If you have decided to start a PPC Campaign with AdWords and Overture, and don’t know where to start on selecting keywords, here are some ideas.
When starting out you will probably have some keywords in mind. I suggest using Wordtracker to find how popular those keywords are for searchers and to help locate additional quality keywords you may not have thought of. Create a spreadsheet and list all the keywords you are interested in along
with their predicted searches and then move onto determining cost-per-click rates.
Open up Overtures view bids tool. (To do this, perform a simple search and click on ‘sponsored listing’ following one of the results). Use this tool to find out what each of your prospective keywords are selling for and add them to the spreadsheet.
Next find the going rate for AdWords. This is not quite as simple as Overture, nor does it provide as accurate of results, but will give you a rough idea. Start by creating a dummy ad campaign and ad group. Paste the list of keywords into the ‘choose keywords’ box and click save. This will bring up a page to choose the max cost per click. Leave the suggested value as is and click calculate estimates. Add these cost-per-click estimates to your spreadsheet.
Keep in mind Google provides these estimates based on historical data, so if you happen to enter keywords that are seldom used, the numbers they provide may prove to be inaccurate. It will at least however, give you a rough starting point.
Now you should have a spreadsheet with 4 columns – keywords, Overture costs, Google costs, and predicted searches per day. This sheet will provide you with a quick reference in deciding which keywords will be of most value.
Things to look for:
> Low priced keywords with plenty of searches. These are the keywords that will drive the most traffic to your site for the least money.
> Inexpensive keywords with few searches. These keywords will provide you with very little traffic, but tend to be highly targeted generating qualified traffic.
> High priced keywords with plenty of searches. Watch out for these. With Overture you cannot determine a daily budget, and keywords of this nature can quickly exhaust your account.
> Large differences in pricing between Google and Overture. You may not always want to use the same keywords on both engines
You know your business better then anyone, so when it comes down to it go with your gut instinct. But this should give you a starting point in trying to decide on keywords and costs for your PPC Campaign.