Combine Adwords & Analytics - Keys to Effective Keyword Research
Modulus Media Toronto // Website Design Toronto, Internet Marketing, Design, Programming, start-up business, small business, startup, quality
Many of you must have used or heard about the Google Adwords Keyword Tool to research on keywords to find out about the level of competition and the number of monthly searches for a given keyword. Definitely, this tool is very useful as it gives you actual data from Google itself. But to be honest, I really find Google Adwords Keyword Tool to be too limiting. While it gives out CPC (cost per click) information, and average searches, the number s obtained from the Keyword Tool analysis are far from the traffic you will actually get from ranking within the first page of Google’s search results.
For example, the keyword "web optimization services" receives 6600 searches monthly. So if you successfully optimize for this keyword and you rank within the first page of the Google’s search results page, you expect to get a good chunk of that traffic. After your first month you check analytics and you are devastated when the traffic your site only receives 2-3 visitors daily, not the hundreds as you expected.
One explanation to this is the search figures posted in Google Adwords Tool cover the entire Google Search and Partner Network which includes other sites like Google Maps, Amazon.com, AOL, Ask.com, and other search partner sites. So the 6600 searches is not the actual number of searches strictly done within Google Search. That's why many feel that the Adwords tool number is bloated which is correct if you look at it from this perspective. Estimates have placed Google Search to be around 20% of the entire Google network. So if you have 6600 searches monthly, it is safe to assume that 20% or 1320 searches are done through a Google Search page.
But don't expect to receive a thousand visitors right away when you are in the top 10 because you still have to share this traffic with the other sites ranking with you on the first page. Statistically, the majority of the visitors (around 42% of them) click on the website that ranks in the #1 position in the search results. Those in the top 3 positions receive around 60-70% of the number of visitors. So assuming your site is no. 5, you could only get 5% of the traffic which amounts to a fraction of the traffic, 66 monthly or 2-3 visitors daily.
Take note that the above calculations are just statistical estimates and must not be taken as a straight-forward formula because the values are based on the past 12 months and may not follow the same trend in the future. Seasonal factors play a big role in influencing search patterns across many industries.
We have created a unique approach to accurately uncovering not only the actual volume of traffic you can expect from specific keywords, but also many related keywords at the same time. We customize a Google Adwords ad campaign for that keyword and create a connection to Google Analytics. This magic combination produces both Adwords and Analytics data with the actual impressions, clicks, and search data that are being searched, not Google’s bloated estimates. Based on these hard facts we will give you enough information to determine whether to launch a full SEO campaign for that keyword (high enough volume and low enough competition) or just leave it for PPC (low enough volume to make it not worth optimizing, or too much competition that pay-per-click is the only way to rank on page 1 – at a high cost per click probably, so you had better hope this traffic converts well at $2-$10 per click!). Depending on your product, if a keyword only delivers 2 to 3 visitors daily, would you still take the time to launch a SEO campaign for that keyword? I don't think so.
Let Modulus Media help you navigate this keyword research jungle with the combined power of both Adwords and Analytics. We will help you minimize your costs by focusing only on keywords that matter. Don't bother on keywords that clearly won't give you a good ROI. Visit http://www.modulusmedia.ca and avoid the pitfalls of search marketing.