Using the AdWords Keyword Suggestion Tool
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As soon as you log on to Google AdWords, you will encounter a large number of very useful tools. Adwords tools enable you to proof your ads for errors, choose their placement, optimize your content, and generate an incredible number of useful reports. These reports enable you to assess how your ads are performing against other sites, or in their chosen demographics, and a whole lot more. But probably the most powerful tool you will find is the Google Adwords keyword suggestion tool, an indispensable aid that uses ad data to generate a list of powerful keywords along with their recent search data and cost.
Your first step is to come up with your own list of some basic keywords. This list of no more than 10 to 15 words will provide the AdWords keyword suggestion tool the data it needs to generate new search terms and phrases for you. You can, of course, find these keywords directly on your web pages, but Google can do that for you automatically. Sometimes the best way to start is to brainstorm you own list of terms you think your most profitable visitors would search for if they wanted the content your website provides.
Either way, the next step is for you to take your list to the keyword suggestion tool. Start by entering your keywords one at a time. It is possible to enter multiple keywords all at once, but if you do this, it’s highly likely you will get back a list of hundreds of keywords that don’t really related to your site. It is far more effective just to start with one keyword at a time, letting the Adwords keyword suggestion tool generate related terms that you may be able to use.
Whenever you enter a word or phrase into the keyword suggestion tool, it will come back with other keywords or phrases that match websites with similar content. It will also find keywords and phrases from the Adwords campaigns of other site owners who bid on the some of the same words you chose. The suggestion tool estimates traffic per month, tells you how much competition there is for the word or term, and gives you current prices for placement at various levels of the page.
Moreover, Adwords gives you dozens more options that will tell you even more about your keywords. You can generate monthly traffic charts, telling you how the popularity of your keywords goes up and down throughout the year. You can get an estimate of the position of your ad on the page at various prices, and you can get an estimate of the number of clicks you can buy based on last month’s search volume, average search volume, and which month the search volume for that keyword is the highest.
One thing you will learn quickly is that each of these bits of information is equally important in choosing your keywords, but it is still up to you to choose select words that you know are valuable to your service or product. Don’t choose a low competition, high volume phrase just because it is cheap, if it does not help you sell your site. That would be just throwing your money away. But if you do your research and then still stay creative, you can ensure that every keyword you use in your campaign will drive traffic to your site.
Justin Harrison is a leading Internet Marketing consultant responsible for the Internet Marketing strategies behind some of the biggest online brands including Amazon, BBC, MasterCard and many others.