Learn how to collect intelligence for competitive keyword research and analysis in this detailed presentation from Larry Kim at the SEMPDX event.

1. Competitive Intelligence in Search SEMPdxSearchFest: March 9, 2010 Larry Kim, Founder, VP of Products, WordStream, Inc.

2. Agenda: Competitive Intelligence in Search Gathering competitive intelligence (CI) for search marketing Interpreting CI data: Common pitfalls & misconceptions Suggested workflows for leveraging competitive intelligence data in paid & organic search

3. Gathering CI Data: Plenty of Tools Available Alexa Search Analytics Compete.com Google Keyword Tool Keyword Spy SEM Rush SpyFu (Mike’s company) WordStream (my company) … many others: too many to list out!

4. Competitive Intelligence (CI) Data

5. Interpreting CI data: Common pitfalls & misconceptions Wow. This is a TON of data! How do I interpret it? What should I do with all of this CI data? 4 popular competitive intelligence blunders (and how to avoid them)!

6. Competitive Intelligence Blunder #1 Assuming your competitive intelligence data is relevant Never blindly assume what works for your competitors will work for you! Review the data, test it out and see for yourself. Repeat this process!

7. Competitive Intelligence Blunder #2 Too much analysis, not enough action! Don’t get overly hung up in analyzing CI data Ideally whatever CI data that you track is actionable (in a scalable way), and that your actions are data driven.

8. Competitive Intelligence Blunder #3 Mistaking estimated CI data for actual campaign data A PPC Example: Suppose CI data shows indicates that your desired target keyword has a high estimated competition and high average CPC Give up? Never! The actual CPC you pay in your campaign can be below average, depending on how well you structure your campaigns How? Focus on improving Quality Score!

10. Actual CPC = (Ad Rank to Beat/Quality Score) +$0.01

11. Mary bids less than Tom but wins the top spot and pays just (16/10) + 0.01 = $1.61

12. By improving Quality Score, Mary beat the average estimated CPC!How Estimated CPC is NOT the same as Actual CPC!

13. How to Improve Quality Score Select specific keywords & negative keywords Group together closely related keywords Write relevant ad text and landing pages that speak to the intent of the searcher OK: Somewhat Related Awful: Too Broad! Better: Reflects Intent

14. Estimated vs. Actual CI Data: Key Takeaway Don’t be deterred by unfavorable estimated CI data but rather take it under advisement. There are no set rules on how to interpret CI data Try to get a quick read on the true PPC or SEO competitive landscape by creating either an ad group (PPC) or content (SEO) and measuring the actual results.

15. Competitive Intelligence Blunder #4: CI data is an important component of keyword research – should be used in addition to other keyword research tools Don’t forget to leverage your own Web analytics data to get a proprietary competitive advantage!

16. The Problem with Keyword Tools Everyone Shares Same Keyword Data Keyword Tools How do you get a competitive advantage? How does a keyword tool know what’s relevant to your business?

17. Use both CI Keyword Suggestions & Web Analytics Data Some of the BEST keyword opportunities come from your own web site. Successful Keyword Research integrates both Web analytics and Competitive Intelligence Keyword Tool data

18. A workflow for using competitive intelligence data in PPC Assemble your keyword list (include CI data, keyword suggestion tool data, Web Analytics, etc.) Filter & organize your list into small keyword groupings of closely related keywords Building out themed ad groups & landing pages around your keyword clusters Get an read on actual PPC competitive landscape

19. Workflow using Competitive Intelligence data for PPC Was your target PPC cost-per-action achieved? If YES: Mission accomplished. Move on to next keyword grouping. If NO: Try targeting sub-niches (long-tail keyword variations) Look for negative keywords to improve CTR Try out different bid strategies & match-types Ad text & landing page optimizations

22. Workflow using Competitive Intelligence data for SEO Google your target keyword. If your page is found on page 1: Great! Mission accomplished. Move on. If not found anywhere: Try working in long-tail keywords variations of your main keyword topic into your page copy Create content targeting more specific keyword niches. Do internal & external hyperlink building

24. Wordstream’s internal keyword research consists of ~100k keywords – trying to track CI data on such a big list is a path to madness

25. Tip: Instead try to break up your keyword research into categories/subcategories, then track CI data on a per-grouping basis.

27. How I Use Competitive Intelligence Sizing up a competitor – where are they focusing their PPC & SEO efforts? How successful are they? Getting keyword & hyperlink ideas Stealing traffic / draining link equity

28. For More Information, check out… The Ultimate Guide to Keyword Competitiveness –Tips from 35 Experts – Free! Todd Mintz (SEMpdx) Aaron Wall (SEOBook) Rand Fishkin (SEOMoz) Ann Smarty (Search Engine Journal) Many others! Free Keyword Niche Finder (WordStream)

29. About WordStream A provider of keyword research & management solutions for PPC & SEO Tools for continuously discovering, filtering, organizing, analyzing and implementing campaigns based on your own keyword research. Your own, private hosted keyword research, plus integrated tools to help you understand and act on it.

30. WordStream Keyword Management Tools

31. Actionable PPC & SEO Tools Turn your organized keyword research into PPC ads or optimized SEO content.

32. Spy on Competitor Keywords

33. WordStream Negative Keyword Discovery Tools

34. Thank you SEMPDX Thank you Search Engine Marketing Professionals of Portland!! Contact me: Email: lkim@wordstream.com Twitter: @larrykim