Great keyword research underpins the foundation of any successful Google Ads search campaign. That is why we are here with this Google AdWords keyword research tutorial.
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If you want the keywords that bring value and are related to your product or services to drive higher conversions, you should be capable of doing it.
What is keyword research for Google ads?
Google Ads keyword research is the pinpointing of specific words and phrases that your target demographic will use when searching for your product or service on Google. For which product do you have an offer? What words or phrases will your consumers use to search for that product or service?
The process begins with the identification of the keywords that represent what you are offering, be it products or services. You then need to focus on the keywords that drive more leads or sell your web pages. You have to find the necessary keywords that have more searching volume. Thematic ad groups can be created with in-depth research on keywords. Later, it will be more comfortable for you to customize the landing pages, keywords, and ad copies to boost the rank of your ad.
Why Keyword Research Is Important for Google Ads
Keywords form the basis of your online presence and the growth of your business, or whatever else you are running. So, those who cannot be traced through these search engines are missing the boat! However, Google handles over 5.5 billion searches every day. These are a colossal number of words! But you just can’t target any word.
You need to do research so that you can determine what would work best for your business. Your content is almost rendered worthless if it fails to zero in on the terms and topics that your audience wants to know more about. But it is also a mix of both science and art.
If you’re not covering the SERP for searches around your keywords, leads won’t find your paid and organic listings, visit your site, and become paying customers. But if you’re bidding on what turns out to be an overused keyword, you may never even surface on the SERP or perhaps spend way too much on hits on your ad.
When would keyword research be used?
Keywords Research
The most obvious use of keyword research is organic search optimization. Our Google bots crawl and index websites, but the practice of search engine optimization (SEO) is a method for naturally ranking within the search engine result pages. Search engines look for keyword indicators that show a relationship between user search queries and your website content in their determination to rank you in the SERP.
To support your content marketing strategy and plan
Everyone knows that content and SEO go hand in glove. You cannot have successful SEO if your website has no content.
Contributor to Search Engine Land Nate Dame states that keyword research eliminates the top activity in any content strategy. “Contemporary keyword research offers important insights into the needs and desires of audiences.”
Whether it’s a 5,000-word book or a 300-word blog article, it must be created with search engine optimization in mind. That is to say, a piece must be focused on a keyword around which there is the best balance of high search volume and the challenge of competition.
Keyword Research for Ads That Cost
In other words, while keyword research is mostly related to SEO and content, it should actually underwrite all of your paid advertising. Your social tactics, remarketing, display, and sponsored search ads—all of these must be keyword-focused.
The Best Methods to Do Keyword Research
Keyword Research: The process should be completed because that’s the foundation of a good keyword strategy for Google Ads. Part of this process is the selection and finding of the most relevant and potent keywords, which contribute to increased traffic and gains with campaigns.
#1: Use keyword research tools
Use Google Trends, Google Adwords Keyword Planner, and many other third-party tools for suggestions and insights on the keywords. This gives you a view of the search volume for each term, how popular those terms are, and how competitive those terms are.
Google Keyword Planner Tool
And the most famous free tool is, of course, Google Keyword Planner. We use it one more time for two principal purposes: setting the projections on monthly search traffic and also, of course, to discover new keywords. So, it not only estimates the cost of putting your ad at the top of the SERP but also may give you new or more effective keyword ideas.
Free Keyword Tool from WordStream
This not only offers suggestions for keywords and volumes but also, with enhanced keyword research, allows for the first time to filter these results by nation and industry to get information for something that should be close to where you are. On one page, you get the search volume, the cost per click, and the competition for Google and Bing. The results can then be sent to you via email at no cost.
#2. Competitor Keyword Research
Look at what your competitors are targeting and search for their Google ads to identify high-potential, tested keywords. Search on Google for the names of your most important competitors’ brands and main products. Just scroll down the SERP to view the text ads. Probably, here will be the point when it is already too crowded and too high could be the minimum bid for such branded terms.
Next, you can take advantage of those paid keyword research tools to find out other searched terms on which your competitors are also advertising:
SEMrush: Enter a competitor’s domain to see the keywords they are buying, ad spend, CPC details, and more in the “Advertising Research” report.
SpyFu: Enter your competitor’s URL, and you will get a list of their Google rankings, both organic and paid, and their history of ads.
#3: Organize keywords for group ads
To finish this preliminary research, you’re going to need to put that list of possible keywords together as a list of ad groups you plan to build in your Google Ads account. Very similar keywords should be in their own ad group, with the landing page and ad copy set up to match that group exactly.
Make each of your ad groups address one very specific issue to gain maximum relevancy. You’ll need to take the subject of the landing page to which you are driving traffic into consideration for each ad. Each of your ads should be very relevant to the keywords that you are targeting.
#4: Monitor and Analyze Outcomes
Watch your Google AdWords performance and let the data clue you into the patterns, what needs improving, and what keywords are converting. An excellent review schedule is to analyze campaign effectiveness on a weekly basis to uncover keywords you should reward and negative keywords that you may either lower your bid for or use in content matches, every three to six months, to discover the latest and highest potential keyword opportunities.
In the course of time, more and more people click on the declining keyword selections. In your Google AdWords account, often check the following metrics:
- First impressions
- Click-throughs
- Rate of Clickthrough (CTR)
- Average Click-through Rate (CPC)
- Transformations
- Cost per Conversion
- Conversion Rate
#5: Understand the Different Types of Keyword Matches Available on Google
Having an understanding of the keyword match types within Google Ads is vital for understanding how each works for and against the effectiveness of each of your campaigns. There are a number of keyword match types in Google Ads that affect the degree of flexibility in targeting. One needs to apply the right mix and understand each to yield maximal results in terms of conversions and return on investment from the ads.
Broad match
The broad match keywords are the most widely applied since they have the broadest reach and cause an ad to appear when a person makes a search on a term related to your keyword. However, although that can produce substantial traffic, an ad’s going to be at random and of little relevancy to the user’s query, leading to poor click-through rates and low conversions.
Phrase Match
Advertisements are shown when a keyword phrase, or a closely related alternative, is searched by a user. It is less bound and offers a fair trade-off between relevance and reach; hence, usually, the click-through and conversions are many times higher than for a broad match.
Exact match
The most intent-based ad type should be the exact match, as this results in the ad being shown only when there is a search from a user for the specific keyword or a very close variation of it. Though they have a more limited reach, exact match keywords usually offer the highest click-through and conversion rates.
#6: Using Negative Keywords in Google Ads Campaigns
Your negative keywords will help you reduce wasteful ad spend and irrelevant traffic by letting you exclude terms you do not want to trigger your advertising. Always keep checking and updating your negative keyword list on a regular basis so that it always remains up-to-date.
#7 Keyword Search with Landing Pages
Keep testing and optimizing your landing pages and ad copies. If you have effective ad language matched with an effective landing page, your quality score rises, which in turn will help to decrease your click-through rates and increase your position in the search results.
#8: Create ads that relate to your keywords
It is absolutely crucial that your ads provide a solution when a keyword is searched. Provide a good user experience on your advertising and landing pages for high-volume keywords. You can’t possibly optimize your conversion rates if your ad is not related to the search that people are performing. For ad groups, you can prepare ads according to your chosen keywords.
Conclusion
Keyword selection is one of the most important elements of your Google Ads campaigns, which can effectively get your marketing objectives met while at the same time attracting targeted traffic. These lucrative keyword opportunities, further deepened through long-tail keywords, will fully take advantage of Google search suggestion settings, which help make sure that you get to target a highly focused and engaged audience.
Knowing the audience and competition keywords and using Google’s Keyword Planner can help you find lucrative opportunities for keywords. Take those campaigns a step further with keyword research tools and by monitoring your own search query reports. Voice search optimization prepares you for new directions in search behavior in the future. Seasonal and trending keywords keep your ads relevant in any season.
Finally, carry on with observation and improvement through A/B testing and negative keywords to make your keyword strategy flexible and successful. The top strategies, when well practiced, can make your ad much more relevant, your Google Ad campaigns much more efficient, and ultimately, give you better results. Efforts in your Google Ads campaign pay off if you research the keywords proactively and adapt to changing trends.
Komal is a dynamic and results-driven digital marketing professional with a passion for leveraging innovative strategies to drive business growth. Her expertise spans across social media marketing, content creation, SEO optimization, and data analytics, making her a valuable asset in the ever-evolving digital landscape.