The Hidden Value of Keywords

What do your prospective customers think about when they�re getting ready to buy? This might be the most important question in business.Answer it correctly and your business grows, fueled by targeted marketing messages that deliver buyers to a product with features and benefits that meet their needs. Answer it incorrectly and you�re in the company of the teams that launched the Edsel, New Coke, and the Apple Newton. Large corporations spend millions of dollars on surveys, focus groups, test markets, and consultants to try to find the answer. Executives at smaller companies generally have to trust their instincts when marketing a new product, hoping that fragments of data from their sales team, key customers, and trade shows accurately reflect customer thinking. Wouldn�t it be easier if you could directly monitor what customers think as they look for your product? What if Nielsen could monitor the actual thoughts of customers rather than just telling you what they are watching on TV? If you are using keyword-targeted advertising, or search listings, online to promote your business, you already have such a tool. While shopping online, people generally type keywords into a search box to find what they are looking for. The keywords entered are a direct and exact reflection of what is on their minds as they research your product. Most search marketers monitor their keywords very carefully. They evaluate click-throughs, bid amounts, conversions, and ROI to determine how to maximize their search marketing programs. But, if that�s all you do, you�re missing a huge opportunity. The keywords that generate lots of clicks to your site reflect what�s top of mind for people who have an interest in your product or service. These are usually more general in nature and most often used in the research-gathering phase or, as some in the industry like to say, the traffic from the �tire-kickers�. The keywords that drive the most conversions, however, reflect the underlying thoughts of people who have done their research and are ready to buy your products. These underlying thoughts are, in advertising terms, your key messages, or the �motivators�, which drive purchase behavior. In fact, by uncovering these keywords and being able to analyze click-through rates and conversion rates, you get the poor man�s version of an in-depth qualitative and quantitative study��peeling the onion� in the qualitative research process to get to the root cause motivators, backed up by the actual, quantitative results that are predictive of future market behavior. Don�t get me wrong, research studies are well worth it, but comprehensive qualitative and quantitative studies remain the privilege of companies with healthy marketing budgets.Take it a step further, the most successful online marketers identify these powerful keywords and use them throughout all of their communications initiatives. In other words, the keywords that work for your keyword-targeted advertisements online, should be in every advertisement, in every press release, in every brochure, and in every marketing email. By using similar key messages throughout your communications you are constantly reinforcing the brand elements that motivate purchase behavior. So, you may not have a huge research budget to test out your ideas, but you can still determine what drives your customers� behavior without spending your scarce marketing dollars on focus groups, surveys, or consultants. Just follow the keyword success of your online keyword-targeted advertising campaign to power all of your marketing initiatives