AdWords Optimization - Optimize Traffic

When we are talking about traffic, we are talking about two different things. First, increasing traffic can mean increasing the number of impressions an ad is showing on. It also can mean increasing the number of clicks an ad is getting for their existing impressions. For the purpose of this section, when we talk about increasing traffic, we mainly mean increasing the number of impressions an ad can show on. Increasing the number of clicks per impressions would fall under CTR. However, when we are increasing traffic, we usually can help them increase the number of impressions and help increase the number of clicks per impression to impact overall traffic numbers even more.

To optimize keywords for a traffic goal, the most important point is to think of new, unique keywords. Not variations of keywords you already have. For example, if you are running on the broad matched keyword ‘dog toy’ and you add the keyword ‘cheap dog toy’ – that is not giving you new impressions. You would be serving on that query already, you are just moving the impressions you are already getting to new keywords. When you want to increase traffic on a term, you need to think of synonyms, abbreviations, etc that woudn’t be triggering your ad – like ‘puppy toy’ and ‘canine toy’.

Look for products on your site that are not currently being advertised – perhaps you are running on ‘dog toy’ keywords, but not your ‘chew toy’ category or your ‘dog bone’ category.

Do not remove existing keywords!!!! Remember, if you have a goal of increasing traffic, it means you are happy with the traffic you are already getting and just want more of it. It is very easy, once you have learned the best practices of optimization, to get your hands on a site and start weeding out keywords you don’t think work for you. Maybe you think they are too general, or irrelevant. Whenever you first devise your strategy, you should always be doing it with your goal in mind. If your goal is to increase traffic, and you remove keywords – are you meeting your goal?

Along the same lines, you do not want to focus on negative keywords. If you are happy with your current traffic and you add 100 negatives that cut your number of impressions in half – are you meeting your goal? If you are adding negative keywords, it will typically only be for keywords you are adding. Since you are adding new impressions, a negative keywords will just reduce the amount you are adding, it won’t reduce the overall number of impressions for that Ad Group. Just focus on high level negatives – only removing what is completely irrelevant. If a query is related at all to the theme of the Ad Group, don’t add it as a negative. For example, if you are adding the keyword ‘dog’ and you are selling dog toys, then you would add negatives like ‘pictures’, because a picture of a dog is completely unrelated to a real dog. But you wouldn’t add anything relevant to a real dog, or real dog owner who may be drawn to my dog toy ad.

• Look to build impressions by looking for keywords you aren’t using on the landing page.
  

• Always add all plurals and singulars of all keywords.

• Look for synonyms and other related keywords (abbreviations, full version of acronyms, etc)

• Add industry specific terms

• Product or brand name

• Common misspellings – only need to add major misspellings, ones where you aren’t even sure what is right. For example, ‘accommodation’ vs. ‘accomodation’ and ‘cannon’ vs. ‘canon’