Negative Keywords are Critical to Improving PPC Results
Google now has AdWords reporting features that allow you to see every single keyword phrase that resulted in click-through traffic. This new feature lets you see the words users placed before or after your keywords phrases.
For example, if you sell children’s clothing and outerwear, keywords you might have for an ad for scarves are “scarf” or “scarves.” You may also have keywords with additional adjectives, like “colorful scarves” or “pink scarves.”
Based on these assumptions, Google may display your ads when users query such terms as “lacey scarves,” “sexy scarves,” or even “elegant scarves,” since you have the word “scarves” as a keyword in your campaign. Users who query these terms are not the right potential customer for a site that sells cute children’s scarves. Users on a mission to find a specific item will often click on ads, check out the site, click back and go on to the next site.
Add keywords that drive the “wrong” traffic to your site as negative keywords, so when they are included in the query string, your ad will not appear. “Wrong” traffic means users who are looking for a product or service you do not provide and who, based on their query, would definitely not be interested in what you do provide.
Use Google’s new reporting feature to find these terms. There will likely be words or phrases that are completely unrelated to your business, and these keywords have cost you money unnecessarily. Turn them into negative keywords so you can focus your budget on the terms that are likely to convert.
Ad Age article today states 73% of women said the recession has fundamentally changed the way they think about saving and spending money vs. 57% of men. Could it be because women are the ones shopping for the family, so they feel the effects of rising grocery bills combined with lower incomes?