The Power of Keywords in a PPC Campaign

By Brian Basch

It all comes down to choosing the right of keywords and phrases. By researching what works best you should come up with quality keywords and phrases that give results. Make a list to start with and consider what will work for you. Start with one of the very popular keywords, "credit". This word gets typed into search engines every day- maybe even every minute. But if everyone else is using it how can you make it work, too? The best method is to include some related terms that are specific to your business.

Consider how searchers could be using the keyword in question. Someone searching for the word "credit" may be attempting to find out ways to get a credit report, ways to improve personal credit which lenders will give loans to people with poor credit or ways to consolidate credit card debit. When you've gotten a range of concepts that the word could be related to, then try to condense them a bit.

These longer concepts become a series of terms that people search for, all related to your basic keyword. "Credit" becomes "free credit report", "get better credit", "bad credit loan" and "consolidate credit cards". There are lots of other options, and these words are just a little different from the original keyword. You can keep expanding from there.

Try to stick with the basics and don't over think the whole campaign. Perhaps you can start to ad specific company names to the list, but remember that it has to relate to the word "credit". Your list should be starting to grow by now and you might even be able to divide it up into different keyword groups.

Try adding an extension like .com or .org or .net to the end of the search term. You can even try to target specific countries like .au for Australia or .ca for Canada. People still include these in their search sometimes. By including them in your ads, you are increasing your chances of a targeted click and sale.

Some people think that very general words are a winning formula, but it actually works in the opposite way. The competition for these types of words is huge. Try to stay with related terms and rephrased keyword combination. You can turn "free credit report" into "credit report free" while it seems like the same thins each phrase will reach a different audience. Consider what your target market is going to type into their search engine.

It's not all there is to a good PPC campaign, but a good keyword list is the foundation of one that works. Explore all your options and pick the right words, then track their progress to be sure your campaign is a successful one.

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