How Do You Research PPC Keywords?

Throw a Few Starter Words Into Keyword Sheeter

I know it’s a bit leftfield, but one of my favorite starting points is a tool called Keyword Sheeter on GitHub; you can throw in 2 or 3 main starter keywords and it will give you a spreadsheet full of variations (admittedly, some are odd) to put back into your primary keyword tool. This is definitely Ahrefs; it’s comprehensive and has all the features we need.

Using this combination of tools often finds hidden opportunities for our clients (and ourselves). I can’t recommend them both enough.

Determine an Accurate Budget and CPC Bid Estimates

Remember the goals you want to achieve from your keyword research when you begin your investigation. You may also think of these objectives as questions you want to be answered by your keyword research.

Start by building a focused keyword list. Keyword research aims to generate a list of keywords to bid on in your new PPC campaign. Mostly, every new advertiser hopes to achieve this through keyword research.

By conducting keyword research, advertisers can clearly determine how much certain keywords will cost them and create an accurate budget. They will also be able to determine a suitable CPC bid estimate for each keyword, providing them with the greatest ad placements on search results pages.

Use Google Keyword Planner and A/B Testing

Determine the purpose of your campaign and what you want to achieve. Then start by brainstorming a list of keywords related to your product or service. Use tools like Google Autocomplete or Answer the Public to generate more ideas.

Use keyword research tools like Google Keyword Planner to analyze the search volume, competition level, and estimated cost-per-click for each keyword on your list.

Analyze the data from your keyword research tools and consider the relevance and intent of each keyword. Refine your keyword list by prioritizing keywords with high search volume, low competition, and a high estimated cost-per-click.

Once you’ve selected your keywords, use A/B testing and ongoing optimization to refine your PPC campaign.

Conduct Competitor Analysis and Review Search Queries

I research PPC keywords using a variety of keyword research tools such as Wordtracker and Moz Keyword Explorer. Afterward, I use search engine query reports and competitor analysis to get ideas for relevant keywords. Last, I look at customer search queries and user intent to determine the best keywords to target.

Target Niche Keywords by Using the Customer’s Perspective

Like many other people doing keyword research, I often start in Semrush. Then I’ll usually do it again with another research tool. Ideally, I’ll then combine everything into a single spreadsheet with hundreds to thousands of terms that I know are being searched.

I do a lot of work in niche areas with shallow search volume. In those cases, I get what data I can from the big keyword research tools, but I’m mostly left to put myself in the searcher/customer’s mind.

Creating a successful PPC with very little keyword data can be extremely rewarding. This approach requires careful ad management, but it can return significant results for customers when there is an absence of robust search data.