This year, I collaborated with Nic D’Amato, one of our talented in-house PPC specialists, to develop a guide for account managers to excel in e-commerce keyword research. While several readers found the advice helpful, they requested broader strategies applicable to non-retail websites. You asked, and we listened!

Here are five incredibly dependable keyword research tools and strategies suitable for almost any industry. Happy exploring!

Keyword Search Tool #1: Google Trends

Analyzing patterns is always intriguing! Google Trends is a treasure trove for marketers. Beyond its allure for procrastination disguised as “data analysis,” it offers invaluable information on seasonal, geographical, and search-related patterns.

To utilize Google Trends for keyword research, start by entering one of your primary keywords in the search bar. Navigate to the third section titled Related Searches. This section presents a compilation of the most relevant queries closely tied to your keyword, along with searches experiencing a surge in popularity. If these related terms match your product offerings, incorporate them into your account. If not, it’s essential to mark them as negative keywords before they negatively impact your performance.

For instance, when crafting a campaign for flat irons, you might want to include “flat iron hair” and “chi flat iron” in your keyword lists. However, “steak” clearly stands out as a crucial negative keyword. The same applies to “building.”

Identifying Geographical Keyword Variations with Google Trends

This tool proves particularly beneficial when researching keywords for geographically targeted campaigns in unfamiliar markets. Let’s assume you aim to sell flat irons not only in the United States but also in Australia. As evident, the interest in the term “flat iron” in Australia is quite low.

Therefore, a comparison was made with the synonym “hair straightener.”

And there you have it! The search interest for this specific term among the Australian audience is substantially higher. Failing to recognize this through Google Trends would have undoubtedly spelled trouble for your Australian “flat iron” campaigns.

Keyword Search Tool #2: Google Analytics Site Search

Knowing precisely what visitors search for on your website holds immense value. Advertisers leverage this information to ensure their ads direct the right audience to the appropriate landing pages, understand user interactions with their site structure, and even uncover new product opportunities.

However, many overlook its potential as a goldmine for fresh keywords!

Accessing this information requires some initial setup. Your website needs a search bar and, ideally, configured search query parameters that appear in the URL after a search. Even without query parameters, it’s possible, albeit slightly more complex, as it involves adding a code snippet to your Analytics tracking code.

Once your site meets these criteria, navigate to the Admin section in Google Analytics and choose View Settings.

Scroll down to Site Search Settings to enable your tracking code and define your query parameters.

As long as your website is equipped with Analytics code, it will capture every search made on your site. To analyze the results, head over to the Behavior section within the Reporting tab of Google Analytics.

This will present you with a list of all unique search queries made on your website. Pay attention to metrics like:

• Total unique searches – This reveals the search volume and frequency.
• Time after search – Did users remain on the page they found through the search?
• Average search depth – The average number of pages viewed after a search, indicating whether users had to refine their search.

These metrics help determine if users find what they need on your website. If you’re not bidding on terms used by qualified users, add them to your keyword list. Multiple searches for something you don’t offer signal a potential negative keyword.

Keyword Search Tool #3: Competitive Research

You’d be remiss not to engage in some harmless reconnaissance to uncover your competitors’ bidding terms. I’m not suggesting unethical, deceitful tactics—just a bit of friendly observation!

Accessing their exact keyword lists without their credentials is impossible. Therefore, Nic suggests turning to the next best thing—informed estimations from third-party tools. Numerous options exist, but our top pick is SEMRush.

This tool boasts extensive functionality, but for keyword research, we recommend focusing on the Advertising Research > Positions section. Input your competitors’ URLs to generate a report showcasing their bidding keywords alongside other valuable data. Most importantly, the report provides estimated CPCs for these keywords, the traffic share they generate, and the percentage of overall ad spend allocated to each.

Nic advises running these reports for all major competitors and exporting them to Excel. This allows you to consolidate all research and utilize pivot tables to pinpoint common keywords across all competitors.

Furthermore, when crafting ads for your new keywords, SEMRush enables you to view the ad copy triggered by those keywords, allowing for more competitive ad creation.

Keyword Search Tool #4: Google Suggest

We’re all acquainted with Google’s autocomplete feature, which suggests relevant search terms as you type a query. Introduced years ago, it not only assists lazy searchers but also aims to connect users with more relevant content.

While these suggestions might seem random, they’re actual queries by real users. Google ranks them by search volume (considering the user’s location and language), and if you’re logged in, it personalizes recommendations based on your past searches.

I assure you, this is not based on my search history! Though not explicitly designed for advertisers, this tool offers undeniable benefits. Long-tail keywords are generally cheaper and less competitive than head terms but often suffer from abysmal search volume. Google Suggest helps uncover longer-tail keywords with significant search volume.

When using this method, we advise an incognito window to prevent your search history from influencing the results. Type in one of your head terms and observe the suggestions. Any relevant suggestions should be added to your account in highly targeted ad groups.

Remember, bidding on your initial search term with a broader match type might already display your ads for these longer searches. Any suggested terms you want to exclude your ad from appearing for are prime candidates for negative keywords.

For instance, if you sell Living Proof hair care products, a search might reveal “living proof ministries” as a suggestion, which is entirely unrelated. Adding “ministries” as a negative keyword is crucial in this case!

Keyword Search Tool #5: Keyword Planner

Never underestimate the power of Keyword Planner! Google’s robust free keyword tool is worth exploring. While fairly straightforward, it offers some nifty features you might not be aware of.

The tool primarily focuses on uncovering new keywords and providing their search volume data. Start by inputting your product or service keywords, landing page URL, and/or product category. For more precise data, include targeting criteria like location, language, and networks.

Using this information, Google generates a list of relevant new keywords for your consideration, along with their search volume, competition level, and suggested bid.

You can add appealing suggestions to your “plan.” Once finalized, you can either download the list to share with clients or colleagues or directly import it into your account.

Combining Keywords with Keyword Planner

Keyword Planner also features a concatenation tool for swiftly generating new keyword combinations. Input your main keywords in List 1 and modifiers in List 2.

The tool then generates a new list containing every possible combination, simplifying the process compared to manual creation.

Not bad for a free tool at all! For more keyword research tools and strategies, check out:

• 3 Highly Actionable Keyword Research Tips to Implement Immediately
• 3 Innovative Keyword Tools for Generating Content Ideas