Google are a leading sponsor of the 2005 Travel Distribution Summit. Click here to see Google’s top tips for optimising the effectiveness of your PPC marketing campaigns

Published: 15 Jan 2005

Google are a leading sponsor of the 2005 Travel Distribution Summit. Click here to see Google’s top tips for optimising the effectiveness of your PPC marketing campaigns

1.Make your core keyword list specific and relevant

Be specific and relevant to your business and specific offerings. Avoid general keywords – they generate ad impressions, but tend to be less relevant to any particular search. Use words that define your business, including products and technologies, brand names, taglines, industry jargon, and words searched for on your site.

2.Expand your list by adding variations and related terms

Since more specific keywords produce fewer (though more relevant) impressions, increase your ad exposure – without sacrificing relevance – by adding alternate phrasings, spelling variations, plurals and singulars, and keywords similar or related to those on your core list. If available, mine keyword lists from related campaigns and leverage keyword generation tools.

3.Refine your list by eliminating overbroad and ineffective keywords

Regional advertisers and niche businesses should avoid keywords so broad that they spill beyond the target. If you occupy a limited niche or serve a local audience, your keywords should reflect that. And some keywords – for instance, words that are very common or not industry-specific – are too general for any list.

4.Target the geography you serve
Use geographic keywords to target a local or regional audience

If you sell tyres in London, replacing “tyres” with “tyres London” can avoid irrelevant pitches to search users in Leeds and Manchester. You can also target your campaign by country and by language to help focus your message on your true audience.

5.Target ad delivery with keyword matching options

Refine your targeting using keyword matching options. Broad match, the default, displays your ad when all the words in your keyword appear in the search query. Phrase match requires that the words appear in the same sequence; exact match requires exactly that. Negative keywords exclude searches for which your ad would be irrelevant and are useful in targeting ambiguous keywords: “mouse -computer” gives you the animal, not the peripheral. Identify high-impression untargeted phrases and make them negative keywords.

6.Group your keywords intelligentl

Grouping keywords according to content clarifies possibilities for keyword expansion, helps streamline campaign management, and lets you write specific, targeted ad creative for each group. Group keywords by category, by product, by offer – whatever categories make sense in the context of your campaign.

7.Check your keywords on Google

Once you have a workable keyword list, give it a test drive on Google. The search results should be similar in subject matter and content to your own site. If not, you’ll want to rework your keyword list to ensure that it brings your message to an audience that will find your site relevant.

8.Convey the relevance of your site and give a clear reason to click

To encourage clickthrough, make your ad’s relevance obvious by tailoring the creative to the keyword that triggers it – for instance, including the keyword prominently in the top line of the text. Make it clear to users why they should click. What benefit do you offer? What makes your product better? Different? Unique?

9.Make sure your destination page delivers on your ad’s promise

Consciously choose the destination page on your site and fine-tune it to match the goal of the campaign. Incorporate any tracking mechanisms your metrics require. Above all, make the connection between your ad and its destination page clear. Customers should find whatever made them want to click – confident that they are in the right place and that it is relevant to their search.

10.Ask the right questions – then test, test, and test some more

Step back and consider your keywords and creative in the context of your overall campaign. Are they consistent with the marketing objectives? Are they as specific and relevant as possible? Does the messaging map back to the goal? Then launch your campaign, gauge the results, and tune your keywords and creative for maximum effectiveness.