Online search marketing, such as Google AdWords, is an essential component of your appliance store’s marketing strategy. However, deciding which keywords to include in your campaign is not always easy.
There are two broad categories of keywords: general and brand-specific. General keywords are the ones with which advertisers are most familiar. These are words such as refrigerator, oven, washer, and dryer, and even longer-tail keywords such as “where to buy a refrigerator” or “buy French door refrigerator online.” Broad keywords like these will reach a much larger audience, usually at a lower cost to the advertiser.
Brand-specific keywords are similar to the terms above, but always include a brand name as a modifier. Adding a brand name such as Electrolux or Maytag to any of the above terms creates a brand-specific keyword – Electrolux refrigerator, Maytag washer and dryer, or where to buy Frigidaire refrigerator. These keywords will reach a much smaller audience, but usually have a higher cost to advertisers.
When one keyword has a higher average cost per click than another, most people assume that more advertisers are bidding on that keyword. However, that is not always the case. In the world of appliance keywords, you’ll find that although both types of keywords have high competition, many more advertisers bid on the general keywords. So why would brand keywords have a higher average cost per click? It’s usually due to two things:
1– Your store is bidding against the company itself.
When a consumer searches a keyword that includes the word Electrolux, he or she is likely to find Electrolux’s ad at the top of the page. So your store is bidding against other appliance retailers and the brand itself. That brand has big money and plenty of incentive to make sure it’s bidding high enough to keep its ad at the top of the page above yours. Their high bids drive up the average cost per click.
2– The advertisers are willing to pay more for that keyword because it’s more likely to lead to a conversion.
In the world of search marketing, the more specific the keyword, the more advertisers are willing to pay to get the click. Why is that? Think about it. If I were to walk into your store today and tell you I am in the market for a refrigerator, what is my likelihood of purchasing from you that day? On the other hand, if I walk in and tell you I’m in the market for an Electrolux refrigerator, what are the chances I will purchase one before I leave? How about if I know I want an Electrolux French door refrigerator? The individual who knows what brand they want to purchase is further down the sales cycle and closer to actually buying the product. That means they are more likely to convert to a sale, and you as the retailer usually need to spend less time and money moving that person into a sale.
Doesn’t that make that person worth more to you as a retailer? If so, you’d be willing to pay a couple of dollars more per click for the brand specific keyword than you would for the general keyword because you know that searcher is more likely to convert to a customer. That willingness to pay more for the more ready consumer drives up the average cost per click for brand-specific keywords.
Does that mean you shouldn’t bid on brand-specific keywords? No. In fact, you may find that once you factor in your conversion and sales data, the brand-specific keywords have a lower cost per conversion and drive a higher profit. With any marketing decision, you need to evaluate your target market, your products, and your profit margin when deciding how much you are willing to pay per click. The more data you have (clicks, conversion, time on site, sales, etc.), the better decisions you’ll be able to make when it comes to choosing keywords and bids for your search marketing campaign.
Feeling overwhelmed? We have you covered. Our in-house search-marketing expert works with our team and yours to develop comprehensive and customized Google AdWords campaigns that are tailored to your needs and integrate with your existing marketing strategy. From landing pages to keyword bids, we develop, manage, and optimize the campaigns from A to Z. By incorporating analytics and sales data, our team is continuously optimizing your campaigns to ensure the best use of your budget.
