Although creating a targeted keyword list is important all times of the year, it is even more important during the holiday shopping season in November and December. By making this list, retailers will be able to extend their audience reach and gain high conversion probability. It may seem complicated or overwhelming to take on a task like this, so we developed the Five Stage Optimal Keyword List Building Process:
1. Research. Don’t just brainstorm to generate keywords you could employ; use multiple mediums to find out which keywords are relevant to your campaign. Listening platforms like Twitter are valuable real-time keyword sources.
2. Select and Group. Not all keywords from your initial list from research may be appropriate for your campaign. Each keyword you select must contribute to specific objectives.
3. Test. This step is very important. You should allocate 3-5% of your SEM budget to testing keywords for 60-90 days.
4. Analyze. Using the data from the testing stage, asses how well a keyword fits in an ad group.
5. Refine. Once you know which keywords perform well and which ones don’t, you should classify them. Four performance groups that we have found to be useful are “stars,” “aspirants,” “laggards,” and “question marks.” This way you will be able to visualize which keywords or ad groups need attention and which ones are the most profitable.
The 5 Stage Optimal Keyword List Building Process can be best visualized if you think of it as a continuous cycle. It ensure you are always changing your keyword list based on what performs well and what doesn’t.
Good luck!
