However, if you’re a niche, specialty business and you haven’t yet embraced the long tail, you really need a reality check! Long-tail keyword marketing is absolutely crucial for specialty businesses.

Let’s say you run a business that specializes in designer shoes that come in hard-to-find sizes. Broad head terms like “shoes,” “men’s shoes,” “women’s shoes,” “sneakers,” “flats,” etc. aren’t really going to work for you.

Why? Because your target market is a very small fraction of the general market for shoes. You’re targeting people with unusually small, large, narrow, or wide feet. Chances are those consumers haven’t had luck shopping at just any shoe store, so they’re probably not going to search or shop using such basic keywords. They don’t want to waste time looking at shoe sites that don’t carry their size. They’ll search using specific long-tail keywords like “shoe stores with large sizes” or “extra narrow women’s shoes.” Using long-tail keywords in your PPC campaigns will help you target those highly qualified customers.

In addition, when you focus on your target market with the right keywords, you avoid getting too much traffic from the wrong customers. If you use broad, general keywords in your PPC ads, you’ll end up getting lots of clicks from customers who probably won’t buy from your store, since they don’t need specialty sizes. Those extra clicks that don’t result in conversions will damage your Quality Score and drive up your PPC management costs—and broad keywords are more expensive to begin with!

Long-tail keywords are cheaper, less competitive, and better targeted to your specialty customer base. What’s not to like?

Examples of Long-Tail Keyword Marketing

Let’s take a look at some long-tail keywords in action. I googled “hard to find shoe sizes” and one of the sponsored ads really stood out:

Because a relevant keyword (“Tough to Find Sizes”) actually appears in the title of the ad, my eye goes right to it. The text of the ad names specific sizes, which picky customers are probably looking for. The only other ad here that addresses the searcher’s specific needs is the FootSmart ad, which is pretty good, but could have been even better with a relevant long-tail keyword in the title. (The “free shipping” information is nice to know, but it could have been moved to the text of the ad.) Overall this screenshot highlights a missed opportunity—most advertisers are not taking advantage of long-tail keyword marketing.

Let’s try another long-tail keyword search: “eco-friendly trash bags.”

Again, a couple of these stand out—only two of the ads appear to directly address the specific query. These two ads not only use the “eco-friendly” keyword in the title, they use the space in the ad to bolster the claim, noting that the bags are biodegradable and nontoxic, likely buzzwords that these specialty customers would be looking out for.

This goes to show that using long-tail keywords appropriately can really make you stand out from competitors with less of a focus on your niche market.

How to Find Long-Tail Keywords

So where do you find these long-tail keywords to use in your PPC campaign? Here are a few idea to get you started:

• Your analytics: Mine the keyword reports in your web analytics application to find long-tail keywords that real visitors and customers are using to find you. This is your best source of personalized data.
• Keyword tools: Free keyword tools are getting better at providing extensive suggestions, down into the long tail. (With WordStream’s Free Keyword Tool you can get hundreds or even thousands.)
• Competitive research: Take note of what other businesses in your niche are doing. Do their ads seem more targeted to your specific customer base? How can you compete?

Don’t forget to keep track of how your keywords perform—you may be surprised which terms work best.

Elisa Gabbert is the Content Development Manager at WordStream Inc., a provider of an advanced AdWords Tool set for researching, organizing and grouping large numbers of AdWords keywords. Elisa is a frequent contributor to the WordStream Internet Marketing Blog and you can follow her on Twitter: @eGabbert.

Google, Yahoo! and Bing allow you to add negative keywords into your account but they each approach it a little differently. Google provides the most options allowing you to specify Broad, Phrase or Exact match negative keywords. Negative keyword match types work a little differently than traditional search terms, so make sure you think through each negative before adding it into your account.

Negative Broad: if used correctly, this can filter out a lot of different variations. If a keyword is Negative Broad, then your ad will not show anytime the entire term is used within a search query. For example, if your negative is video game, your ad will not appear for someone searching for game video or video game deals. BUT know that this will not prevent ads from showing for variations of the word. That means that if you want to exclude both video game and video games (plural version) you need to add in BOTH as negative keywords. Also, Negative Broad match will not restrict ads from showing if someone searches on only one of the words. So if someone searches for board game you will still appear, as the word game on its own is not a negative.

Negative Phrase: this match type works similarly to traditional search terms in that it will exclude the phrase. A negative keyword is designated as phrase match when quotations are used around the phrase. If someone searches for only one of the terms in your phrase, your ad will still appear. For example, if your negative is “fiction novels” and someone searches for history novels, your ad will still appear. This also means that if additional words are used in the search query, such as fiction romance novels, your ad will still appear as fiction and novels are not next to each other in the search query.

Negative Exact: this match type will eliminate very little traffic as it only excludes searches for the exact term(s) in the order they are used. To designate a negative term as Negative Exact, include [ ] around the term. If someone uses any other terms in his or her search, your ads will still appear. For instance if your negative is [green sweater] and someone searches for ladies green sweater your ad will still appear as it does not match the negative term exactly.

The Google AdWords blog has put together this chart as a quick reference of the search queries that would be ruled out depending on your negative match type.

Yahoo! has a similar concept but it is referred to as Excluded Keywords instead of Negative Keywords. In Yahoo! you don’t have the same match type options, so keep in mind that what you add in as an excluded term is essentially a broad match keyword. There is a limit of 500 excluded keywords at the account level and each of the ad groups. You can also add in 1,250 excluded words at the campaign level if you choose.

Bing allows the addition of negative keywords at the campaign, ad group or keyword levels. Know that if you use multiple levels, the keyword-level negatives override those at the ad group and campaign levels and ad group negatives override those at the campaign level. As with Yahoo!, there are restrictions on the number of negatives that can be added in. At the campaign level, the negative keyword limit is 1,022 characters and you are required to place a comma between each keyword. This quickly reduces the number of keywords you can add in, so make sure you are choosing the keywords that will rule out the most traffic. Similar to Yahoo!, you are not able to designate match types so all keywords entered are again broad match.

If you haven’t added negative keywords into your account yet, a good place to start is by running a Search Query Report to review what users are searching on to get to your ads.  This will get you started, but the report only shows information for those that have clicked on your ad. Don’t forget you also want to eliminate irrelevant traffic that may not have clicked yet so do a little research to see what other terms people might be using. Also, if you haven’t gone through your negative keyword list in a while, you might want to take some time to review what is currently in the account. As your business changes, negatives aren’t always updated so while terms might have made sense to exclude in the past, they may be relevant now.

The first area to check into when you get stuck is the Opportunities tab at the top of your AdWords account.  Every couple of weeks, Google automatically scans your account and provides suggestions for optimization. There are ideas for bid or budget changes as well as keywords to consider adding.

Keyword suggestions are organized by ad group – so if you have one area of your account that needs some expansion you can focus there first. Just a word of caution if you have a lot of campaigns or ad groups that are similar, the placement for the new keyword might be correct but double check as it may fit better in a different ad group.

To get started, click on one of the ad group suggestions and you will see a list of the keywords, estimated monthly searches and competition. If you choose to add one of the keywords, select the check box next to the keywords and choose “Apply now” at the bottom.  The keywords will automatically be added into the account without any additional steps. Don’t forget though, if you use custom keyword URLs, you will need to go back and add these in.

If the campaign or ad group for the suggested keyword doesn’t quite align with where you want it, you will need to manually add the keyword. Google allows you the option to export the keyword suggestions as a csv file so it is easy to change the ad group or campaign and upload through AdWords editor. Once you view the suggestions whether you take action on them or not, Google will delete the suggestions to make room for others. Make sure you get all of the information you want out of the suggestions before closing out of it.

If you don’t find enough keywords in the opportunities tab, there is a second area in Google AdWords to help you with keyword expansion. In every account, you will have a few keywords that perform really well. Whether you are looking at clicks, conversions or cost per conversion, you can use these best-performing keywords to expand your list.

Within your AdWords account, select the Keywords tab and then sort your keywords by either conversions, clicks or how ever you gauge performance. You want to make sure you have the best performing keywords listed at the top. Select the check boxes to the left of your best performing keywords, then choose “See Search Terms…” and “selected” from the drop down.

Using your best performers as a guide, Google will then provide you with a list of the keywords or phrases people used when they received your ad. These are only the search queries where people clicked on one of your ads, not all searches, but it can help give you an idea of what people were looking for when they found you.

Similar to the opportunities tab, Google assigns a campaign and ad group to each of the search queries and provides data on clicks, conversions, cost, etc. as if it was a keyword already in your account.  You again have the opportunity to easily add the term by selecting the check box to the left of the keyword and then selecting the “Add as keyword” button at the top. If you notice a search term that you would rather not appear for, you can also add the keyword as a negative.

Although there are many resources out there for keyword expansion, the AdWords tools make it a little easier by allowing you to add the keywords without taking additional steps. Next time you hit a wall when expanding your keyword list, take a few minutes to check out these tools. You might be surprised how easy it is once you have a few suggestions to get you started.

Microsoft adCenter Desktop Tool
As an avid user of the Adwords Editor, I was delighted when Microsoft launched their adCenter desktop tool. Sure, I knew it wouldn’t be as robust or user friendly, but at least it was something! Over the past year I’ve stumbled upon a few things that I hope will help streamline the use of the desktop tool, and make it a little more effective for editing and optimizing your campaigns.

When using the desktop tool, there are a few things that I think are important to keep in mind:

• Your entire account will be downloaded when exporting. Unlike the Editor, you are not able to choose specific campaigns, ad groups, ads, or views to download. You get the whole enchilada every time. However, when uploading, it is not necessary to have every row of your account in your spreadsheet, nor do you have to have every column accounted for. You do however, need to have enough information included so the level you are editing can be identified. For example, if you are editing your keyword status and bids, you need to include the campaign and ad group columns along with the keyword columns that contain your changes. When in doubt, more information is better.
• Your CSV import file can’t be more than 10,000 rows. Though a rep gave me this threshold, I haven’t seen an official limit documented. I have, however, had more success uploading when I kept my file between 5,000-8,000 rows. I also prefer to break up my account by campaigns, and upload them separately when possible, but that’s just a personal preference.
• You can edit multiple rows at once. Like the editor, you can select multiple selections at once within the tool. This is helpful, because you can quickly change things like the CPC, status, or match type for multiple rows in one step (assuming you want them all to the same).
• There are multiple account views. When viewing the various sections of your account, you have multiple choices about the data you are looking at. You can see the entire account, pending changes, errors, etc. However, as you change between the levels of your account (campaign, ad group, ads, keywords) the view doesn’t hold. This isn’t a big deal, but it’s something to keep in mind so you ensure that you are always looking at an accurate view.
• Your CSV Import file layout matters. When importing, I’ve found that I have fewer errors when I start with an export file instead of the template you can get online. As I mentioned above, you do not have to have all of the columns or rows from the export file, but you do need to make sure that headers you are using are in the same order, and are called the same thing in order for your import to be successful.

In addition to editing your campaigns offline, the desktop tool can help you with your keyword research, and you can automatically add the relevant results to your ad groups, or add them as campaign or ad group negatives. There are four tools that you can use, but it’s important to keep in mind that the data in these tools is based on US Traffic Only, and the only metric you will see is last month’s impressions.

1. Similar keywords: enter a word or phrase, and it will come up with (you guessed it!) similar keywords.
2. Extracted keywords: enter a website, and it will give you a list of keywords that are the most prominent and/or relevant from that site. This tool can be very helpful for competitive reviews.
3. Frequent keywords: this tool gives you keywords that have a lot of impressions, but they are EXTREMELY broad (think Google and Yahoo), so they probably won’t be very relevant to your business.
4. Category Keywords: This tool gives you keywords that generate impressions within categories created by MSN. For example, in the Animals category, the term “dogs” was returned. Again, the results from this tool are more than likely too broad to be of any real use to you.

Microsoft Advertising Intelligence
We all understand that quality keyword research is what helps not only get our campaigns off to a great start, but that it is vital for their ongoing success as search evolves. I’ve been able to use this Excel plug-in to create new keyword lists, have more insight into the Bing content network, and identify search trends. It’s very easy to use, and it’s incredibly fast considering the amount of information that is returned. As with the desktop tool, there are a few things that I’ve found while using the tool that you might want to keep in mind:

• Make sure that Excel 2007 is installed on your computer.
• The data that is returned comes from Live.com index and adCenter. It’s important to keep in mind that Bing accounts for less than 10% of the traffic share right now, so you can’t assume the data is applicable to your Google or Yahoo! accounts. Instead, use the information as a guideline to understand the relative search volume, relevance, and pricing for one keyword over another, and combine it with other research efforts.
• If you’re all of a sudden unable to access the toolbar after using it for a while, change the time on your computer/server. We found that by changing the time by about five minutes we were able to once again verify our account, and regain access.
• Once the plug-in is installed you can access the three tool sections through your Excel toolbar.

The Keyword Research section gives you access to a variety of tools that allow you to perform the following tasks:

• Identify keyword categories to help your campaigns and ad groups stay organized.
• Recognize trends by spotting traffic spikes. This tool can help you analyze seasonal trends, and help you prepare for upcoming shifts in traffic.
• Find high volume keywords across different business verticals to help with competitive research.
• Gather demographic and location information on searchers.
• Forecast keyword volume for the month to help you manage your spend.
• Analyze content network statistics so you can identify high volume keywords and potential relevant domains.

The Pricing section contains tools that help you:

• Access pricing estimates for the search and content networks.
• Create benchmarks based on key performance indicators (KPIs) for various verticals that have been pre-determined within the tool.

The Content section, while currently only for the US, gives you tools to:

• Identify most frequently seen keywords within various verticals.
• Analyze pricing estimates by vertical for both the search and content networks.
• Gather content network pricing and impression estimates.

Effectively Using adCenter PPC Tools
Overall I think Microsoft has come a long way in helping advertisers better manage their campaigns, and I look forward to seeing how the merger will further enhance these tools. At the end of the day it is our responsibility as advertisers to understand what our data represents, and know how to use it to effectively grow and optimize our campaigns. No matter what tools you use to streamline your account changes, or conduct keyword research, take a few extra minutes to try and understand what you are looking at, and what, if any, shortcomings the data might have. Combining data from multiple reliable sources will always help ensure that you are making the best decision possible.

1.  Make Sure Keyword Research is Always the First Step
Whenever beginning a PPC campaign for a new product or site, explore as many keywords and themes as possible.  Do extensive research on the product, the industry or market in which it competes and the products it competes with.  When in doubt, ask for help.

2.  Always Test More than One Ad
Never run a campaign with only one ad.  Why?  Because it leads to missed opportunities for improvement.  Just changing a couple words in the ad text or title line can sometimes result in significant differences in click-through or conversion rates.

3.  Focus on Specific Goals/Metrics
The broad goal is always “As much as possible,” but it’s always easier to optimize for specific goals.  It’s most effective to pick a couple particular goals – i.e., increase CTR by 3% & reduce cost per order by 5% – and focus on optimizing for them.

4.  Analyze, Optimize, Repeat
Optimization is a constant process.  Don’t get complacent, don’t assume past success will lead to future success without adjustments, and don’t ever stop analyzing keyword and ad copy performance.

5.  Read Everything
The optimization tips from your Google or Bing rep, PPC tips from PPC Hero, SEO ideas from SEO Boy, industry news from Search Engine Watch… Never miss an opportunity to learn something new.

That’s all I’ve got today.  I hope I was at least a little helpful for some of you in the PPC world in 2009, and I look forward to being just a little helpful again in 2010.
Happy New Year!

This is not a philosophical, soul-searching question aimed at self-discovery, but instead an attempt to determine which terms and phrases we, as experienced (or not so experienced, in some cases) search professionals, might be using to narrow down and qualify our options during our own holiday shopping.

Without regard to the specific products I’m hoping to find for my friends, relatives, loved ones, etc., there are some common themes that continuously come up during my online searches for the perfect gifts.  Free shipping, fast shipping, Christmas discounts…these are just a few of the features and/or incentives that I tend to include in search queries during my holiday shopping.

So, how do you use your own searching practices to optimize your holiday search campaigns?  By using those ideas to add to your keyword lists, of course!

Any feature, sale or special offer should be exploited during this peak shopping season.  Are you offering free shipping, a buy one get one free offer or bonus accessories during December?  Add a new ad group, or multiple groups, and add those features as keywords – as part of long-tail terms, not by themselves, obviously.

Among the longtail terms that I’ve found to be useful during the holidays:
Holiday Deals on Product X
Product X Free Shipping
Product X Christmas sale
Product X Holiday Special

There are countless other variations on the theme, and all should be explored during this time of high search volume.  Any feature that might entice potential customers to find your product or site must be examined, and ad copy for those keywords should always focus on them as well.

While my PPC Hero colleagues have discussed in detail (here, here and here) the benefits of testing and optimizing ad copy and landing pages, those efforts are far less effective when they aren’t coupled with good keyword lists that take advantage of seasonal keyword additions and optimization.  

Good luck and happy shopping!

For companies that handle all of their own search marketing internally, it’s possible, and likely, for the search manager to be an expert on not just the best practices for running a Google or Bing campaign, but also an expert on the product and target market.  However, working for an agency with dozens of clients and hundreds of products presents a different problem.  It has forced me to acknowledge the unpleasant truth that there are many things I know nothing about.  Among those things: construction, anti-aging skincare products, scrapbooking, all-natural male enhancement pills…

Despite my relative ignorance of those subjects, I can still devise comprehensive keyword lists for products that fall into those categories.  How?  Research.  There are countless keyword research tools available – Google’s Keyword Tool is particularly useful and convenient when setting up new ad groups – and it would be foolish not to take advantage of them whenever possible.  Those tools can be extremely valuable, as can soliciting advice in the forums of industry sites like Webmaster World and Search Engine Watch.  However, there’s another vast source of knowledge and useful ideas that most SEM professionals leave untapped: non-SEM professionals.

It’s easy to occasionally fall into a comfortable pattern, using similar keywords and themes that have worked in the past, and it can be difficult to think like the customers I’m trying to target.  So, instead, I find it very helpful to talk to those potential customers.  More specifically, I find it helpful to talk to people I know who are not involved in PPC search.  The same people who I see at parties or family gatherings and attempt to explain, without success, exactly what paid search marketing is are the people who can help me the most.

For example, maybe I’ve got to manage a PPC campaign for a new scrapbook tool.  I’m clearly not in the target audience for this product, but I know that my wife is.  Rather than spend an hour creating a list of terms that I think are relevant, I’ll send her a link to the site with the questions, “what would you search for if you wanted to buy something like this?”  A client selling an innovative new power saw?  That one goes to my brother, who works in construction and offers me a few suggestions about what he might call the saw and what kind of jobs it would be good for.

Sometimes these questions don’t lead to useful results, but sometimes they can lead to extremely effective general and longtail terms that would not have occurred to me or to the Google Keyword Tool.  The point is this: don’t assume you’re always an expert, and don’t ever ignore a potentially useful resource for good keywords.

Match types can be tricky, especially when it comes to adding negative match keywords. Negative match keywords (or keyword exclusions) are a very effective way to reduce the number of unqualified clicks on your ad. But negatives can get confusing, and often times a manager will inadvertently add a negative that prevents a targeted keyword from showing ads. To me, Google keyword match types and negative match is pretty straightforward. My confusion settles in when it comes to adding negative keywords in Yahoo.

Recently in one of my Yahoo accounts I launched a campaign with keywords targeting satellite tv terms. However, I did not want my ads show up for a broad search term like tv or satellite. Herein my question: If I add tv and satellite as negatives, will that prevent satellite tv from triggering my ad all together? Before I get to answering this question, here is a quick review of the Yahoo keyword match types. Remember that these are set at the account level within your Yahoo account.

• Standard Match: Search query trigger an ad for an exact match to a keyword. This includes singular or plural variations, and common misspellings.
• Advanced Match: Ads are triggered for a broad range of queries related to a keyword, title, description or web content. This is the default setting in Yahoo.

If you are using Standard Match in Yahoo, it is not necessary to use account exclusions. Your ads will only be served if someone enters the exact keyword you are targeting. Negative keywords (or exclusions) only apply at the account or ad group level when you have your account set to Advanced Match.

Yahoo’s negative keyword feature is not as clear-cut as Google’s negative match type system. You have to be careful of the keywords you add as negatives, because you may be preventing your ads from showing. Back to my example.

If a search query exactly matches to a keyword you are targeting, then your account-excluded keywords will not prevent your ad from showing. In my example, I am targeting satellite tv channels but have tv and satellite as a negatives. If the search query is an exact match to satellite tv channels, my ads will show.

However, a negative keyword can prevent your ads from showing when the search query just matches a keyword phrase. In the same example, I am targeting satellite tv channels and have tv and satellite as a negatives. But the search query is the phrase: best satellite tv channels. Unless I am targeting this exact phrase in my account, my keyword exclusions will prevent my ads from showing.

In this case it would be best to set negative keywords at the ad group level. The terms satellite and tv should only be added as negatives to the ad group that contains the broad satellite tv term. These negative terms are too limiting for longtail search queries like satellite tv channels and best satellite tv channels, so these ad groups do not need negative keywords.

Where do you find these tools? Just conduct a search in Google. Within the SERP, you will see a link that reads, “Show options.” Once you click on that link, you’ll see a series options to alter your search results including video, forums, etc. What we are looking for is at the bottom of this list, as you can see in this screen capture (circled in red), Related searches and Wonder wheel:

Google Wonder Wheel

First, we’ll discuss Google Wonder Wheel. Honestly, I think this is a very helpful and insightful tool for PPC keyword research. I will walk you through a series of searches for the keyword “organic gardening.” Let’s just say that I sell a line of organic gardening supplies and tools on my site. I want to find new keywords that I am currently missing with my PPC campaign.

The search below has “organic gardening” in the center and there is a series of related terms included within the results. Sure, some of these may be more relevant than others but I am on the right path to finding new keyword niches with this tool. Within these results I am going to click on “organic gardening supplies” since this is what I offer on my site.

Now, as you can see below “organic gardening supplies” is in the center of the wheel. There are a series of related terms encircling our core term. And also, this tools displays the previous wheel from which we came below (very handy!).

For this example, I will say that I am lacking in fertilizer keywords. As you can see, this is a topic included in my keyword topic wheel. To dig deeper into this keyword niche, I am going to click and explore “organic garden fertilizers” to see what new terms I can discover.

Below, you can see now that “organic garden fertilizers” is in the center of my wheel and it is surrounded with an additional list of relevant terms. And this kind of digging can go on and on (almost forever!). There could be an entire keyword set, such as “bone meal fertilizer” or “herb garden garden fertilizer” that I am missing. But now I can add these terms to my keyword list for greater visibility and targeted search volume.

Google Related Search

The other tool that can be extremely helpful when conducting keyword research, looking for those new niches you may be missing, is the Google Related Search option. This tool works similarly to the Wonder Wheel but it has no graphical element. However, it contains more results and the results are slightly more detailed.

For this example, I am going to continue with my organic gardening theme. As you can see, the core idea between the two tools is similar: you have the ability to explore keyword unique keyword queries/niches in order to find new relevant terms for your PPC campaign.

As where Wonder Wheel provided eight options to explore for “organic gardening,” Related Search provides twenty different terms that I can explore. So, you are given more options here. Let’s go ahead and explore “organic gardening supplies” to see what results we receive.

Within the screen shot below, I am now focusing on “organic gardening supplies.” Again, the  tool provided 20 different related keywords that I can dig into at a deeper level. From the Wonder Wheel I realized that I am lacking in my “fertilizer” keyword groups so I will continue my research in this direction by clicking on “organic garden fertilizer.”

As I said previously, the Wonder Wheel provided eight different search terms and Related Search tool provided twenty (I didn’t include them all because they wouldn’t fit in the screen shot!). And here you can see all of the variations for “organic garden fertilizer” that I are waiting to be explored!

As I dig deeper into each niche I pick up keywords and add them to my list. This way, for each level of specificity, I am find keywords that get more granular. As you explore these terms and add them to your keyword list, you can go one step further by utilizing the keyword within Google AdWords.

Here, you can type in the new terms you have found using the Wonder Wheel and Related Search tools in order to hunt for even more new keywords. In the example below, I conducted a search for “organic vegetable garden fertilizer” and I found even more possible terms to add to my keyword list.

With these three tools as your command, you will be able to expand your keyword list aggressively. And the best part is that these terms should be highly relevant for your existing keyword  list! Happy hunting!

On its face, bidding on a competitor’s name or key product seems to be a money-losing proposition. After all, in pay-per-click advertising, we seek relevant traffic that is likely to convert into customers or leads. Someone looking for a direct competitor would seem to be the exact opposite of a likely customer – they are in fact searching, specifically, for your competitor.

But when you reconsider, you realize that a user searching on a competitor’s brand name is clearly in the market for your competitor’s product or service, and, further, that you provide the same or a similar product or service. What’s the situation then? Here’s a searcher, a potential customer, somebody probably nearing the end of the decision cycle, and you’re effectively ignoring them.

With that in mind, here are some keys to successful advertising on a competitor’s branded name:

Don’t misrepresent yourself. Don’t pose as the competitor. This tactic will leave your first-time customer disillusioned, and it is the only tactic that might result in legally enforceable repercussions. From either perspective, it’s not worth the risk. Stand behind your company’s name, and be confident in bidding for your competitor’s customers.

Emphasize what makes your company special, unique, and better. In a competitive marketplace, your brand must stand for something different from and better than your competitor. Bid on your competitor’s name, and then use your 140 characters of ad text to make these differences clear. Examples could include superior customer service, the best prices in the marketplace, or longstanding experience online or in-store beyond what your competitors have. (If you don’t have something special, unique, or better, it is time to reconsider whether you should be in business at all…)

Consider responding to your competitor’s claims. Look at what your competitors are claiming, either through their ad text or through their general online messaging, and attack it. Presumably, a user searching on a specific competitor’s name is attracted to these claims, and by emphasizing your superiority in their area of strength, you are more likely to draw clicks and potential purchases from these new users.

Prepare for an increase in cost-per-click. In my experience, the only downside to bidding on a competitor’s name is the cost-per-click. But make sure to get past the sticker shock, and analyze whether the keywords are working. Monitor the cost-per-acquisition or ROI on these new keywords, and let the raw numbers determine whether they are effective keywords. I suspect that they will be. (If you are with a PPC agency, arm yourself with the numbers to support this tactic to your clients.)

Now, whether you think it is a bad policy or a good one, it is time to adjust your strategies to reflect it. If anything, this adjustment will bring in more bidders on your company name.

With that in mind, if you have not been bidding on your own company name and your own trademarked terms, stop reading, open up your AdWords accounts, and add these keywords right now. These are, have been, and always will be your cheapest and best-converting keywords.

With more competitors drawn in due to the new policy, it is likely that you will see a more competitive landscape. Prepare to stand behind the strength of your brand, and reap the benefits.