The keyword selection process is one of the most important parts when it comes to creating your PPC ad’s, so you want to ensure that you get it right.

Selecting the correct keywords for your campaign is essential. It’s no use paying for under performing keywords that will just drain your account, with no ROI (return on investment).

So how do you know which keywords are classified as the “right keywords”?

1. Start with a List
Generate a list of keywords based on words defining your product, location, product/services etc. Carefully consider what terms users are likely to use in searching for your products/services. It is essential to use the keywords searchers use, rather than the ones you and your organization use to describe your product/service. So things that may seem obvious to you, are never searched for & vice versa.

2. Choose Specific but Not Popular Keywords
You’ll need to select keywords that are specific to your product or service offering, but you need to be careful not to select keywords that are extremely popular, as this may deplete your PPC funds sooner than expected. Certain phrases may cause your ad to appear constantly & therefore clicked on by people not really searching for your specific product. For example, I have recently run a campaign on car hire, airport parking, airport lounges & airport hotels for My Travel Extras. Although many people may search for these phrases, you have much more competition & therefore less chance of standing out from the crowd & getting a return from each click.

3. Use Phrases instead of single words.
You stand a better chance of winning the search engine wars as this helps to narrow down exactly what people are searching for. As mentioned above, rather than car hire as a search term, try using
“alicante car hire” or “car hire at gatwick”. These phrases will narrow down impressions to those people only searching for these products, who are more likely to buy as they are specifically looking for what you are offering, rather than paying for clicks for people looking for general car hire information.

4. Consider misspelled keywords
Everyone makes mistakes when they are typing, so who’s to say that your searchers don’t make this same mistake when typing in search queries – take advantage of this.

5. Constantly Change Your Keywords
Keywords should be evaluated frequently for performance. This can be done by reviewing your website statistics to see which terms are being effective in driving traffic to your website. Use Google Analytics for this as it’s free for anyone with a Google account & extremely comprehensive.

So don’t waste your hard earned money on keywords that just won’t give you customers. Take these tips into account when evaluating your keywords and see the increase in your ROI.

There are a number of tools available to help you research keywords: Google has its own Keyword Tool which also shows the volume of searches & number of competitors.

I also use Internet Business Promoter & Keyword Elite for generating keyword lists & also investigating the level of searches/competition for keyphrases.

In between the 2 cashback sites, I was trying to find another project that I could design an affiliate website for. I decided on the Travel Extras market & built My Travel Extras, which initially offered Airport Parking, Airport Hotels, Airport Lounges, Theatre Breaks, Theme Park Breaks, Car Hire & Travel Insurance.

The search tools that I used on the site were provided by Holiday Extras, the market leaders in UK airport parking and airport hotel packages. The only other tool used was for car hire, which was provided by Affiliate Future.

Our search tools offer:

• airport parking at 24 UK airports & there are a variety of options available when choosing parking at the airport.
• we offer airport hotels at ALL 25 UK airports, from 2 – 5 star with & without parking and transfers to the airport are available to book on-line.
• pre-book airport lounges at 18 UK airports; executive lounges are great value for money, coming with a best price guarantee.
• choose a West End theatre break to suit you, from the theatre production on a night or afternoon of your choice, a 3 or 4* hotel for your overnight stay & loads of optional extras.
• stay overnight at a top hotel and receive entry to the UK theme park of your choice and all at unbeatable prices.
• compare a large selection of competitive car rental rates from the top car rental companies, in 9,000 locations & 134 countries worldwide and book directly with them. Deals from the following rental firms are included: Alamo, Advantage, Budget, Dollar Rent A Car, Europcar, Hertz, National, Sixt and Thrifty.
• enter the insurance requirements in the booking engine, making sure you enter the location of your trip, the dates you wish to have cover for and who will be included on the policy. A quote page will load after a few seconds wait, then simply select the best policy for you and enter your payment details!

In addition to the search tools listed, I provided directories listing most of the other main suppliers of these products in the UK.