| By :
Mark Etinger
Like most forms of search engine marketing, Pay-Per-Click advertising comes with its own unique jargon that can be difficult for newcomers to understand. In this article, we're going to discuss negative keywords -- a search engine advertising concept crucial to successful PPC marketing. Simply put, negative keywords are search words or phrases that block your ad from appearing on Google results pages. Advertisers use negative keywords to restrict their PPC audience to the users most likely to click and convert. Certain negative keywords are universal and can be applied to almost any industry. For example, many advertisers add the word "free" to their negative list to eliminate searchers uninterested in spending money. Words like "information" and "review" are also popular, as these tend to signal searchers that are still researching potential products and are not in the mindset to buy. Considering these general keywords is a great place to start, but most search engine advertising campaigns can also benefit from a handful of specific negative keywords. For example, if you're handling the search engine marketing for a jewelry store that only carries certain items, you might want to block search terms indicating the products they do not supply --"pearl necklaces," "costume jewelry," "antique jewelry," etc. Advertisers sometimes shy away from negative keywords because they are worried that these terms will reduce their site traffic. In a way, they're right --negative keywords will reduce their clicks and traffic -- but they will only weed out the visitors that are least likely to buy. This way, you can be sure that every click you're paying for has the potential to convert, thus streamlining your budget for the most effective search engine advertising. By reducing the amount of untargeted traffic, negative keywords can also enhance your Google AdWords Quality Score, allowing you to pay less money for the keywords you desire. It should be noted, however, that negative keywords are not applicable to every PPC management campaign. While most PPC advertisers are only interested in conversions, others are happy with page traffic of any kind. This could be a company participating in search engine advertising specifically to build up their brand, or a website that hosts its own PPC and banner ads without selling products of its own. Now that you know how negative keywords apply to search engine advertising, you might be wondering -- How can I find the best negative keywords for my campaign? To begin, try entering some of your primary keywords into the Google AdWords Keyword Tool. This will show you a list of popular searches containing your keyword, including certain variants you may want to ignore. Following this basic research, businesses often turn to professional Google AdWords management services to select a full roster of positive and negative keywords. These experts have the tools and experience to consider your business, industry, and competition to come up with the most effective list of keywords for your search engine advertising campaign.
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