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Archive for the ‘Keyword Research’ Category

Keyword research is one of the most important steps of creating a successful PPC campaign. It’s also just as important to keep your keyword research going as a part of your ongoing management strategy. This category covers numerous keyword research tips and tricks, strategies, free tools and reviews on those tools. These posts are a must read!

How to Use Google’s Insights for Search to Improve Your PPC Management

August 12th, 2008 | John | Advanced PPC Strategies, Keyword Research

Last week, Google announced their new Insights for Search tool. Since the announcement, every major search marketing blog has been able to rave, rant or otherwise discuss this interesting new market research device. For my “Insights Expose” I’d like to simply discuss how useful it will be for PPC management. There are loads of potential implications ranging from enhanced geo-targeting, budget planning through trending, and even pre-keyword-research-research (can I get that trademarked?). All said and done, Insights for Search is a PPC manager’s new best friend.

For those living …

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Google Now Including “Real Numbers” in the Keyword Tool Results

July 9th, 2008 | Amber | Keyword Research, Tools

Apparently with Google, what you ask for is what you get! As a result of advertiser feedback, Google recently added a new feature to their keyword research tool that allows you to view the actual number of search queries per keyword in addition to the green bars for estimated volume.

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The approximate search volume will show number of search queries for the previous month and the approximate average number of search queries over a 12 month period performed on Google and the search network.

Google calls out a few features that this tool …

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Need More Traffic? Stop thinking so hard and review your website for new keywords

April 16th, 2008 | Joe | Keyword Research

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This week we are discussing how to build a great keyword research strategy. On Monday, John showed us how to layout a clear strategy before you even look up your first keyword. Once you have your strategy in place, Amber revealed six free keyword tools that will help you expand your list. After you have laid the strategy ground work, expanded your keyword list with every possible variation – …

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Expand Your Keyword List For Free: 6 Keyword Tools You Should Be Using (but probably aren’t).

April 15th, 2008 | Amber | Keyword Research

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As part 2 of our keyword research blog series, I’d like to dive right into the topic of free keyword research tools. One of the first things I think of when someone says keyword research is all the free keyword research tools that are available. From the number of searches, to the number of potential clicks per month, clicks per day, to average cost-per-click and ad position, and demographics, keyword research tools can give you a plethora of information concerning a particular keyword or set of keywords you’re …

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Why You Are Selling Your Keyword Research Short Because You Have a Poor Research Strategy

April 14th, 2008 | John | Keyword Research

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Welcome to day one of our week-long series on keyword research! Let me sum up the theme of our series: Keyword research is the foundation upon which you build your search marketing campaigns. Yes, I know, that’s the most obvious statement ever. Regardless, I’m going to keep banging away at this great analogy! What do you need to build anything from a dog house to a great marketing initiative or even your keyword research strategy? A plan, of course! Without a …

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Build a Strong PPC Foundation with Better Keyword Research

April 11th, 2008 | Joe | Keyword Research

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The foundation of every pay-per-click campaign is keywords. Plain and simple. Without a solid keyword foundation your campaigns will be on shaky ground. By this I mean if you don’t have a well-thought-out plan for your initial keyword research, as well as continued keyword expansion, you could be hindering your PPC performance, possibly from the inception of your campaign.

Next week we’ll be laying down the blueprint for a successful keyword research plan, from the ground up. This is why PPC Hero has put on the hard hat and Carhartt …

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Tips on Keyword Research from Wordtracker

October 24th, 2007 | Amber | Keyword Research, Tools

Keyword research was among a few things I never really understood how to do when I first began PPC campaigns. I basically used the keyword tools in Google and Yahoo, dumped a bunch of keywords into my account, and later refined my lists, deleted poor keywords and raised bids on better performing keywords. It was a ‘wait and see’ strategy.

This strategy wasn’t really working out too well. I was spending more time refining my keywords afterwards than if I were to spend a little time doing keyword research before activating my PPC account. In this post I’d like to give …

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Need Ideas? Let the Competition Give You a Hand!

September 13th, 2007 | Joe | Keyword Research

revitalize_image.jpg Has your creative well run dry? Do you feel like your PPC ads have lost their kick, or their punch? When reviewing your landing pages do you have the urge to try something new, but you’re just not certain in which direction to go? Don’t worry, everyone gets blocked at times. There is a plethora of ideas waiting to inspire you! You just just need to look in the right place – namely your competitors. Another great way to revitalize your PPC campaign is to check out your competition. …

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Don’t Forget Your Branded Keywords and Then Some!

July 12th, 2007 | Amber | Keyword Research

Adding different variations of your branded keywords can greatly increase your traffic, leads and sales. I have two concrete examples of this technique that have worked for me in the past.

In the chart below I’ve documented five weeks of testing by adding various branding keyword terms half way through. You’ll see that in the first three weeks, I only have one keyword which is my company name. Beginning week four I added different variations of my company name that I didn’t think of in weeks one, two and three.

From week three to week four my conversions increased by 350%, and …

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Find Your Targeted, Specific Keywords & You’ll Find Cheaper Clicks

March 22nd, 2007 | Amber | Keyword Research

The more general your keywords are, the more they will cost you per click, because there is more competition. It is in your best interest to ditch those general keywords, or at least move them into their own ad groups, and focus on your targeted keywords that are more specific to your product, service, or brand.

Recently, I was bidding on general, non-specific keywords, and there was no competition for them whatsoever. Mine were the only sponsored ads being shown, and my quality score was rated either “okay” or “great.” However, I was being asked to pay up to $0.50 per …

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