ThirstyPony.com

Search Marketing - Simplified

Keyword Research

MVK: Most Valuable Keyword

People who run around deliberately trying to coin phrases are like people who refer to themselves in the third person – they should immediately be lined up against a wall and shot with paintball pellets from 3 feet away until they cry. But sometimes a new word or acronym just happens virally and becomes an unstoppable addition to vernacular. “SMO” (Social Media Optimization) is a great recent example. “Fo’ Shizzle” (?) not quite so much.

I have coined a phrase around my office that I quite like – so I’m going to put it out there and see what happens. I have a better chance of seeing a one-legged cat bury a turd on a frozen pond than to have this blow up, but I’m willing to try anything once. MVK (Most Valuable Keyword/s) is how I refer to a client’s tip-top words and phrase iterations. I like to see it limited to 5 examples, and that’s probably unconsciously due to extended use of the free version of Web CEO, but I’m flexible.

I now feel inclined to explain why I started to do this. I suppose the term was spawned out of a want of efficiency and consistent intern/employee comprehension. There are many ways to describe said 5 terms: the SERP wishlist, top target market terms, the short tail, the lake house, the Ferarri 5, the lantern-rubbings, etc. Before this gets too silly, I’ll wrap it up and await the flood of phrase coining traffic. At least I didn’t write another top 10 list.

{ 0 Comments }

One Word Query, We Hardly Knew Ye

Search Engine Marketing continues to become huge. No one is afraid to purchase goods or services online anymore, and credit cards around the globe are smoking due to overuse. Businesses are rushing to get their sites in front of target markets, and PPC and SEO efforts are becoming more common with each passing day. As searchers and advertisers have become more sophisticated, so has the specificity of utilized search terms – so much in fact, that a recent report by OneStat.com revealed that only 11% of search engine users enter only one keyword during searches.

“28.91 percent of the people use 2 word phrases, 27.85 percent use 3 word phrases and 17.11 percent use 4 word phrases. Less and less people use now 1 keyword since the last measurement in July 2005.“

Several assumptions can be made based on this percentage data. First of all, users are targeting their searches more than they have in the past. For example – “size 6 pink rollerskates” is far more likely to be used than simply “rollerskates“. People have been shopping on the internet for several years now, and their habits and comfort levels have changed as a result. To counter more specific searches, advertisers have increased their level of keyword research to cast a wider net. This has caused an increase in the bid price for words that formerly were only being bid on by a small amount of advertisers – or not at all. Less and less ‘sweet spots’ exist these days, as PPC managers are compiling more comprehensive keyword inventories.

In short, keyword iterations have become more sophisticated. Different users will search for the same thing using a wide variety of terms. An individual looking for a hotel in New Hampshire, for example, may utilize all of the following:

  • New Hampshire Hotel
  • NH Hotel
  • Nashua Hotel
  • Nashua New Hampshire Hotel
  • NH Red Roof Inn
  • Red Roof Inn Nashua

To truly know their market and customers, PPC campaign managers have to be aware of and react to these changes in search habits. Targeted searches are more likely to convert to sales, but unfortunately for advertisers, high-converting, relevant and cheap keywords are steadily going the way of the dodo. It’s becoming more and more important to do your keyword homework to find the best ROI and value for your search marketing dollar.

{ 0 Comments }

Profiting from Obscurity

What’s a search marketing professional to do when their vertical of choice becomes completely flooded? Or, more accurately, what’s a search engine marketing professional to do – period? When the low-hanging fruit is a fond memory, it’s time to break out the 24 foot extendable ladder.

This article didn’t tell me anything I didn’t already know, but it’s a good shortcut for the newbie. In a nutshell, find the more obscure phrases that people use to find what you’re selling. When it comes to PPC, locating these sweet spots is what SEM firms spend hours doing every day across the globe. But how many people are building pages that are focused specifically on terms like discount blue baby bedding? The longer the keyword phrase, the less people are likely competing to optimize for it. Learn, love and live the longtail.

Yes, we all already knew this. But when applied to page creation as opposed to PPC – it got my brain working. Stay tuned for my brand new site: www.brightredrubberpickuptruckfloormats.com. Not really.

{ 0 Comments }