Keywords like bread crumbs

Google is the first stop in online searches – we enter the Google address almost automatically, both on mobile phones and when using desktop computers. The Google search engine is constantly changing, but the basis of its searches is still the word.

Keyword – a phrase consisting of one or more words, leading users to the materials they are looking for. In other words, “keywords” are used to describe all the terms that users enter into the search engine window.

In simple search engines, e.g. searches on store pages, the code fragment responsible for this element focuses on searching for a string of characters that creates a given phrase. More advanced search engines, such as Google, Bing or Yandex, use complex algorithms to deliver the best results. Search complexities are related to the amount of data processed by search engines that sort content from all over the Internet. In a situation where the results for even the most complex terms are displayed on several thousand pages, searching for a string and presenting the results in an alphabetical manner would not be very effective.

Keywords – types and varieties

Search engine marketing – in a nutshell – is based on selecting the right keywords and strategically placing them within the website. However, before we start looking for an answer to the question “how to find keywords” and move on to research, it is worth taking a look at the basic types of phrases that we will be looking for:

A. short-tail keywords – the so-called “general keywords”. These types of phrases consist of one or two words and are characterized by very high searchability, and thus – also by competition. Another special feature is their quite generality, which is rather not conducive to conversions – after all, it is difficult to find the skirt model of your dreams, guided only by the results related to the slogan “skirt”. It is similar with wildcard phrases – depending on the search context, the user’s goal may be completely different.

Short general phrases may seem attractive, but the cost of bringing the page to the top of the search results may not be worth the results – i.e. not translating into website traffic, contact or purchases.

B. long-tail keywords – a type of phrase that consists of at least three words. Characteristics? Less frequency of searches, but also – usually – less competition. Longer phrases are more specific and it is much easier to determine the purpose for which it was entered in the search engine. The phrase “red pleated midi skirt” allows you to define the specific features of the desired model – color, type of decorations and length.

Accurate definition of longer key phrases allows you to successfully target the needs of search engine users and significantly facilitate conversion. The cost of positioning long tail phrases will vary between industries – some are still undeveloped, and in others – competition is as fierce as it is on general phrases.

C. brand keywords – words related to the brand. These types of phrases usually contain all or part of your company name. Brand phrases also include entries containing a fragment of the website. If your company name is original, in most cases branded phrases will return results from your domain. In the event that the name of the activity has common features with the names of competitors, it is worth taking care of additional promotion and optimizing the website taking into account interesting brand phrases.

Note – positioning yourself on the name of the competition is not a good solution. In order for the optimization to be effective, it is necessary to place the selected brand phrase within the website, which may lead not only to information chaos and doubts on the part of potential customers, but also to unpleasantness on the part of the competition.

The above division of keywords is one of the most frequently used. It is not perfect – key phrases can be divided in several other ways, for example … according to the “use by date” – into “short-term” (fresh) and “evergreen”. The first one can certainly include phrases based on the current trend.

The ideal solution is to find keywords from each of the groups – this type of diversification allows you to reach various groups of recipients. Appearing various types of phrases in the search results also allows you to increase your reach and raise brand awareness. If the user has received satisfactory answers at the first contact with our brand, there is a chance that he will also choose our link on the next occasion.

How do you find the right keywords for your website?

He can search for keywords with the help of many available online tools. However, before we start using the available software, let’s take a moment to a less technical look at keyword research.

As in the case of setting up a website, when searching for keywords, it is worth defining the GOAL that guides our activities. If the purpose of creating the website was to sell, you should focus on the phrases under which customers will search for products. In a situation where the website is to strengthen our position as an expert in a given niche, the phrases we will focus on will allow us to present our knowledge on a given topic.

A website can simultaneously fulfill various types of purposes, e.g. sell products and be a source of industry advice. This is how DIY stores or bookstores that are also cultural portals. It is also worth remembering that the purpose of the website may change after several months or years of operation. Change is a constant element of running a business, and its intensity and frequency depends on the industry and users’ expectations.

The second important issue is the NICHE ANALYSIS. The analysis of industry activities on the Internet is as important for new businesses as for older ones that are just “entering the Internet”. Marketing online and engaging with customers are different from traditional marketing efforts and require a different set of skills and tools.

It is worth starting to analyze the Internet version of your industry on forums and groups associating people interested in our subject, e.g. on Facebook.

What to look for? It is worth taking a look at what people interested in our subject talk about, what questions are asked there (it’s also a great place to get inspiration for blog texts!) And what language they use. Research should also be supplemented with competition analysis – check how they communicate with customers on the website and on their social media profiles. Additional information may also be provided by reading the comments – in the case of unsuccessful ideas, users of social networks do not have problems with criticizing the actions taken by the company.

Defining the GOAL of our activities and finding out about effective methods in our NICHE will allow us to set the direction in which we should follow when searching for keywords. The preliminary analysis will make it easier to select the main keywords – terms with a greater degree of generality, which will be the basis for further keyword searches. By specifying this basis, it will be easier to use tools to help you find key phrases.

How do I find keywords? Choose your tools!

The correct selection of keywords is the basis for optimization and the entire process of website positioning. Focusing on the phrases that will convert is one of the elements of success that seo activities are aimed at. The tools available on the Internet will help you find words that will be consistent with your goal.

By using the previously specified keywords, we can expand our database of phrases with new related terms.

The Google search engine aims to provide its users with the best possible answers to the questions they are looking for. For this purpose, it uses, among others hints to help you formulate relevant queries.

Autocomplete is based on the popularity and similarity of the phrases entered by the user. The search engine puts a lot of emphasis on personalizing the content served to its users, hence some of the hints will be based on the search history on our account. More universal prompts will appear when using incognito mode.

Keyword suggestions are not the only way to find attractive phrases using search engine data.

KEYWORD PLANNER – the planner is a tool dedicated to Google Ads campaigns. However, you can successfully use it when searching for keywords for positioning. How to find keywords that will suit our needs?

Start by going to the keyword planner page and log in to your Google Account.

Do you remember your main keywords? Based on them, you can define subsequent phrases that will better reflect your business. When using the tool, remember to select the language and country to which you want to direct your services.

You should review your keyword ideas in terms of the number of searches. Note – the “competitiveness” of these phrases is counted for Google Ads, while searching for phrases for positioning, it is not necessary to include the data collected in this column.

How do I find… even more keywords?

The evolution of the keyword base for our website is inevitable, especially if we plan to further increase our visibility within the Google search engine. For this purpose, it is worth taking a look at the phrases on which our website ranks – i.e. the password under which users are displayed.

For this purpose, it is worth visiting the Google Search Console, the EFFECTIVENESS tab.

The data collected in GSC is especially useful when we want to squeeze as much as possible from pages that already exist and are included in the Google index. Perhaps these slogans include those that we did not take into account before, and which have a great potential to increase the number of users on our website? The tool shows us not only the average position of our website – after clicking on the password, we will also get the address of the subpage that ranks it and the type of device.

Additional information may also be provided by the analysis of the search terms – if we place one on our website. This type of data is successfully collected by Google Analytics.

And more and more and more… we don’t need any more

When searching for keywords, moderation and matching their quantity to the size of the website is essential. The amount of space in the key points of each subpage (title, headers) is limited, as is the possibility of processing information by network robots and the user.

When creating lists of key phrases, it is worth planning their placement in a way that allows for optimization in accordance with Google’s requirements, ie without stuffing keywords “by force”. The development of the keyword database does not have to be hampered by this – just take care of expanding the content layer through a blog or news section. In the case of stores, other tricks can also be used – for example, creating various types of unconventional product categories that can be decorated with occasional texts. And the rest … Your clients will tell you what they need – just watch them for a while!

Video content is the future

In recent years, there has been a lot of talk about content marketing and its great importance in promoting brands, products or services. Many people equate the term primarily with text material, but the reality is that video and audio files are increasingly important – especially YouTube videos and podcasts. This is how more and more people most readily absorb information. Hence, the optimal environment for advertising is also changing. Today, more and more companies are taking advantage of paid content on YouTube – including small and local businesses. Reason? It is simply a very effective promotion channel. What’s more, YouTube, thanks to its advertising policy, makes it possible to publish even without a large budget.

Advantages of advertising on YouTube

The portal has enormous power, it is used by over 90% of Internet users. Advertising via YouTube is more and more often described as more effective than television advertising, especially as it allows you to target the message only to specific recipients. What are the main advantages of promotion on the site?

– Broad coverage – the already mentioned over 90% of Internet users who may find your ad! The website has overtaken Facebook when it comes to the popularity of social media and is increasingly serving as a search engine for users. Thanks to this, the advertisement can have a really wide range of impact. It is also an ideal place to reach young people in the 18-34 age group, who most willingly spend their time using YouTube.
– The ability to precisely define the target – this is something that makes many methods of Internet advertising much more effective than spots published on TV or e.g. billboards on the streets. You can precisely select the viewer profile to which your video will end up. YouTube provides criteria such as age, place of residence or interests. Also, your ad may only appear on videos from certain creators or in a specific category. It also supports remarketing activities – the spot can reach people who have previously visited the advertiser’s channel or website.
– Effect control – in the case of many types of advertising, it is impossible to check how many people actually reached. By acting on YouTube, you can get detailed analytical reports showing how many people watched your ad and how many of them interacted with your business through it. This is extremely valuable information that helps to refine the promotional message and check the return on investment in marketing. Affordable prices – despite many advantages, publishing a spot on YouTube is still much cheaper than on TV. In addition, in this case, you only pay for the actual impressions of the ad, and not for the mere placement of the ad before or during the video. This makes it possible to get much better promotion results.
– Possibility to share – a creative, surprising, funny, touching and interesting advertising film can work for you for a long time, even after the end of the paid promotion. It can be shared just like any other YouTube content. This in turn allows you to reach even more people. That’s why it’s worth creating ads that engage the viewer!

Types of YouTube Ads

YouTube allows advertisers to use several methods of displaying their content. The selected type of promotion affects its visibility as well as the price. It is worth knowing all the possibilities to choose the right one for the character and goals of a given campaign. There are:

– display ads – standard banners, on YouTube displayed under the video or on its right side; do not interfere with video playback, which increases the chance of clicking;
– advertising overlays – displayed on the watched movie, have a graphic or text form; they take up about 20% of the area of ​​the window in which the film is displayed and can be turned off at any time
– TrueView In-Stream – a negligible advertisement displayed before, during or after the video; attractive due to the pricing model – if a viewer skips the ad, there is no fee for the impression;
– In-stream advertising without the possibility of skipping – lasting from 15 to 30 seconds, usually less perceived by Internet users;
– ads in cutscenes (Bumper Ads) – cannot be skipped, lasts about 6 seconds; usually shown before the movie, sometimes also during and after the movie;
– mid-movie ads – may or may not be negligible; are published only in films longer than 15 minutes;
– sponsored cards – shown in the movie viewing window; they most often present film-related products, allowing the viewer to expand the card.

What to choose? Much depends on the type of content presented, but also on your budget. In the case of using longer, negligible spots, it is necessary to ensure that their first few seconds encourage the recipient and present a specific message. Interesting advertising will certainly help you get much better results, so it is worth taking care of its careful planning and implementation.

How much does advertising on Youtube cost?

Many advertising formats have different billing models. The most commonly used is Cost Per View (CPV) – you pay for each ad impression in full (or at least 30 seconds, if longer). In image campaigns, Cost Per Mile (for every thousand views) is also sometimes used – primarily in relation to non-negligible TrueView and Bumper Ads videos. In the case of ads that are primarily aimed at encouraging the viewer to interact, the CPI (Cost per Interaction) model is used – fees for each click resulting in a redirect. Importantly, YouTube allows you to adjust the billing model to the advertiser’s needs. Therefore, with specific types of paid promotion, it is possible to use the selected scheme. As you can see, however, the answer to the question of how much does advertising on Youtube cost is not obvious and unambiguous.

So how much does advertising on YouTube cost? The good news is, as much as you choose to pay for it. The advertiser can set the budget himself. How much do you have to invest to make it pay off? Here the answer is much more difficult. It all depends on the type, model and target of the campaign. It is worth noting, however, that advertisers are often positively surprised by the relatively affordable costs of publishing on YouTube. It’s hard to look for specific numbers – even on the website itself – without providing specific data, but you can assume that a single ad impression costs about $ 0.01 – $ 0.3. Considering that most billing models are based on real impressions, that is, you don’t have to pay for missed spots, this is a very good result. It is also worth remembering that thanks to precise targeting, the ad can go exactly where you want, which further increases its effectiveness.

Effective advertising on YouTube – choose your target carefully!

The effectiveness of any ad depends on who it will be shown to. As an advertiser, you want it to reach your target group – people who should potentially be interested in a given product or service. Therefore, the return on investment in the promotion depends on precise targeting. In the case of YouTube, the whole machine works similarly to Google Ads campaigns. However, your ads can be targeted even more precisely. What criteria can be considered?

Demography
This is the basic criterion by which you can significantly narrow down the audience of your ad. There are specific age ranges to choose from, identical to those proposed by Google (18-24; 25-34; 35-44; 45-54; 55-64; 65+), as well as an interesting “unknown” category including both users under 18 life, as well as other people who have not been classified into any age category. It also appears when choosing the target gender (of course, next to women and men). In addition, you can decide on the parental status of your ad audience or your household income.

Geotargeting
Geotargeting is an important category, especially for local businesses. Thanks to the precision of Google Maps, you can only direct your promotional message to YouTube users located in a specific area or at a specific distance from a point designated on the map. You can also exclude specific locations from targeting, which creates a very wide range of precise messages.

User information (interests)
Thanks to the information collected by Google, it is possible to create a profile of the user’s interests. Thus, you can only target your ads to people who have visited websites on a specific topic or watched videos devoted to it. The frequency and intensity of interactions with a given topic are taken into account in order to obtain the most reliable data. There are many categories available to cover various areas of life. It is also possible to select a more specific, narrow group of recipients in which, for example, there has been a significant change recently (e.g. wedding, moving house, graduation, etc.). Google also divides into market audiences (people who are in the purchasing process and focused on searching for information about specific services and products) and non-standard recipients with similar intentions who actively search for information on the Internet using a search engine. This allows you to determine the most current interests of users.

YouTube video themes
YouTube videos are divided into thematic categories. This makes it easy for you to assign your ads to a specific topic. It is an easy way to reach users interested in specific issues, regardless of their age, gender or other behavior on the Internet.

Keywords
The ad can also be placed on videos whose titles or descriptions contain specific keywords.

Remarketing
Remarketing is a very popular and effective form of promotion consisting in displaying advertising content to users who have already expressed interest in the company’s offer (e.g. visited its website). Thanks to data integration with Google, remarketing is also possible for advertising on YouTube. It gives the opportunity to reach e.g. to people who watched a specific video or subscribed to a specific channel.

Extensive targeting options affect the effectiveness of YouTube ads, and thus also their profitability. A wide range of options allows you to reach every target group, regardless of the device on which the website is used. Ads are displayed on the YouTube website, in the mobile application, as well as in applications on game consoles and Smart TV.

Is YouTube advertising right for you?

Is it worth being interested in the advertising possibilities of the most popular streaming service? Of course! Among other things, thanks to precise targeting, it is a solution for both large and small companies, including local ones. Precise definition of the target group allows you to reach only people interested in a given topic, and at the same time reduce the costs of the campaign. If you want to reach a very wide audience, it is also worth betting on YouTube – after all, it is used by over 90% of Internet users!

Advertising on this site can be particularly beneficial for new brands that want to increase their recognition, as well as for completely new products. Presenting your business as a movie can also be a great idea when it comes to innovation, hard-to-understand mechanisms of action, or business models. In fact, anyone can benefit from the promotion on YouTube.