How to Research Keywords to Target

12 Mar How to Research Keywords to Target

3 simple steps to researching keywords related to your customers’ searches

Keyword research helps you identify keywords that you can target for advertising

Keywords are at the core of search engine advertising.  By choosing keywords to target, you are telling search engines when you want to show your ads.

There are millions of searches a day on search engines like Google and Bing for all sorts of keywords. How do you know what people are searching for? Which keywords do you want to focus on? That is where keyword research comes in.

Here is how you go about researching the keywords you need to start your campaign using Google Adwords’ keyword research tool.

Step #1: Create a tree of keywords in an initial brainstorm

First, you have to think from your customers’ perspective. If you were your customer, what would you search for online? Create a mind map of keywords that represent general categories of keywords. Then break these categories into sub categories. This becomes your initial brainstorm list that you can use as a starting point.

Step #2: Use the research tool to find new keywords

There are literally thousands of combinations of keywords that people could search for that relate to your business. It is impossible to guess as to what they are. Thankfully, the Google Adwords Keyword Research tool can help find unseen opportunities. You simply type in keywords and the tool will 1) Tell you how many searches there are for those keywords 2) Tell you how competitive the keywords are and 3) Give you recommendations for related keywords.

The keyword research tool can help you find unseen opportunities for keyword targeting

This tool will help you decide what keywords are worth targeting. If they have too few searches or too much competition, they may not be worth targeting. Also, the keyword recommendations will help dramatically expand your keyword list beyond what you could ever brainstorm yourself.

Step #3: Organize the keyword list

Now that you have hundreds (or thousands) of keyword phrases to target, it is time to organize them. With so many keywords, organizing them will make managing the PPC account much easier and more efficient. You can organize them based on tightly grouped themes. For example, you could create groups based on “Nashville Bankruptcy”, “Tennessee Bankruptcy”, “Bankruptcy Attorney”, “Chapter 7 rules”, “Chapter 7 cost”, “Chapter 7 Nashville”, etc. These groups will become your Ad Groups in the PPC account.

Your initial keyword list that you develop will likely change and evolve over time. You may find that some keywords don’t produce traffic or leads and decide to delete them. Or you may research and add new keywords later on as you explore new opportunities to increase traffic.

Your keyword list becomes the core of your advertising. You can then take this keyword list and create bids and ads that compliment your target audience.