Keyword Mastery: 8 Easy Steps for Google Ads

This article is a must-read for digital marketers that want to learn what the best practices are for selecting keywords that will generate a healthy return on your investment (ROI).

Choosing the right keywords for your Google Ads campaign is critical to its success. The right keywords will help you attract the right customers and get the most out of your budget. Meanwhile, the wrong ones will show up on those who show no interest in you in the first place.

Choosing the right keywords for your Google Ads campaign is critical to its success. The right keywords will help you attract the right customers and get the most out of your budget. Meanwhile, the wrong ones will show up on those who show no interest in you in the first place.

Want successful keywords and satisfied audiences? Follow these steps for proper Google Ads keyword selection:

Know Your Audience

Know your target audience first. Understand them to find the solution for your company. Choosing the right keywords comes after.

  • What are their needs and wants? 
  • What are their interests? 
  • What prevents them from purchasing? 

Once you know your audience, you can start to think about the keywords that will appeal to them.

In Front Marketing crafts buyer personas for your business to establish a baseline journey.Understanding your audience will determine the geographic, demographic, psychographic and behavioural segments. These factors are essential when creating your keywords. 

Do Your Research

Once you know your audience, it’s time to do some research. Start by brainstorming a list of potential keywords. Then, use a keyword research tool like Google’s Keyword Planner to get ideas for related keywords and see their popularity.

There are a variety of ways to approach Keyword Research, as every agency is different, yet these are the primary factors that we like to use:

  • Define – What are the topics? What is the user intent? Do we have a landing page? What is the seed keyword?
  • Brainstorm – Do we understand the mindset of our customers? Is there low-hanging fruit? What is the keyword list showing? Who are the competitors? 
  • Filter – Do you have a target keyword? What is the volume? What keywords will serve your purpose the best? Cut out the fillers and provide curated content. 
  • Inspect – Are you researching the volume for fluctuations and declining volumes? What are the rankings for your keyword list? 
  • Prioritize – Have you established your primary keyword? This should be ranking for your website. What is your secondary keyword? This should have a good balance of volume and keyword difficulty. 

Consider Your Budget

When you’re choosing keywords, it’s essential to consider your budget. Some keywords are more expensive than others, so you’ll need to decide how much you will spend on each one.

Your maximum cost per click (max CPC bid) is the most you are willing to pay for a click on your ad. With proper management, you may influence the amount of traffic your ads receive, which can, in turn, impact your Return on Investment (ROI).

With Google Adwords, you can set an average daily budget. This is great for clients that utilize a monthly spend over a daily spend. 

Consider Your Goals

What are your goals for your Google Ads campaign? Do you want to increase brand awareness? Drive traffic to your website? Make sales? Once you know your goals, you can choose keywords likely to help you achieve them.

Creating your goals for your campaign will also depend on which type of campaign you are using. 

Below breaks out the options you have:

Search Campaigns:

  • Sales – drives sales or conversions. This would be the start of the purchasing or conversion process. 
  • Leads – Encourages customers to engage or express interest in your products or services by signing up for a newsletter or submitting a contact form. 
  • Website traffic – this shows the intent for informational purposes. Assisting in research or informational purposes.

Display Campaigns

  • Sales – Drives sales or conversion from a customer ready to purchase. Typically, customers are further down the funnel as they hope to buy or utilize a service.
  • Leads – Encourages customers to engage with your products or services. Typically engages them with a Call-to-Action. 
  • Website traffic – Driving potential customers to your website. Works as a point of contact to establish brand awareness. 
  • Brand Awareness & Reach – Increasing impressions and introducing customers. 

Shopping Campaigns

  • Sales – Drives sales or conversion online. We are engaging with returning users who are close to making a purchase decision. 
  • Leads – Encourage relevant customers to engage with your products or services.
  • Website traffic – drives potential customers to your website.

Video Campaigns

  • Sales – Customer engagement via online, in-store or app
  • Leads – Encourages customers to engage based on your services or products by providing their contact information
  • Website traffic – Drives customers to your website 
  • Product & Brand Consideration – encourage your customers as they are researching or shopping.
  • Brand Awareness & Research – open your website to a broad audience and increase its relevance.

App Campaigns

  • Device App installs and engagement with an automated campaign to show ads. Utilizes Google Search Network, Display Network, and Google Play within our apps and on YouTube.

Performance Campaigns

  • Sales – Customer engagement via online, in-store or app
  • Leads – Encourages customers to engage based on your services or products by providing their contact information
  • Website traffic – Drives customers to your website 
  • Product & Brand Consideration – encourage your customers as they are researching or looking for products.
  • Brand Awareness & Research – open your website to a broad audience and increase its relevance.

Match Your Keywords to Your Ad

Once you’ve chosen your keywords, match them to your ad. Ensure your ad is relevant to the keywords you’ve chosen and includes at least one of your keywords.

Broad match – Ads may show on searches that relate to your keywords. This would be considered the top of the funnel, providing information to your audience. As you curate the content, these search terms become more transactional as you build brand loyalty. 

There are four different match types for Google Ads keywords: broad match, phrase match, exact match, and negative match. The match type you choose will determine how closely your ad is matched to the searcher’s query.

Group Your Keywords

Grouping your keywords into ad groups can help you better match your ads to the searcher’s query. It can also help you stay within your budget by allowing you to bid more on the most important keywords.

This should be noticed when creating your campaigns. Creating tight keyword ad groups, it allows your overall performance to increase. Organized keyword ad groups improve your account’s relevance, which increases your quality score and lowers your cost per click. 

You can create the most successful and cost-effective campaigns by segmenting your keywords.

Set Your Bids

Once you’ve chosen your keywords and ad groups, it’s time to set your bids. How much you’re willing to pay for each click will determine how often your ad is shown. Of course, stick to your budget!

Monitor Your Results

Once your campaign is up and running, monitoring the results is essential. After all, you won’t honestly know if your campaign is doing well if you don’t know what kind of results it gives you. Plus, with such information, you can improve your keyword usage to maximize performance.

Conclusion

By following the tips we’ve shared above, you stand a much better chance of reaching out to the right people who want to know about you and what you offer. 

That said, if you need help picking the right keywords for your Google Ads campaign, be sure to work with a professional. With their help, you can maximize your Google Ads campaign results, giving you the success you dream of enjoying.

If you are unsure about your Google Ad Settings, reach out to one of our trusted Google-certified team members today.

In Front Marketing offers results-driven solutions to help businesses use their online presence better. If you are looking for Google Ads services in Calgary, reach out to us today!

author avatar
Ashley Reutlinger
With In Front Marketing, you can trust that your digital marketing strategy is in the hands of experts who are committed to delivering exceptional results. We bring over 70+ years of experience to your advertising strategy. In Front Marketing is a leading digital marketing agency with a proven track record of delivering results to businesses of all sizes. Our expert team has extensive experience developing and implementing effective digital marketing strategies that drive traffic, generate leads, and increase conversions. At In Front Marketing, our core values of integrity, transparency, and innovation guide everything we do. Contact us today to learn more about how we can help take your business to the next level.
Calgary's Marketing Experts In Front Marketing Experts

With In Front Marketing, you can trust that your digital marketing strategy is in the hands of experts who are committed to delivering exceptional results.

We bring over 70+ years of experience to your advertising strategy.

In Front Marketing is a leading digital marketing agency with a proven track record of delivering results to businesses of all sizes.

Our expert team has extensive experience developing and implementing effective digital marketing strategies that drive traffic, generate leads, and increase conversions.

At In Front Marketing, our core values of integrity, transparency, and innovation guide everything we do. Contact us today to learn more about how we can help take your business to the next level.

Tags

Content Creation, Google Ads, Marketing Strategy