Using search query reports to optimize PPC campaigns

When we talk about search engine marketing, it starts and ends with keywords.

The concept of understanding the keyword a user is searching for and connecting it to what your brand has to offer has created one of the most successful and profitable businesses of all time.

We’ve been talking a lot lately about keywords and how they should be used. I would classify these into three strategic debates:

1. Specificity: How detailed should each business list their keywords? example; Running shoes for men with flat feet in summer vs. running shoes
2. Campaign structure: How should these keywords be grouped to be most effective and mapped to appropriate ad copy?
3. Branded vs. Unbranded: Should I bid on my brand terms? What is the value of non-branded keywords if they are below my ROI goals?

This article will focus on specificity – how to determine the starting point of your keyword list and how to then refine it using the available search query report data made available by Google.

The beginning

If this is your first campaign you’re running, welcome. If not, then skip this section.

There are many different keyword tools that you can use to help you set up your account. Although they may be slightly different, I think they are all good enough to start with.

I usually use the Google tool. Enter your website or a few basic keywords you know you want to include and let the tool generate your list.

From there it’s all your own intuition. You still won’t know what your results will be, and there’s really no way to know before you get real data how deep you should go, especially given your product set. You just have to start somewhere.

Some frequently asked questions are:

• Are you a local business? If so, it makes sense to include some of these local variations of keywords
• How big is your budget? Your ability to fund a broader list of keywords or target larger head terms will depend on your budget
• What is the scope of your search terms? If you are in a high volume area, you may see more volume on larger tail terms that make sense to include.

Starting with some structure in groups that keeps related keywords together and matches well with the ad text and landing page. This is important for assessing relevance and quality.

Don’t try to overcrowd your ad group. If a keyword doesn’t belong, put it where it belongs, even if it’s alone.

Always include at least phase match and negative keywords. Every business knows keywords that don’t align with their business or don’t match their product line.

It’s similar with phrase matching, where you want to have some insight into what consumers are searching for. This is where the real magic and sophistication happens.

Improving your keyword list with a search query report

Once your campaigns are active, you start receiving actual data not only about the keywords you’re bidding on, but also keyword information for the search terms Google matches to your keywords. This gives you the opportunity to improve your listing by adding negatives or bidding specifically on those versions.

You can access this data from the main keyword menu by selecting ‘search terms’, or you can access this data by running the search terms report in the reporting section. Google provides more details in the help text here.

I prefer the keyword menu in the main interface because you can directly manage keywords based on the data you see. Below is an example of the option to add as keywords or negative words.

I like to start by sorting by impressions. This helps me work on keywords that I may have missed based on volume. Those who will have the most impact on the results. I’ll also include CPC data.

What I’m looking for is pretty simple. If a search term has high volume and is getting conversions, or I think it’s strategic to the account (meaning it might not have conversions yet, but I can optimize the bid or other elements to bring value), I’ll add it as a keyword. If the opposite is true, I add it to the negative list.

What you often see are variations of search terms that give you great insight into how consumers think about your products.

You will often see search terms that give you insight into things you may have assumed about things such as; color, size, location or price. It can help you understand the content or landing pages you may need to build to better answer these queries.

By adding these search terms that you didn’t originally consider, you can better choose a landing page for those keywords or ad text that more closely matches the needs of that term.

You can also add different segments of data in the keywords menu section, which can also be very insightful. The segment menu option is right next to Columns, Download or Expand in the top row:

You can break down data by time (day, week, month, etc.), conversions, device, or network (Google vs. search partners). These segments can provide deeper insight into consumer behavior and give you some keys to further optimization.

There is no right or wrong number of keywords in your account

It’s driven by category, your budget and consumer behavior. The key is to use data to guide your decisions.

The Search Query Report provides great insight into search terms that help you create landing pages and content that will help improve user experience, your relevance, and overall conversions.

Keyword research tools are a starting point, but nothing will beat the data from the Search Query Report.

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The opinions expressed in this article are those of the guest author and not necessarily those of Search Engine Land. Staff authors are cited here.

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