Generate Google AdWords

You've written the copy and you've planned the budget. Now, what keywords are you going to use for your ad?

You've read about it and you've thought about it and you're ready to buy one of Google's AdWords. You've even got your copy together, and you feel pretty confident about it. You have only one problem now: figuring out your keywords (the search words that will trigger your AdWord to appear).

You're probably buying into the AdWords program on a budget, and you definitely want to make every penny count. Choosing the right keywords means your ad will have a higher click-through rate. Thankfully, the Google AdWords program allows you to do a lot of tweaking, so if your first choices don't work, experiment, test, and test some more!

Choosing AdWords

So where do you get the search keywords for your ad? There are four places that might help you find them:

Logfiles

Examine your site's logfiles. How are people finding your site now? What words are they using? What search engines are they using? Are the words they're using too general to be used for AdWords? If you look at your logfiles, you can get an idea of how people who are interested in your content are finding your site. (If they aren't interested in your content, why would they visit?)

In fact, if you use Google Analytics (https://www.google.com/analytics/) to measure your site traffic, you'll find a category called Keyword Considerations that automatically tabulates the keywords that people have used to find your site via Google and other search engines.

Examine your site

If you have an internal search engine, check its logs. What are people searching for once they get to your site? Are there any common misspellings you could use as an AdWord? Are there any common phrases you could use?

Brainstorm

What do people think of when they look at your site? What keywords do you want them to think of? Brainstorm about the product that's most closely associated with your site. What words come up?

Imagine someone goes to a store and asks about your products. How would they ask? What words would they use? Consider the different ways someone could look for or ask about your product or service, and if there's a set of words or a phrase that pops up over and over again.

Glossaries

If you've brainstormed until wax dribbles out your ears but are no closer to coming up with words relevant to your site or product, visit some online glossaries to jog your brain. The Glossarist (http://www.glossarist.com) links to hundreds of glossaries on hundreds of different subjects. Check and see if it has a glossary relevant to your product or service, and see if you can pull some words from there.

Keyword tools

Google's competitor Yahoo! has its own advertising network called Overture, and it offers a tool to test potential advertising keywords. Browse to the Keyword Select Tool (http://inventory.overture.com/d/searchinventory/suggestion/) and take a few of your ideas for a spin. You'll find Yahoo! search counts for your word, and related terms.