Less is more. This expression is easily applicable in the art of SEM or search engine marketing, especially when pertaining to the use of keywords. While there is no exact rule on how many keywords should be used for an SEM campaign, the most practicable tip is to keep keywords for each ad group within the range of twenty to thirty (20-30) keywords.
Unfortunately, those new to SEM tend to make the mistake of bloating their accounts and campaigns with unnecessary keywords. What’s worse, they utilise off-the-mark keywords that fail to create desired results. Truth is, the use of too many keywords won’t do your AdWords account any good.
We hope the following simple tips can help you maximize your SEM and keyword usage to your advantage:
Remember, quality over quantity.
The number of keywords you use won’t improve your campaign drastically, but the quality of the keywords you use will. Try not to go beyond thirty (30) keywords for every ad group. Do away with irrelevant keywords via your search term report and make sure that the keywords in every ad group are related to one another and coherent enough for a more compelling ad copy. Your goal, after all, is not to increase your keyword usage but to keep your ad copy relevant and result-driven.
Fewer keywords can boost your SEM campaign.
The use of fewer keywords is also beneficial to you, that is, financial-wise. A SEM campaign with, let’s say, a daily budget of 25 dollars for 25 keywords, would likely yield on average 25 clicks per day, assuming it cost an average of $1 per click. Now, if you choose to add more keywords to your current list and you decide to use 50 keywords per account – then chances are, you’d end up depleting your daily budget sooner than expected.
Take note that this scenario of your daily budget getting depleted hastily can endanger your SEM campaign. First, Google stops or turns off the campaign (until the following day) from the moment the daily budget is consumed or depleted. This “turning off” means that Google will no longer allow your keywords to trigger search queries once the budget is exhausted. This then leads to poor conversion rates when your SEM ad is deprived of the opportunity to appear for the better performing keywords.
Increasing the budget or reducing bids are not ideal alternatives.
One of the suggested countermeasures to avoid budget depletion for SEM campaigns is to of course increase the daily budget. However, this recommendation is not always favourable as it compels the advertiser to spend more than what is required to maintain the profitability of the campaign. Also, it is not a practical option for those experiencing budget constraints. You may try reducing keyword bids to allow for budget flexibility but this alternative is quite risky for your ad rank as well.
Hire SEM Professionals today!
The secret to maintaining a competitive position lies not in the number of keywords but the type of keywords used. As such, a set of high performing keywords is a must for competitive rankings. For a result-driven search engine marketing campaign, contact our reliable SEM professionals today!
