Think of keywords as your customers’ secret language.
They are the various terms and phrases that people key into a search engine when they need nearby products or services similar to what you provide. In PPC, the appropriate keywords must be chosen; this is critical.
It often spells the difference between displaying your ad to the right buyers or remaining buried deep in relevant but futile searches.
You need to understand North Americans’ online search behavior to eliminate the difference. They come from different backgrounds and cultures, so their language and inquiries will vary.
Get your keyword research right and enjoy the perks: highly targeted ads, maximum ROI on your marketing campaigns, and peaceful sleep, knowing that you do not spend ten dollars on unrealistic clicks that yield no results.
It’s time to shift focus to competitive ppc keywords, keyword research, and keyword strategy with a unique referral to the market and target audience.
Table Of Contents
Understanding Search Behavior: The Key to Unlocking PPC Success
Targeting PPC is often more productive in North America if the audience’s search patterns are well understood. Simply translating keywords or replicating strategies from other regions is not enough. Understanding intent audiences and custom segments is one key.
Cultural Differences & Language Variations
While English is predominantly spoken in both the US and Canada, cultural differences and regional language variations can significantly impact search behavior. Slang, colloquialisms, and even spelling can vary according to particular ethnicities and areas.
For example, if a Canadian types “runners,” he is likely referring to sports shoes, but in America, the same keyword is an example of a sled. Understanding these subtle differences is crucial for selecting keywords that genuinely resonate with your target audience.
Regional Trends & Local Preferences
North America is too big and extensive, so different regional trends and preferences shape the search behavior pattern. People’s search behavior is influenced by their surroundings, everyday living style, and culture.
For example, someone in sunny California might search for “beach towels” in the summer, while someone in snowy Quebec might look for “winter boots” at the same time of year. Understanding these regional differences helps you tailor your keyword strategy to capture relevant seasonal and local demand.
Mobile Search & Voice Search
With the emergence of smartphones and voice-controlled devices, how people look up information has changed. Mobile search accounts for more than 60% of the total search volume in North America, and voice search is on the rise, particularly for local searches and people searching for information on the go.
So, adapting and including them in your keyword research is necessary to increase the mobile conversion rate. Adding more conversational, long-tail search-covered keywords between consumers’ texts when speaking into the devices is a good idea.
Also, remember mobile landing pages, which should be the primary concern because about 40% of users use smartphones and tablets.
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Illustrative Examples of Search Query Differences
Let’s look at a few examples of how search queries can differ in North America compared to other regions:
- “Truck” vs. “Lorry”: There is a general disagreement in terminology because the US commonly calls it a track, but in the UK and the rest of the world, the common word is lorry.
- “Soccer” vs. “Football”: In the US and Canada, soccer refers to the game played with a spherical ball using the feet, whereas in other parts of the world, it is called football.
- “College” vs. “University”: In the context of the US, both terms do not have any significant difference in meaning, while in Canada, the term “A University” is associated with institutions that award undergraduate and graduate degrees, while the word “College” is usually applied to a vocational or technical institution.
These are but a few concepts, while the list can be endless. By understanding these nuances and staying up-to-date on regional trends, you can improve your keyword research and PPC campaigns targeting readers from North America.
PPC Keyword Research Tool and Techniques
Keyword search is a perfect mixture of art and science.
When done with the right PPC keyword tool and techniques, it can exponentiate your PPC campaigns to the next level. Let us explore some helpful tools and approaches for searching truly valuable keywords.
Google Keyword Planner: Your Starting Point
Google Keyword Planner in the Google Ads cost-free phrase is among the best starting points for keyword research. It has several tools to perform various operations for searching new keyword ideas:
- Discover New Keywords: When a particular phrase or a website URL is entered for the keyword planner, it will return different keyword suggestions closely related to the phrase alongside their average monthly search volumes and competition estimates.
- Analyze Search Volume and Competition: Find out how many people are searching for specific terms and how many other websites are competing for these terms. This enables you to find terms many people search for but do not have too much competition for, making it perfect for your campaigns.
- Filter and Refine: Utilize the bulleted list while formulating your target market to help you assess non-strategic factors such as geographical area, language, and type of device used.
- Organize into Ad Groups: The keyword planner suggests a good ad group. Grouping the ads this way will help get better ad relevance and quality scores.
- Forecast Performance: To facilitate the budget and bidding plan, get the expected clicks, impressions, and costs for each selected keyword.
Beyond Google: Other Keyword Research Tools
Even if Google Keyword Planner is handy, there are other options for better research and ranking:
- SEMrush: This fantastic professional SEO and PPC system allows one to do keyword research, competitive analysis, monitor backlinks, and more.
- Ahrefs: Best recognized for its extensive backlink database. Ahrefs also provides powerful features, including keyword difficulty scores and content gap analysis.
- Moz Keyword Explorer: A simple yet powerful web-based keyword tracking tool that provides keyword suggestions, search volume, and competition, offering words with high KPI.
These tools come with some extra features, including keyword tracking, SERP Analysis, and content optimization options. Hence, you get a balanced overview of the metrics you want and the competition factors associated with your selected keywords.
Competitors PPC Keywords Analysis: Learning from the Best
Everyone wants to conduct some marketplace research, and researching competitors’ keywords and ads is one of the things you should do. By figuring out the keywords they are using and the messages that accompany those ads, you can:
- Look for Keyword Gaps: Find keywords relevant to your campaign but not utilized according to their potential. These keyword gaps can generate new campaign ideas.
- Find Ways to Enhance Your Strategic Approach: Detect competitive advantages that some of your rivals may have over services and try to change that.
- Develop More Persuasive Advertisements: Examine the ad copy and visuals of your competitor’s ads that have performed well to create even better ones.
Some of the tools that can help with the above include:
- Use Competitor Analysis Tools: Many keyword analysis tools have competitor analysis functions, revealing what particular phrases the competitors are trying to rank or purchase.
- Check Online Competitors’ Ads: Use Google to search for your relevant keywords and evaluate the advertisements listed. Check the conducting messages, the action messages, and the adverts add-on.
- Keep Up With Competitors SMM Campaigns: Track competition’s social networking within your niche to discover popular keywords and tags.
High-Value Keywords with Local Intent: Precision Targeting for Maximum Impact
Not all keywords have the same ranking potential, especially when targeting a specific audience. The difference is significant when designing a PPC vs organic SEO campaign.
If you are targeting local communities in North America, it is essential to concentrate on high-value keywords with local intent to drive targeted traffic and maximize PPC ROI.
Let’s explore some local keyword research strategies for your next PPC campaign.
Long-Tail Keywords: The Power of Specificity
Long-tail keywords are more effective because they are informal and exhaustive search queries containing many words, used by fewer people but to purchase.
These phrases usually complement specific user requirements or preferences and are, as such, very effective for PPC campaigns.
To illustrate this, consider the case of a Toronto pizza restaurant. Trying to rank for the term “pizza” will bring in a lot of competition, but the audience will not be as qualified.
Instead, specific long-tailed keywords aiming at local searchers, like “order for the best pizza delivery service in Toronto” or “take out gluten-free pizza near me,” allow the business to reach people who want pizza in the specific locations and are most likely to order it.
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Local Search Terms: Engaging Your Neighbourhood
If the business is physical or caters to a specific geographical market, it is critical to integrate local keywords in your PPC plans. This helps ensure your ads will be shown to people looking for your products or services related to the target location.
Here are some suggestions on how to improve targeting by location on Google Ads:
- Emphasize the Names of Cities, States, or Regions in Your Keywords: For example, target “plumber in Houston” or “Marketing agency in Vancouver.”
- Rely on Google Ads Location Targeting: Limit the geography for which your ads will serve to the most pertinent audience only.
- Build Location-Related Landing Pages: Make your landing pages location-centric and filled with relevant offers to increase interaction.
Question Keywords: Adapting to the Era of Voice Search
With voice search on the rise, search queries are now mostly in the form of questions. The advantage of targeting question-based keywords is that you will grow with this trend and tailor your ads according to how people address their electronic devices.
Assume that a searcher is looking for “best hiking trails near me.” By focusing on this question keyword, it is possible to advertise the outdoor gear store or the hiking tour company to the very audience that is looking for recommendations.
The Benefits of High-Value Keywords
Focusing on high-value PPC keywords with local intent offers some crucial advantages for your advertising campaigns:
- Targeted Ads: Your ads will be seen less but to a more likely-to-convert audience, hence the higher impact on clicks and conversions.
- Lower Competition: Too many extensions and regional keywords attract less competition, which lowers the cost-per-click and makes ad spending more cost-effective.
- Higher ROI: Because you are targeting users aiming to buy or participate, you will achieve higher conversion rates, hence better returns on your investment.
The Impact of Effective Keyword Research on PPC Campaigns
Keyword research is an evolving practice that keeps deserving stakeholders in PPC campaigns interested in how well their campaigns perform, which is where most funds are put. If done correctly, you can expect well-targeted ads, low ad expenses, and a high return on investment.
Targeted Ads: Reaching the Right Audience
Consider keywords to connect your business and customers searching for your products or services. By choosing the most appropriate keywords related to your products or services and what the potential customers intend to search for, you enhance the chances of displaying your ads to the most suitable people.
This strategy reduces the funds used on advertisements with irrelevant clicks and increases the probability of reaching audiences in the second stage who are willing to explore more about your offering. Consequently, you will witness the improvement of CTRs and marketers’ ability to convert users, increasing sales volume, leads, or intended actions.
Higher ROI: Strategic Focus on Profit
Not all keywords are indeed equal. Some keywords can have a high search volume, but competition makes them more costly and, in principle, reduces the return on investment. Proper planning lets you identify keywords with less competition and more significant conversion potential.
Concentrating on these specific keywords, your bids, and the ad copy can achieve more favorable campaign results and, consequently, higher ROI than SEO campaigns in a shorter period.
A periodic review of the keywords’ performance history helps determine which works and enables further refinement in budget allocation for the pay-per-click, thus giving better returns.
Lower Ad Spend: Efficiency through Precision
Even though some specific keywords may appear too appealing with a massive search volume, the costs associated with promoting them are always hefty. Targeting less competitive, long-tail keywords is a well-known trick to cut down on the overall cost of advertising.
These more specific keywords may have a lower search volume, but they often attract a more qualified audience with a higher intent to convert. Shifting the focus to such keywords means spending less and attaining better performance, translating into cost reduction and enhanced campaign effectiveness.
Every Penny Spent on Keyword Research is a Worth Investment
Keyword research is an effective tool that proves worth the effort in the long term. You develop effective, focused, and economical PPC campaigns by getting to know your audience and their pain points, targeting the most suitable keywords, and persistently improving your campaigns.
Do not be mistaken: it is not about trying to catch as much fish as possible but instead trying to catch the most valuable fish from the right place. And getting some professional marketing help will constantly hone your strategy for success.