Keywords play a critical role in the success of search
marketing. They are the words and phrases that describe or relate to the content of a webpage or a
website. Marketers need to know the relevant range of keywords that target customers enter into the
browser’s search box when they seek the information or the products/services provided by the site. This
understanding forms the basis for search advertising and search engine optimization (SEO) strategies.
To make the most of keywords, advertisers should narrow down the possibilities to a
manageable list. They should choose a combination of keywords that would attract target customers at
different stages of their buying journey, from awareness to consideration and ultimately, to
conversion.
Exhibit 27.10 Long tail and short tail keywords.
Keywords may be classified as long and short tail (Exhibit 27.10).
Short tail keywords are phrases with only one or two words. They tend to be
generic in nature, often pertaining to the category as a whole, for instance “shampoo”, “marketing”, “marketing analytics”,
“washing machines” etc. They generate high search volume, and since they attract high level of competition, the bidding for
these words tends to be high.
Marketers may use these keywords in their ads to draw high traffic to their home page.
Conversion rates, however, are likely to be low.
Long tail keywords are longer phrases that are more specific in nature. For example,
“anti-dandruff shampoo”, “marketing analytics for practitioners”, “gain-loss analysis” and “front-loading low suds washing machines”.
They generate low, but better-targeted search volume that leads to relatively higher conversion rate. They also
attract lesser competition.
Besides long and short tail descriptors,
keywords may also be classified according to whether they target category seekers, the company’s product (brand) seekers,
or the competitor’s product seekers.
Category keywords are the generic short tail keywords, relating to almost any
product or service in the category. For example, Shampoo, Soap, Body Wash, Feel Fresh etc.
Brand keywords are the phrases that are tightly bound to a brand. Taking Dove
body wash as an example, these include “one-quarter moisturising cream”, “real beauty”, “self-esteem”
and “Dove body wash”.
Competitor keywords target a competitor’s keywords. This can be an effective
strategy especially for a small player if the target competitor is a much stronger player. If the
brand Dove wants to target Johnsons body wash, it may target a Johnsons keyword such as “for all you love”.
When pursuing competitor keywords, one needs to be mindful of legal implications especially when targeting
trademarks such as brand names, as this is illegal in several countries.
More examples of the use of category, brand, and competitor keywords, particularly
in the context of marketing strategy and the digital marketing funnel, can be found in Section
Keyword Strategy.
