competitive keyword intelligence for search marketing
DESCRIPTION
Learn how to collect intelligence for competitive keyword research and analysis in this detailed presentation from Larry Kim at the SEMPDX event.TRANSCRIPT
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COMPETITIVE INTELLIGENCE IN SEARCHSEMPdx SearchFest: March 9, 2010Larry Kim, Founder, VP of Products, WordStream, Inc.
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Agenda: Competitive Intelligence in Search
Gathering competitive intelligence (CI) for search marketing
Interpreting CI data: Common pitfalls & misconceptions
Suggested workflows for leveraging competitive intelligence data in paid & organic search
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Gathering CI Data: Plenty of Tools Available
Alexa Search Analytics Compete.com Google Keyword Tool Keyword Spy SEM Rush SpyFu (Mike’s company) WordStream (my company) … many others: too many to list out!
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Competitive Intelligence (CI) Data
CI Data Paid Search Organic Search
Keywords Lists
Keyword searches that trigger ads for a particular domain
Keyword searches for which domain/page rank ranks for organically
Competitive Estimates
Avg. CPC, estimated advertiser competition
Estimated “keyword difficulty” score (e.g. allintitle, etc.)
Listing Info
Ad text, landing page
SERP listing info
Domain Info.
Estimated monthly spend, etc.
Sites linking in, PR, site traffic estimate, etc.
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Interpreting CI data: Common pitfalls & misconceptions
Wow. This is a TON of data! How do I interpret it? What should I do with all of this CI
data? 4 popular competitive
intelligence blunders (and how to avoid them)!
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Competitive Intelligence Blunder #1
Assuming your competitive intelligence data is relevant– Never blindly assume what works for your
competitors will work for you!– Review the data, test it out and see for
yourself. – Repeat this process!
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Competitive Intelligence Blunder #2
Too much analysis, not enough action!– Don’t get overly hung up in analyzing CI data– Ideally whatever CI data that you track is
actionable (in a scalable way), and that your actions are data driven.
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Competitive Intelligence Blunder #3
Mistaking estimated CI data for actual campaign data– A PPC Example: Suppose CI data shows
indicates that your desired target keyword has a high estimated competition and high average CPC
– Give up? Never!– The actual CPC you pay in your campaign can
be below average, depending on how well you structure your campaigns
– How? Focus on improving Quality Score!
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Ad Rank = Bid * Quality Score Actual CPC = (Ad Rank to Beat/Quality Score) +
$0.01
Mary bids less than Tom but wins the top spot and pays just (16/10) + 0.01 = $1.61
By improving Quality Score, Mary beat the average estimated CPC!
How Estimated CPC is NOT the same as Actual CPC!
Bid Amount
Quality Score
Ad Rank (Bid * QS)
Tom $4 4 16
Mary $2 10 20
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How to Improve Quality Score
Select specific keywords & negative keywords
Group together closely related keywords Write relevant ad text and landing pages
that speak to the intent of the searcher
Awful: Too Broad! OK: Somewhat Related
Better: Reflects Intent
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Estimated vs. Actual CI Data: Key Takeaway
Don’t be deterred by unfavorable estimated CI data but rather take it under advisement.
There are no set rules on how to interpret CI data
Try to get a quick read on the true PPC or SEO competitive landscape by creating either an ad group (PPC) or content (SEO) and measuring the actual results.
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Competitive Intelligence Blunder #4:
CI data is an important component of keyword research – should be used in addition to other keyword research tools
Don’t forget to leverage your own Web analytics data to get a proprietary competitive advantage!
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The Problem with Keyword Tools
How do you get a competitive advantage? How does a keyword tool know what’s
relevant to your business?
Everyone Shares Same Keyword DataKeyword
Tools
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Use both CI Keyword Suggestions & Web Analytics Data
Some of the BEST keyword opportunities come from your own web site.
Successful Keyword Research integrates both Web analytics and Competitive Intelligence Keyword Tool data
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A workflow for using competitive intelligence data in PPC
1. Assemble your keyword list (include CI data, keyword suggestion tool data, Web Analytics, etc.)
2. Filter & organize your list into small keyword groupings of closely related keywords
3. Building out themed ad groups & landing pages around your keyword clusters
4. Get an read on actual PPC competitive landscape
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Workflow using Competitive Intelligence data for PPC
Was your target PPC cost-per-action achieved?
If YES:– Mission accomplished. Move on to next keyword
grouping.
If NO:1. Try targeting sub-niches (long-tail keyword
variations)2. Look for negative keywords to improve CTR3. Try out different bid strategies & match-types4. Ad text & landing page optimizations
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Targeting More-specific (Less Competitive) Keyword Niches
Typical “Head Term” Challenging from both a competitive
PPC & SEO standpoint
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Targeting More-specific Keyword Niches
Look for clusters of longer-tail variations
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Finding sub-niches within a sub-niche
Group keywords by intent
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Workflow for using Competitive Intelligence data in SEO
1. Assemble keyword list (include CI data, keyword suggestion tool, Web Analytics, etc.)
2. Filter & organize list into small keyword groupings of closely related keywords
3. Try publishing a content page that targets your desired keyword
4. Get a read on the actual SEO competitive landscape – how did your page end up ranking?
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Workflow using Competitive Intelligence data for SEO
Google your target keyword. If your page is found on page 1:– Great! Mission accomplished. Move on.
If not found anywhere:1. Try working in long-tail keywords variations of
your main keyword topic into your page copy2. Create content targeting more specific
keyword niches.3. Do internal & external hyperlink building
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Competitive Intelligence for Search: Bonus Tip
Stop thinking of competitive intelligence in terms of individual keywords. Why?
Wordstream’s internal keyword research consists of ~100k keywords – trying to track CI data on such a big list is a path to madness
Tip: Instead try to break up your keyword research into categories/subcategories, then track CI data on a per-grouping basis.
Target the “head terms”, exploit the “long tail”.
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Competitive Intelligence in a Nutshell
CI is important component of keyword research for PPC & SEO, but…
Pick keywords relevant to YOUR site first, use CI to uncover possible gaps in your coverage or to help prioritize work
Try not to get too mired in competitive intelligence data …
Be Bold. Act. Don’t be deterred by challenging CI data – try it out, analyze, adjust your strategy (repeat).
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How I Use Competitive Intelligence
1. Sizing up a competitor – where are they focusing their PPC & SEO efforts?
2. How successful are they?3. Getting keyword & hyperlink ideas4. Stealing traffic / draining link equity
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For More Information, check out…
The Ultimate Guide to Keyword Competitiveness –Tips from 35 Experts – Free!– Todd Mintz (SEMpdx)– Aaron Wall (SEOBook)– Rand Fishkin (SEOMoz)– Ann Smarty (Search Engine Journal)– Many others!
Free Keyword Niche Finder (WordStream)
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About WordStream
A provider of keyword research & management solutions for PPC & SEO
Tools for continuously discovering, filtering, organizing, analyzing and implementing campaigns based on your own keyword research.
Your own, private hosted keyword research, plus integrated tools to help you understand and act on it.
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WordStream Keyword Management Tools
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Actionable PPC & SEO Tools
Turn your organized keyword research into PPC ads or optimized SEO content.
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Spy on Competitor Keywords
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WordStream Negative Keyword Discovery Tools
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Thank you SEMPDX
Thank you Search Engine Marketing Professionals of Portland!!
Contact me:– Email: [email protected]– Twitter: @larrykim