Even though the online world has made marketing advancements by leaps and bounds, keyword targeting remains a cornerstone for ensuring success in advertising campaigns, particularly on platforms like Google Ads.
The Australian market, with its unique demographics and preferences, requires specialised insights for keyword targeting. In this article, we’ll take a closer look into keyword targeting in Australia, offering market insight in Australia for businesses keen on optimising their Google Ads strategy for the Australian audience.
What is Keyword Research?
Keyword research revolves around identifying and analysing the specific words or phrases that users type into search engines when looking for information, products, or services. This not only reveals the actual search terms people are using, but it also provides insight into the volume of searches, the intent behind those searches, and the level of competition for each term.
Understanding these keywords is crucial because it allows businesses and content creators to tailor their online materials to match what their target audience is actively searching for, improving visibility and relevance in search engine results. The aim is to find a balance between keywords that have a sufficiently high search volume (indicating demand) and an achievable level of competition.
How Do I Target the Right Keywords for Google Ads?
Targeting the right keywords is pivotal for Google Ads success. Selecting the wrong keywords can lead to wasted budget, irrelevant clicks, and missed opportunities. For businesses keen on capturing the Australian market, it’s imperative to align your keywords with the preferences and behaviours of your target audience. Here’s how to do it:
Understand Your Audience
- Demographics: Determine the age, gender, education, and other demographic details of your target audience.
- Psychographics: Identify their interests, hobbies, lifestyles, and challenges.
- Search Intent: Understand the purpose behind their searches. Are they looking for information, considering a purchase, or ready to buy?
- Local Insights: Australians have unique slang, preferences, and behaviours. Consider these while identifying keywords.
Use Keyword Research Tools
- Google Keyword Planner: This free tool from Google provides search volume, competition level, and cost estimates for keywords.
- SEMrush & Ahrefs: These paid tools offer deeper insights, including keyword difficulty, search volume trends, and related keywords.
- Google Trends: Especially useful for seasonal businesses, this tool helps track the popularity of search terms over time in specific regions
Review Competitor Keywords
- Competitor Analysis Tools: Using tools such as SEMrush or Ahrefs, you can see which keywords your competitors are targeting.
- Gap Analysis: Identify keywords your competitors might be missing. This can offer you a competitive advantage.
- Ad Copy Analysis: Examine your competitors’ ad copies to understand how they are positioning themselves with the same keywords.
Localise Keywords
- City-Specific Terms: For businesses with a local presence, targeting city-specific keywords (like “Melbourne coffee shops” or “Brisbane gyms”) can narrow down the audience.
- Australian Slang & Terminologies: Aussies have their own set of jargons. Incorporate these if relevant, like “sunnie brands” instead of “sunglass brands”.
Consider Long-Tail Keywords
These are longer, more specific keyword phrases that visitors are likely to use when they’re closer to the point of purchase or when they’re using voice search. Often, they’re less competitive and can offer a better ROI. An example might be “women’s waterproof hiking boots in Sydney” rather than just “hiking boots”.
Understand Match Types
- Broad Match: This is the default match type. Your ad might show up for searches that include misspellings, synonyms, related searches, etc.
- Phrase Match: Ads may show on searches that include the whole phrase.
- Exact Match: Ads may appear for searches that match the exact term.
- Negative Keywords: These are as crucial as the positive ones. They prevent your ad from showing up for irrelevant searches.
Test and Refine
- A/B Testing: Experiment with different keyword sets and ad copies to see which combinations drive the best results.
- Regular Audits: Regularly assess keyword performance. Pause underperforming ones and experiment with new potential keywords.
- Stay Updated: The online world, especially the Australian digital landscape, is ever-evolving. Regularly update your keyword list to stay relevant.
What are Positive Keywords for Google Ads?
When we talk about keywords in Google Ads, we’re generally referring to what are often called ‘positive keywords’. These are the keywords you actively choose to trigger your ads in search results or on relevant websites within the Display Network. Understanding positive keywords and how they influence your ad’s visibility is crucial to running effective campaigns.
So what exactly are they? Positive keywords are specific words or phrases that you want your ads to be displayed for when they match or closely relate to a user’s search query. They are the foundation of your ad campaigns and play a pivotal role in determining where and when your ads will appear.
Positive keywords are important in terms of targeted traffic, budget management and increased conversions. By selecting the right positive keywords, you ensure your ads are seen by a relevant audience – users who are actively searching for your products or services. It also means you’re spending your advertising dollars on search terms that matter most to your business. Choosing the right keywords with the right budget can also help ensure you get a higher CTR and conversion rate, so it’s a win-win all round.
Selecting Positive Keywords
- Start Broad, Then Narrow Down: Begin with broader keywords related to your product or service and refine based on performance and specificity.
- Consider User Intent: Different keywords suggest different user intentions, from informational (e.g., “how to fix a leaky faucet”) to transactional (e.g., “buy plumber tools online”).
- Alignment with Ad Content and Landing Page: One often overlooked but essential aspect of selecting positive keywords is ensuring they align seamlessly with the ad content and the landing page to which the ad directs.
Which Keywords Are Best to Target?
The best keywords to target are those that balance high user intent, sufficient search volume, and manageable competition while aligning with your business goals.
User Intent
Understanding the intent behind a search query is critical. Keywords can generally be classified based on the user’s intent:
- Informational Keywords: Users are looking for more information. E.g., “How does solar energy work?”
- Navigational Keywords: Users are searching for a specific website or brand. E.g., “Apple official store.”
- Transactional Keywords: Users are ready to make a purchase or use a service. E.g., “Buy iPhone 14 online.”
- Commercial Investigation: Users are comparing products or services. E.g., “iPhone 14 vs. Samsung Galaxy S23 review.”
For most businesses looking to drive sales or conversions, transactional and commercial investigation keywords are usually the most lucrative, but they may also be more competitive.
Search Volume
While targeting keywords with a high search volume seems logical, it’s essential to ensure that this volume is relevant to your specific business or offer.
- High Volume Keywords: These are often broad and can bring a lot of traffic but may have lower conversion rates due to their generic nature.
- Low Volume Keywords: They may attract fewer users but can be highly specific (often termed as long-tail keywords), leading to better conversion rates.
Level of Competition
Highly competitive keywords are challenging and often expensive to rank for, especially in paid campaigns.
- Low Competition: Easier to rank for, often less expensive in pay-per-click campaigns, and can offer better ROI.
- High Competition: Difficult to rank for, especially for newer websites or businesses. They often have a higher cost-per-click in paid campaigns.
Choosing the Best Keywords for the Australian Market
Targeting the right keywords for Google Ads in the Australia market is a blend of understanding the local audience, performing diligent keyword research, and constantly refining your approach based on performance data. By keeping unique details of the Australian audience in mind and integrating them into your Google Ads keyword research, businesses can effectively optimise their campaigns for success down under.
Now that you better understand the right Google Ads strategy for Australian audience and know how to pick the right keyword for Australia market, take the time to learn more about other features of Google Ads as well including demographic targeting, location targeting and many other Google Ads campaign strategies to help local businesses in Australia.
Not sure where to start? Reach out to our Google Ads management agency in Adelaide for a free consultation today!
