The Right Keyword is the Foundation of your PPC Success

As any PPC consultant will tell you, getting the desired results out a campaign begins with keyword selection. While you may find yourself considering into the wee hours of the morning every little facet of your new PPC project, choosing the right keywords for your campaign should always be at the top of your list of priorities. Although many industry members and pay per click experts offer plenty of tips when it comes to fine tuning a campaign, most amateur PPC companies won’t get a chance to use that advice if they don’t find solid keywords to begin with.
Find the Keyword that Works for You
Even the most precise and well-thought-out strategies will mean nothing if a PPC campaign isn’t focused on the right keywords. Fortunately for campaign managers, there is no lack of tools when it comes to researching keywords. A quick search for “keyword tools” brings back a number of browser plug-ins and sites that give detailed keyword analysis. However, since Google has established itself as the world’s most popular search engine and is considered the top authority on keyword relevance, most companies start their research with Google Keyword Tools.
Keyword Tools, which is part of the Google AdWords network, allows users to research any website to find dominant keywords. The results given can help a company determine the most popular and appropriate keyword around which to base a PPC campaign. There are many other tools available to do more extensive keyword research and speculation even supports that the results 3rd party tools give you are far more accurate then GKT.
Having a list of usable keywords also means that a PPC firm has more room to maneuver when it comes time to bid for keywords on advertising networks such as Microsoft adCenter or Google AdWords. Should the asking price for a particular word be outside for your campaign’s budget, knowing that a slightly lower-priced search term is still worth your time can be a huge help.
Once you have a targeted list of keywords test, test and test again.  Be certain to monitor routinely at first to prune down that list to the most effective converting terms for your strategy.  Do not rely solely on automated tools as you can blow through your spend quickly.  Throttling your max spend on certain segments of your campaign will give you better results, but again – monitor the activity.
Never Rest on your Laurels
Even if you’ve managed to secure all the right keywords for your PPC campaign, never let that be where your research ends. Many terms on Google and other search engines may fluctuate in popularity from week to week. Always be on the lookout for other phrases or keywords that may begin to trend or rise in search frequency. For example, if a breaking news story leads to a dramatic increase in search engine traffic for a certain keyword, then you may want to consider implementing that term into your PPC project. Just be sure to remember that what trends highly one day may fall off the radar entirely the next.
Learn from your Mistakes
As with any venture in life, you should accept that your first PPC campaign may not be quite as successful as you’d like. SEO and PPC companies are familiar with the benefits of a learning experience. As Google and other search engine networks constantly revise their advertising programs and search algorithms, all online marketing companies must realize their tactics have to change to reflect the times. Never allow yourself to become disheartened if you encounter major obstacles or setbacks in your PPC efforts. As long as you notice where your campaign may have fallen short, there will always be chances in the future to get even better results out of your PPC.