How to make your first Pay Per Click Campaign a great success?

Once you have completed your brainstorming and have compiled your list of
5-10 core keywords, it's time to move on and expand that list. A list of 5-10
search phrases will not, as I am sure you will know, bring the amount of search
engine traffic needed to make your website successful. However, that list will
be a vital tool when determining which phrases to add to the mix. At this point,
you need to turn to the search engines themselves and research which search
phrases are actually being typed into Google, Yahoo, MSN et al. While few search
engines will openly tell you which search phrases are the most often searched,
there are a couple of very useful tools you can use to expand your list.

The first and most well known, is the Overture Search Suggestion Tool. This
great little research tool is primarily for the use of Overture PPC users and if
you have ever endeavored on a PPC campaign with Overture, you will no doubt have
come across it. Take any of your main search phrases and enter them into the
suggestion tool. Overture will then spit out all other popular search terms that
contain that phrase. In addition, Overture will place the search phrases in
order of popularity and give you an idea of the number of searches per month for
each phrase across their network. While this tool can be very useful, especially
as it is free to use, it does have some key drawbacks. First, it does not
differentiate between singular and plural search phrases. Consequently, "desktop
computer" and "desktop computers" are combined together, leaving you to use your
own judgment as to which variation is the most popular. For many search phrases,
you can take an educated guess as to which one is likely to be the most
searched, but often you will be left without a clue as to whether to target the
singular or plural. Secondly, the Overture Suggestion Tool does not handle
punctuation very well, preferring to ignore it completely. Thus "kid's toys",
"kid's toys", "kid-toys", "kid's toy" would all be shown as "kid toy". Again,
this never used to be a big problem, but go to Google and search for each of
these phrases and you will see different results for each one.

If you are serious about your SEO campaign, you will consider a subscription
to WordTracker to be a worthwhile investment. Starting at just $7 a day, with
discounts all the way up to one year of service, WordTracker offers a similar
type of research tool as Overture but with many more bells and whistles. The
biggest advantage with WordTracker is that is uses Meta-Crawlers when sourcing
search phrase frequencies. This eliminates inflated search phrase frequencies
from Overture users checking their own rankings and thus artificially increasing
the popularity of certain phrases. In addition WordTracker offers the following
advantages:

• Offers a "thesaurus" and "lateral" search. Allowing you to view search
  phrases that are related to your main search term, but not necessarily
  containing that term.
  


• Shows search frequencies for both singular and plural phrases; allowing
  you to determine which is the most popular.
  


• Identifies which form of punctuation is the most popular.
  


• Allows you to place your targeted keywords into a "shopping basket" so
  that you can analyze all of your phrases together.
  


• Has an exclusive KEI analyzer that allows you to compare the popularity
  of the search phrase with the number of websites competing for that keyword.
  

Once you have identified possible additions to your search phrase list, you must research further to determine if there is a good chance you will achieve your prized top search engine ranking or if the competition for that phrase is already saturated. While it can be tempting to target only search phrases that are very popular and searched hundreds of thousands of times in a single month, you must also consider the likelihood of you being able to obtain a ranking higher enough to capitalize on all of that great traffic. Many, many search terms are so saturated by competitors that it would be highly unlikely that you would achieve a high enough ranking to reward your efforts. Therefore, it is often worthwhile considering those search phrases that may not have quite the same level searches each month, but likewise do not have as many websites targeting that term.

WordTracker's KEI (keyword effectiveness index) allows it's users to analyze their chosen search phrases to determine the level of competition for that phrase. WordTracker has a great explanation on their website as to how to use this index, but in summary it provides a numerical scale for identifying the popularity of a keyword compared to the number of competitors targeting that phrase.

For those of you on a strict budget and opting to use Overture for keyword research, there is an alternative answer. Enter each identified search phrase at Google, using quotations around the phrase (e.g. "discount computers"). Google will then display the search results for all pages that target that phrase exactly as entered. View the top right, blue navigation bar and you will see the number of results Google matched. This number represents the total number of web pages that Google has identified as targeting that exact search phrase. This number represents your competition or your very own KEI. Make a note of this number for each of your identified search phrases and pretty soon you will be able to see which of your search phrases have the most competition and which have less competitors and therefore a better chance of obtaining top ranking.

By now, you should have an expanded list of search phrases to target, taken from either Overture or WordTracker. In addition, you should also have a good idea as to the competition for each of those keywords, whether you used the KEI or Google format. Now is the time to start selecting the search phrases that will form the foundation for a successful SEO campaign. Ok, deep breath, we're almost there.

When selecting the keywords to target, there are many factors you must take into consideration. You will no doubt have your own unique considerations, but you must also take into account the following:

• Is the search phrase relevant to your website and the page that you are
  optimizing?
  


• Is there a page within your website that would be particularly suitable
  for targeting the selected search phrase?
  


• How many other websites/web pages would you be competing against?
  


• Do you offer competitive pricing for the product or service that relates
  to the keyword?
  


• Will top search engine ranking for the search phrase generate enough
  revenue for your company?

Once you have asked yourself the above questions, it will become easy to narrow down your list to the main search phrases that you wish to target. When doing so, remember that you should not try and target every selected search term on your index page. Your index page is the most important page of your website and likely to have the best positioning on the search engines, therefore choose 5-10 search phrases to target here and ensure that they are all closely related. Trying to target "desktop computers" and "dvd players" on your index page will get you top rankings for neither. Instead, identify the pages within your website that target those particular keywords and use those instead. The key to selecting keywords to target for each page is to think of "themes". Each page should ideally target just one theme. This will assist you in making sure that the targeted page is relevant to the selected search phrase. In turn, this will not only increase your chances of obtaining top rankings, but also increase your customer sales conversions by bringing the visitor to the most relevant page.

When researching search phrases and targeting keywords for your SEO campaign,
it is important to follow the steps above. Research your industry, talk to your
potential customers and make use of the themes within your website. In addition,
consider these final tips:

• Determine the intent of the visitor Thoroughly research all
  search terms to ensure that the searcher intended to find your product or
  service. E.g. reconsider targeting the keyword "DVD" if you store only sells
  blank DVD discs, the chances are the searcher intended to find DVD movies
  rather than blank media.
  


• Don't always rely on the numbers Both Overture and WordTracker
  use historical date when displaying search phrase frequencies and neither
  archive more than two months back. Therefore you must know your industry and
  account for any seasonal or other trends. E.g. the search phrase "red roses"
  will be more popular for Valentines than at Christmas.
  


• Look for opportunities Identify the search phrases that have been
  untapped by your competitors. Some search terms may have slightly fewer
  searches, but may have dramatically fewer competitors.
  



• Target the right pages This cannot be stressed enough. Do not try
  and target every keyword on every page. Identify themes within your website
  and group relevant search phrases around those pages. You will see much
  better results