How to Find the Right Keyword for PPC Campaign

"The right keyword" is known to make any PPC campaign a runaway success. Only determining the right keyword still remains an encoded mystery. We cannot pinpoint a particular keyword/key phrase which can bring about the desired traffic and conversion. It's the right methodical approach toward the keyword research which helps us zero in on keywords or phrases with tremendous potential for success.

The following step by step keyword research will lead you toward the "Right keyword" for your PPC campaign.

The questionnaire:

Starting the keyword research for PPC campaign with a questionnaire at hand, organizes your thought process and gives a clear picture on where to lay your focus. A questionnaire comprises of questions like

- What are the products and services
- Who is the target audience
- What is the USP of the company as well as product
- Who are the competitors
- What are the competitors' keywords that bring about traffic
- What are the words customers use to land on your website

The basic keyword list:

The series of answers to the questionnaire helps in determine the basic words that best describes or product and services. Or the words people use to land on your page. From the clutter of related words prepare a list of keywords that best suits your product/service.

The keyword research tool :

The next crucial step is to test the keywords for performance. Keyword research tool provides lots of variations for each keyword entry which includes synonyms, plurals, abbreviations, which could have otherwise escaped your attention. Keyword research tools like Google Adwords and Overture give a detailed statistics on the competition and traffic generated by particular keywords.

The fine tuned list:

With statistics at hand it becomes easier to rule out the non-performing keywords. Keywords with very low traffic or no traffic should be shoved. Highly competitive keywords would be difficult to bid for as it might exceed your PPC advertising budget. Less competitive keywords with good traffic is an idle choice for those aiming for reasonable budget.

The long tail keywords:

Keywords could be further tweaked as per the product niche. A broader keyword term like "Online flowers" could be narrowed down to a particular geographical location. The traffic rate would go down but conversion rate would shoot up since people of that particular area would be more interested with your flowers. Online flowers could also narrowed down as per the services. For e.g "Online flowers for wedding", "Online flowers for funeral".

The above mentioned steps help to zero in on a list of keywords with high possibility of traffic and conversion. The evolution of keyword research should be an ongoing process which has to be improved with innovative thinking, observation and experimentation. The first PPC campaign may not be a huge success but improvement in the right direction will ultimately give you desired result.