1.
@amyppc #seattleSEOnet
PROFITABLE PPC
KEYWORD PLANNING
IN 30 MINUTES OR LESS

2.
@amyppc #seattleSEOnet
Paid Search Magic Podcast

3.
@amyppc #seattleSEOnet
• Step 1: Know the game you’re playing
• Step 2: Define stages of awareness
• Step 3: Define what to research
• Step 4: Research & buildout
• Step 5: Optimize
PPC KEYWORD PLANNING

4.
@amyppc #seattleSEOnet
STEP 1:
KNOWTHE GAMEYOU’RE PLAYING
TIME NEEDED: 0 MINUTES

5.
@amyppc #seattleSEOnet
“CARDS”

6.
@amyppc #seattleSEOnet
PPC IS NOT “PAID SEO”
• LongTerm
• Fair
• Strategic
• Free
• ShortTerm
• Cheating
• Tactics
• Expensive
THE MYTH:
Nope!
SEO PPC

7.
@amyppc #seattleSEOnet
PAID SEARCH PUTSYOUR
BEST OFFER IN FRONT OF
YOUR IDEAL CLIENT WHEN
THEY’RE MOST READYTO
TAKE ACTION

8.
@amyppc #seattleSEOnet
PAIDTRAFFIC GAME
• KPIs are cost-effective
leads & sales (ROI)
• Things that don’t matter:
• Time on site
• High search volume
• Traffic

9.
@amyppc #seattleSEOnet
2008 IS NOT 2018
Search engines are smarter
How we search is different
Ad platforms are different

10.
@amyppc #seattleSEOnet

11.
@amyppc #seattleSEOnet

12.
@amyppc #ssn
• hotel in pittsburgh pennsylvania
• hotels in pittsburgh pennsylvania
• hotel in pittsberg pennsylvania
• hotels in pittsberg pennsylvania
• hotel in pitsburgh pennsylvania
• hotels in pitsburgh pennsylvania
• hotel in pittsburg pennsylvania
• hotels in pittsburg pennsylvania
• hotel in pittsburgh pensylvania
• hotels in pittsburgh pensylvania
2008 KEYWORD BUILDOUTS

13.
@amyppc #seattleSEOnet

14.
@amyppc #seattleSEOnet

15.
@amyppc #seattleSEOnet
SEARCH WITHOUT KEYWORDS
Local Service AdsShoppingAdWords Express

16.
@amyppc #seattleSEOnet
In-Market Audiences
Remarketing
Demographics
LocationSearch History

17.
@amyppc #seattleSEOnet
2018 GAME
• Not about words
• Intent-based
• Control for reach &
targeting, not keyword
variations

18.
@amyppc #seattleSEOnet
STEP 2:
DEFINE STAGES OF AWARENESS
TIME NEEDED: 7 MINUTES

19.
@amyppc #seattleSEOnet
LEVELS OF AWARENESS
Unaware Problem Aware Solution Aware Product Aware Most Aware
EUGENE SCHWARTZ, BREAKTHROUGH ADVERTISING
No knowledge
of anything
except, perhaps,
his own identity
or opinion.
Your prospect
senses he has a
problem, but
doesn’t know
there’s a
solution.
Your prospect
knows the result
he wants, but not
that your product
provides it.
Your prospect
knows what you
sell, but isn’t
sure it’s right
for him.
Your prospect
knows your
product, and
only needs to
know “the deal.”

20.
@amyppc #seattleSEOnet
STAGES OF AWARENESS
Unaware Problem Aware Solution Aware Product Aware Most Aware
AS APPLIEDTO GOOGLE ADS & PAID SEARCH
N/A
Problems & pain
points
Outcomes,
results,
description of
solutions
Your product lines,
your competitors,
non-branded
product
descriptions
Your brand &
products

21.
@amyppc #seattleSEOnet
STAGES OF AWARENESS
Unaware Problem Aware Solution Aware Product Aware Most Aware
AS APPLIEDTO GOOGLE ADS & PAID SEARCH
N/A
Problems & pain
points
Outcomes,
results,
description of
solutions
Your product lines,
your competitors,
non-branded
product
descriptions
Your brand &
products.
Protect from
competitors!
Win the click!Protect budget!

22.
@amyppc #seattleSEOnet

23.
@amyppc #seattleSEOnet
STAGES OF AWARENESS
Unaware Problem Aware Solution Aware Product Aware Most Aware
AS APPLIEDTO GOOGLE ADS & PAID SEARCH
N/A
Best vacuum
cleaner 2018
Vacuum reviews
Vacuum repair
cost
Vacuum for pet
hair
Cord rewind
vacuum
Bagless upright
vacuum
Rewind Plus
vacuum
Shark Navigator
Dyson alternatives
Hoover
T-Series
Windtunnel
UH70820

24.
@amyppc #seattleSEOnet
STAGES OF AWARENESS
Unaware Problem Aware Solution Aware Product Aware Most Aware
AS APPLIEDTO GOOGLE ADS & PAID SEARCH
N/A
Best vacuum
cleaner 2018
Vacuum reviews
Vacuum repair
cost
Vacuum for pet
hair
Cord rewind
vacuum
Bagless upright
vacuum
Rewind Plus
vacuum
Shark Navigator
Dyson alternatives
Hoover
T-Series
Windtunnel
UH70820

25.
@amyppc #seattleSEOnet
STAGES OF AWARENESS
Unaware Problem Aware Solution Aware Product Aware Most Aware
AS APPLIEDTO GOOGLE ADS & PAID SEARCH
N/A
Best vacuum
cleaner 2018
Vacuum reviews
Vacuum repair
cost
Vacuum for pet
hair
Cord rewind
vacuum
Bagless upright
vacuum
Rewind Plus
vacuum
Shark Navigator
Dyson alternatives
Hoover
T-Series
Windtunnel
UH70820

26.
@amyppc #seattleSEOnet
STAGES OF AWARENESS
Unaware Problem Aware Solution Aware Product Aware Most Aware
AS APPLIEDTO GOOGLE ADS & PAID SEARCH
N/A
Best vacuum
cleaner 2018
Vacuum reviews
Vacuum repair
cost
Vacuum for pet
hair
Cord rewind
vacuum
Bagless upright
vacuum
Rewind Plus
vacuum
Shark Navigator
Dyson alternatives
Hoover
T-Series
Windtunnel
UH70820

27.
@amyppc #seattleSEOnet
STEP 3:
DEFINE WHATTO RESEARCH
TIME NEEDED: 3 MINUTES

28.
@amyppc #seattleSEOnet
WHATTOOLS SHOULD I USE?
WHAT DO I NOT KNOW?

29.
@amyppc #seattleSEOnet
WORTH RESEARCHING
• What problems does the product solve? What problems are my
audience trying to solve?
• What are the consideration points at each stage of awareness?
What are their available alternatives?
• How are visitors thinking about the product? What words are they
using to describe it?
• What solutions do they think they need? What outcomes are they
willing to pay for?

30.
@amyppc #seattleSEOnet
RESEARCH SOURCES
• Search landscape (paid & organic listings)
• User data (hotjar, surveys, chats, transcriptions)
• Wikipedia / comparison sites
• Review sites (Amazon, yelp, etc)

31.
@amyppc #seattleSEOnet
STEP 4:
RESEARCH & BUILDOUT
TIME NEEDED: 20 MINUTES

32.
@amyppc #seattleSEOnet

33.
@amyppc #seattleSEOnet
What does the status ‘low search volume’ mean?
This is a status given to a keyword in your AdWords account that
doesn’t have enough search traffic on Google search.
It means this keyword will remain inactive and won’t trigger your
ad until search traffic for that keyword increases. If search queries for
the keyword increase, it’ll become active and will start showing ads.
-FrederickVallaeys

34.
@amyppc #seattleSEOnet
MATCHTYPE CHANGES
• Broad getsVERY broad
• Modified broad introduced
• Exact match can include plural & misspellings - optional
• Exact match can’t opt-out of close variants
• Exact match ignores word order & function words
• Exact match broadens close variants
2010
2012
2014
2017
2018

35.
@amyppc #seattleSEOnet
“Reach more people with the same keywords”
EXACT MATCH

36.
@amyppc #ssn
• hotel in pittsburgh pennsylvania
• hotels in pittsburgh pennsylvania
• hotel in pittsberg pennsylvania
• hotels in pittsberg pennsylvania
• hotel in pitsburgh pennsylvania
• hotels in pitsburgh pennsylvania
• hotel in pittsburg pennsylvania
• hotels in pittsburg pennsylvania
• hotel in pittsburgh pensylvania
• hotels in pittsburgh pensylvania
2008 KEYWORD BUILDOUTS

37.
@amyppc #seattleSEOnet
GOOGLE’S ANUAL REVENUE
IN BILLIONS
$0
$30
$60
$90
$120
2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
$109.7
$89.5
$74.5
$65.7
$55.5
$50.2
$37.9
$29.3
$23.7$21.8
$16.6
$10.6
$6.1$3.2$1.5$0.4

38.
@amyppc #seattleSEOnet
AD GROUP / MESSAGE MATCH

39.
@amyppc #seattleSEOnet
MATCHTYPES
• +mercedes +brake +service
• “mercedes brake service”
• [mercedes brake service]
• mercedes brake service
• +mercedes brake serviceNo
OK
Slide updated from“break”

40.
@amyppc #seattleSEOnet
STEP 5:
OPTIMIZE
TIME NEEDED: ONGOING

41.
@amyppc #seattleSEOnet
OPTIMIZE=
DO MORE OF WHAT WORKS,
LESS OF WHAT DOESN’T

42.
@amyppc #seattleSEOnet
ADD QUALITY SEARCHTERMS
AS KEYWORDS

43.
@amyppc #seattleSEOnet
REVIEW QS & METRICS

44.
@amyppc #seattleSEOnet
REMOVE / CONTROL FOR
POOR PERFORMING KWDS
@amyppc #seattleSEOnet

45.
@amyppc #seattleSEOnet
DON’T JUST PAUSE
EVERYTHING WITH NO CONVS
@amyppc #seattleSEOnet

46.
@amyppc #seattleSEOnet
TAKE-AWAYS
• Words are one of many signals of intent
• Customer research > keyword research
• Group themes based on stages of awareness
• Choose which traffic you’ll pay for & which you
won’t
• Optimization is ongoing