Search engine marketing (SEM) services can help get your content to the right audiences and make your campaigns more impactful. One thing to keep in mind, though, is that when it comes to using SEM services, keywords directly affect your overall success and reach. If you aren’t targeting the correct phrases and search terms, you’ll consistently encounter subpar conversion rates and a lackluster return on investment (ROI).
On that note, the following step-by-step guide will detail everything you need to know about SEM services, keywords importance, and how to connect with your target audience.
Understand Your Audience and Goals
Before gathering data and choosing keywords for your SEM campaign, you need to determine who you want to reach and their goals. Ask yourself the following questions:
- Who is my target audience?
- What are its members’ interests, needs, and pain points?
- What actions do I want them to take after clicking on my ad?
Providing clear answers to these questions will help you identify keywords that best align with your audience’s search intent and campaign objectives.
Brainstorm Seed Words
Seed words are broad terms that relate to your business, products, or services. For example, if you run an online shoe store, your seed terms might include “running shoes,” “formal shoes,” or “women’s sneakers.”
Identifying these baseline terms will help you extend your list of keywords in the following steps. For instance, if running shoes are one of your most significant revenue drivers, you’ll need to include several variations of the term throughout your SEM strategy. Some examples include “white running shoes,” “men’s running shoes,” and “youth running shoes.”
Conduct SEM Keyword Research
Here, you must put on your thinking cap and start researching trending phrases and keywords relevant to your target audience. There are plenty of great tools to help you out here, some of which are free.
A favorite keyword research tool, in particular, is Google Keyword Planner.[1] All you’ll need to do is enter your seed keywords, and the tool will generate a list of related phrases along with data on search volume, competition, and suggested bid prices.
If you want to build on the information available through Google, check out tools like SEMrush, Ahrefs, and Ubersuggest. Each of these tools offers unique benefits but has potential shortcomings, so explore a couple to make a sound decision regarding the best fit for your marketing strategy.
Analyze Competitiveness and Quality Score
A keyword’s Google AdWords Quality Score (QS) measures its relevance and usefulness against those other advertisers are targeting.[2] You can use a QS to support your search engine optimization (SEO) efforts and identify which phrases to target.
However, even though incorporating high-scoring, competitive phrases into your SEM strategy can help maximize traffic volume, it’s also very tough to rank for these keywords. During your campaigns, you’ll need to produce high-quality content and optimize every element of your page to unseat the top-ranked pages. If you are aiming for highly competitive phrases in a paid search campaign, you must be prepared to pay top dollar for every click.
Consider the Search Intent of Potential Customers
Identifying the phrases that people are searching for is only the beginning. You must also determine why they are querying these specific keywords or terms. For instance, they may be looking to purchase or compare products, though they may simply be browsing.
Generally, intent falls into one of these four main categories:
- Informational: Users are seeking answers to questions
- Navigational: Consumers are looking for a specific website or page
- Investigatory: Users are researching products or services
- Transactional: Consumers are ready to buy
A complete SEM strategy will target users in all four categories. Therefore, creating content and leveraging keywords for users in all stages of their journey can expand your reach and drive more prospects to your website.
Evaluate Keyword Relevance and Volume
A keyword must be relevant to your business and target audience and align with the content of the page you wish to see rank well. After you’ve confirmed that a phrase is relevant, evaluate its search volume. The higher the volume, the greater a term’s potential for driving traffic.
Be that as it may, targeting the most competitive and highest-volume phrases can be costly and tedious. If you don’t have the time or budget to go after the most competitive phrases, consider targeting long-tail keywords that typically consist of five or more words. While they have lower search volumes, users who look up these phrases often have particular search intent, which means you could connect with better leads.
Create a List of Relevant Keywords
Now, you are ready to finalize your list of relevant keywords. Organize them into a comprehensive list, and group related terms into clusters or ad groups. In doing so, you can create more targeted ad copy and landing pages. Staying organized and stringing together interrelated terms will improve your keywords’ QS. And in turn, Google will reward you with better visibility and increased rankings.
However, your work isn’t done yet. After you iterate your chosen keywords into your SEM strategy, you should continuously monitor each page’s performance and leverage any feedback you receive to improve your content and keep climbing the rankings.
SEM Services, Keywords Research, and More From Full Circle SEM
At Full Circle SEM, we offer comprehensive SEO services to get you noticed. We handle everything from keyword research to content optimization, campaign performance monitoring, and adjusting your strategy to align with the latest consumer trends. Schedule a consultation with us today, and let’s chat about achieving your digital marketing goals!
Sources:
[1] https://ads.google.com/intl/en_us/home/tools/keyword-planner/
[2] https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/6167118?hl=en
