Which Keywords Should You Buy?

If you're getting started with a PPC account (Google Adwords, Yahoo Search Marketing, MSN Adcenter, etc.) you'll want to make sure you're buying the right keywords.

For instance, if you buy generic keywords, you'll likely pay a high CPC (cost per click) and you'll likely get a lot of impressions. Whereas if you buy a more specific keyword, you're more likely to pay less (due to less competition) and have less impressions for the same reasons.

Here are some more things you'll want to know about choosing the right keywords.

• Check synonyms and other common searches related to your term

Use the Google Adwords Keyword Tool: to help you with this.

You might think you know what your customers are searching for but you're most likely missing out on some potential traffic. This tool will produce an exportable list which shows most other variations of a word as well as words related to it which you definitely would not have though of before. Also, while you're using the Google AdWords Keyword tool, pay close attention to the keywords which are not related to you. This is where you'll...

• Determine negative keywords

For instance, if you sell Lord of the Rings DVD's, you'll find (using the Google AdWords keyword tool) that people are also searching for Lord of the Rings posters, keychains, trading cards, figurines, etc. These are the keywords you want to add as "negative keywords" meaning, if you bid on "Lord of the Rings dvd" and also "-posters, -keychains, -trading cards, -figurines, ... " you're basically saying that if any search has any of these negative keywords, you absolutely do not want your ads to show.

• Consider misspellings

If this is obvious already I understand but the reason for bringing it up is because you can't possibly know all the ways which people misspell a word. You might think you know... but you most likely do not. Use the Google Keyword tool and check "use synonyms" and you will find that this will uncover your most common misspellings.

• Validate your traffic and...

• Consider the funnel position in relation to the broadness of your keyword

It's common knowledge that the fewer the words in a keyword phrase, the more searches. It doesn't make sense to me but for some reason, the majority of people think they'll find exactly what they want by searching for something as broad as "music" - clearly they aren't just looking for "music" they are actually looking for something a more specific like "where to purchase and download mp3's" or "some rare album they can't find locally but would like to purchase online if possible" (you get the point.)

Eventually, as people become more familiar and confidant that they can actually find what they want by typing in more specific search terms, they will. We are seeing this already.

For now, what you can do to get the highest valued visitors is focus your terms on the lower end of the funnel, and choose 2, 3 or 4 word phrases for your keywords.