2012 – This is your year to experience abundance in the ROI of your online marketing efforts. Of course, there are many factors that will contribute to the success or failure of a paid search campaign. This is the first of several upcoming articles that will provide you tools, tips and tricks that will enable you to achieve your 2012 marketing goals. Since incorrect or nonexistent keywords strategies seem to be an overwhelming culprit to failed campaigns, the first series of articles will focus on developing a keywords strategy that will set you up for victory.
The selection of keywords is an intricate process. There could be hundreds or thousands of keywords that relate to your business. Should you use them all? That’s a great question and the answer is “it depends”. Prior to determining what keywords you should use, there are many questions you must consider. Today, we’ll talk about the budget and relevancy.
How Much Is Your Daily, Monthly, Quarterly or Yearly Budget?
Your budget must be determined up front. Be realistic. Convincing yourself that you can afford $500 a day when your afterthoughts include “if this happens” is not being realistic. Choose a budget that you can live with for at least 3 months if the worst case scenario happens – you don’t sell anything. This is the question that will shape the rest of your keyword decisions.
What Level Of Keyword Relevancy Is Appropriate?
How relevant is any given keyword? If someone does a search on that word or phrase in Google, Bing or any other search engine, are they definitely looking for what you provide? Let’s say you have an online hat store that carries red designer hats for women. If a potential customer does a search the below keywords, is he or she definitely looking for what you sell?
Women’s Apparel – There is a small possibility that the searcher is looking for what you sell but it is more probable that he/she is interested in other apparel.
Hats – Again, there is a possibility that the searcher is looking for what you sell it is more likely that he/she is interested in other apparel.
Hats for Women – Now we’re getting a little closer; however, the person searching could be looking for discount hats.
Designer Hats – This phrase is really close, but we still don’t know if they are looking for women’s are men’s designer hats.
Designer Hats for Women – Now we’re talking. Although… what if the user doesn’t want a red hat?
Red Designer Hats for Women – Here we have a definite yes. If someone types in this phrase, we have what this person wants to buy.
You could potentially use any of the above keywords and the more keywords you use, the more traffic you will bring to your site. However, if you have a very limited budget, doesn’t it make sense to at least start with keywords where you can say, “Yes, if people search on this word or phrase, they are definitely looking for what I offer”?
In summary, let’s bring this concept full circle. Before deciding how relevant your keywords should be, you must take into consideration your budget – a dollar amount you can live with even in if the worst case scenario should happen. The relevancy of your keywords should be proportionate to your budget. Keep in mind that as relevancy increases, traffic will decrease. Unfortunately, there’s no magic formula to create the perfect balance. However, DirectiveGroup has the experience you need to exceed your 2012 goals.
