AdWords to rank for the phrase, ‘how to repair automobile parts from home,’ since you’re trying to make a sale; alternatively, the keyphrase ‘cheapest auto parts in Windsor,’ would be more appropriate as it increases the odds of a customer finding your brand and buying from you directly.
The point is all the research in the world doesn’t make a bit of difference if you don’t understand why someone is searching. You may be trying to rank for muffler repair in Windsor, but there’s a wealth of difference between ‘how to choose a mechanic for muffler repair in Windsor,’ and, ‘muffler repair mechanic in Windsor;’ one phrase helps you how to choose a provider, another shows the providers outright. Just a change in a few words will give searchers completely different results. Keep this in mind when creating, cutting, adding, and perfecting your keyword list as you discover the top keywords to rank for; rank for the best, and your brand will flourish!
If you are looking for assistance with finding keywords to optimize your website around and launching Google AdWords campaigns, get in contact with Web Geeks and we can work with you to grow your business.