What Is Keyword Bidding? A Step-by-Step Guide for Beginners

What Is Keyword Bidding?

A keyword bid oregon pay-per-click (PPC) bid is the magnitude of wealth advertisers are consenting to wage for their advertisement to fertile for a circumstantial keyword. 

Think of it arsenic a split-second auction for integer advertisement space—one that runs each clip a idiosyncratic searches a keyword connected Google. Bidding connected a keyword enters your advertisement into an auction for it. 

This gives your advertisement a accidental to look connected results pages (or advertisement networks) and thrust website postulation that tin effect successful clicks, conversions, and sales. 

For example, let’s accidental you ain an ecommerce store that sells fittingness accessories. And you privation to summation income of your wearable devices. 

So, you bid connected keywords similar “best fittingness watches for Apple.”

Your ads whitethorn present amusement up erstwhile idiosyncratic searches these presumption connected Google. Like this:

This puts your store successful beforehand of searchers close erstwhile they are searching for the products you offer. 

How Does Bidding Work?

Keyword bids instrumentality spot connected advertizing platforms similar Google Ads oregon Bing Ads. (We’ll beryllium focusing connected however to bid for keywords successful Google Ads successful this post.) 

Think of Google Ads arsenic an auction location wherever you bid connected keywords. Within the platform, your ads are organized into “ad groups.”

These groups are collections of ads that absorption connected related items—like fittingness watches oregon wellness supplements. 

Keywords play a important relation successful determining the targeting for your ads. The presumption you prime dictate erstwhile your advertisement should look successful hunt results. 

Choosing the close keywords means your ads get shown to radical searching for your products oregon services.

Here’s a elemental overview of however Google’s auctioning process uses keywords and ads: 

1. Bidding connected keywords places you successful an auction alongside different advertisers who’ve bid connected the same/similar terms. 
2. Google Ads runs an auction for disposable advertisement space. This could beryllium connected a search motor results leafage (SERP) oregon a site/page that’s portion of the Ad Network. 
3. If your ad's keywords are applicable to the searcher’s query, you're eligible to participate the auction and person your ads served to users 

Unlike a emblematic auction, however, the highest bidder connected a keyword doesn’t ever win. 

Alongside the bid amount, an ad’s presumption is influenced by 2 important factors: Quality Score and Ad Rank.

Quality Score 

Google scores your advertisement and landing page prime connected a standard of 1-10 by reviewing 3 factors:

1. Expected click-through complaint (CTR): The chances of your advertisement being clicked
2. Ad relevance: How intimately your advertisement matches idiosyncratic intent
3. Landing leafage experience: The relevance of your landing leafage for radical who click your ad

Ad Rank

Ad Rank is simply a worth that Google uses to determine wherever to spot ads connected a page. Or if it shows an advertisement astatine all. 

Multiple factors and instrumentality learning harvester to cipher Ad Rank. And it’s calculated each clip determination is disposable advertisement abstraction for your keyword. 

This means your rankings tin fluctuate, depending connected your bid amount, advertisement prime score, hunt intent, and your advertisement format. 

In wide terms, Ad Rank has six cardinal factors:

1. Your bid: This is the astir you're consenting to wage for idiosyncratic to click connected your ad. You tin alteration it immoderate time.
2. Ad and leafage quality: Google checks if your advertisement and the webpage it goes to are adjuvant and applicable to users. Your ad's prime is shown successful your Quality Score.
3. Ad Rank thresholds: If your bid is little than the reserve terms (or threshold), your advertisement volition not show 
4. Competition successful the auction: If your Ad Rank is akin to competitors, you some basal a accidental of ranking. If your Ad Rank is notably amended than your competitors, your advertisement is much apt to triumph the apical position.
5. User intent and hunt context: Google looks astatine what the idiosyncratic is searching for, their location, instrumentality type, and different factors to determine which advertisement to service them.
6. Impact of advertisement assets and information: Ad assets fto you adhd much details to your ad, similar a telephone fig oregon other links. Google Ads estimates however this other accusation volition impact your ad's performance.

How to Get Started with Keyword Bidding successful 4 Steps 

1. Choose the Right Keywords

Use Google’s Keyword Planner to find keywords your customers use. 

For example, accidental we’re moving a run for an ecommerce store specializing successful wellness supplements for vegan athletes. 

There are a fewer antithetic ways to physique an archetypal database of keyword ideas with the “Discover caller keywords” option: 

• Start with keywords: Enter a operation oregon keyword related to the merchandise you’re looking to advertise 
• Start with a website: Add your ain oregon a competitor’s website to make a database of keywords that are applicable to the domain 
• Start with both: Add keywords and a website to make a database of hyper-relevant keywords

We’ll commencement by entering keywords specified as: 

• “Vegan wellness supplements”
• “Plant-based supplements”
• “Vegan supplements for athletes”

Then, click “Get results.”

This gives america a database of much than 2,500 imaginable keywords to prime from.

Refining Your Keyword List 

A database of 2,500 keywords to bid connected is simply a large start. However, galore keywords won’t beryllium applicable to the products we sell. 

Not lone that, but bidding connected each of them would skyrocket advertisement costs, pb to inaccurate targeting, and harm advertisement performance. 

So, however bash you prime the cleanable keywords to bid on?

Filter results for brands and merchandise types with the “Refine Keywords” conception (on the close broadside of the keyword list). 

We tin filter betwixt antithetic brands oregon region each brands from the database for our supplement store. 

This is utile for bidding connected branded keywords. Or filtering out—and preventing our ads from showing up for—brands we don’t stock. 

There’s besides the enactment to people antithetic categories of supplements. Such arsenic powders, drinks, capsules, oregon adjacent circumstantial nutrient types. 

This lets america make advertisement groups based connected circumstantial types of products oregon hunt queries our customers would use. 

For example, accidental we privation to summation income of multivitamin drinks. 

We’d exclude different supplement categories, similar powders and capsules, from our database of keywords.

This narrows our database to applicable keywords that are aligned with the products we privation to promote. 

From here, we’re acceptable to commencement choosing the keywords we privation to bid on. And deciding however overmuch we’d similar to bid connected them.

If you privation to accelerate the keyword probe signifier and the instauration of your paid hunt strategy, usage Semrush’s Advertising Research tool. It gives insights into competitors’ keywords, budget, and wide paid hunt strategy. 

Start by entering your competitor’s domain into the tool. 

You’ll person an investigation of your competitor’s advertizing strategy. This includes a summary of their estimated traffic, keywords, and postulation cost. 

Scroll down to “Paid Search Positions.” Here, you’ll spot a breakdown of the keywords your competitors are bidding connected alongside utile metrics specified as: 

• Ad position: The presumption an analyzed domain gets successful paid hunt results for a fixed keyword implicit a circumstantial play of time 
• Volume: The mean fig of times users person searched for a fixed keyword per month. We cipher this worth implicit the past 12 months.
• CPC: The mean terms successful the selected currency advertisers are paying for a user's click connected an advertisement triggered by the fixed keyword (Google Ads)

Since we’re focusing connected plant-based and vegan supplements, we tin prime up connected absorbing keywords that are performing good for the competition. This includes “vegan protein” and “plant protein.” 

You tin besides get a divers scope of keyword ideas from Semrush’s Keyword Magic Tool. And usage it to brainstorm keywords for circumstantial lucifer types. 

Here’s how: 

Enter a connection oregon operation related to your product, past click “Search.” (We’ll proceed with the “vegan supplements” theme.) 

You’ll past get a database of keyword ideas to usage for the targeting of your ads. Along with information connected each keyword, similar keyword trouble (KD), mean cost per click (CPC), and more. 

We tin besides see broader oregon much circumstantial keywords successful our list. Such arsenic “vegan macromolecule powder” oregon “vegan macromolecule bars.” 

If we privation to further filter the database of keywords by lucifer type, we tin prime betwixt the tabs for keywords that are: 

• Broad lucifer keywords: Show for immoderate searches that subordinate to your keyword. They maximize postulation by reaching the widest imaginable audience. 
• Phrase lucifer keywords: Narrow results down astir the meaning of your keyword. Queries tin person further words earlier oregon after, but the meaning of keywords from the operation indispensable beryllium included.
• Exact lucifer keywords: The astir circumstantial lucifer benignant that gives you much power implicit which queries your ads target. Traffic is usually lower, but it allows you to people circumstantial audiences and intents.

It’s important to see keyword lucifer benignant portion researching keywords to bid on. It volition assistance signifier your bidding strategy, budget, and targeting for ads. (Learn much from Google’s usher connected keyword matching.) 

2. Set Your Budget and Bids

So, you’ve discovered your people keywords to bid on. 

The adjacent step?

Set your run fund and determine however overmuch you're consenting to bid. 

Establish Your Campaign Budget

You tin either set:

• Average regular budget: The mean magnitude you're consenting to walk for a campaign. Ideal if you’re caller to keyword bidding, researching ideas, oregon launching your archetypal campaign. 
• Shared budget: An mean regular fund shared crossed aggregate campaigns. Ideal for larger campaigns and erstwhile you privation Google to optimize run performance. 

Our archetypal database of keywords and their bid estimates are captious during this stage. 

Bid estimates springiness you an thought of however overmuch different advertisers are bidding for the aforesaid keywords. They are based connected the magnitude advertisers person paid for a keyword successful the past. 

Bid estimates assistance you:

• Allocate and negociate the fund for your advertizing campaign
• Adjust your bidding strategy based connected competitors and marketplace trends 
• Prioritize which keywords to fertile implicit others based connected profitability and relevance. 

Here’s a breakdown of the antithetic types of bid estimates from Google: 

• Top-of-page bid estimate: The higher and little estimates of bids that person historically placed ads astatine the apical of the hunt results leafage
  • Low range: Shows the little extremity of what advertisers person paid for a top-of-page position
  • High range: Shows the higher extremity of what advertisers person paid for a top-of-page position 
• First leafage bid estimate: The magnitude advertisers person paid to amusement ads anyplace connected the archetypal leafage of hunt results
• First presumption bid estimate: The magnitude advertisers person paid to fertile successful the archetypal position

Let’s accidental we travel a CPC bidding strategy that includes a keyword similar “vegan probiotics.” 

We tin spot that the top-of-page bid (high range) is $7.88. But the keyword isn’t a precedence due to the fact that it’s not focused connected “protein.”

So, we mightiness acceptable the maximum bid to $2.00 for the keyword, arsenic that’s the maximum we’re consenting to wage for a click.

(We’ll dive into antithetic bidding goals and strategies later.) 

Compelling transcript is captious to the occurrence of your ad. 

It drives your people assemblage to instrumentality action. Whether that’s clicking connected a link, subscribing to an email list, oregon purchasing a product. 

Follow these champion practices beneath to guarantee your advertisement transcript is effective: 

Include Your Unique Message and Benefits 

State what makes your merchandise special. 

Is it the astir affordable? The astir effective? Or the lone vegan-friendly enactment available?

For example, the unsocial worth of Boil and Broth is clear—they supply bony broths with “no added vegetables oregon seasoning.” Which helps their advertisement pull those looking to prioritize a earthy merchandise with maximum protein: 

Use Strong Calls to Action (CTAs)

Encourage users to instrumentality action, whether it's "Shop Now," "Learn More," oregon "Get 50% Off Today."

For instance, the CTA to bask an “80%” discount successful Myprotein’s advertisement for “protein powder” entices searchers to click through: 

Include Your Target Keywords

Improve advertisement relevance by making definite the keywords you're bidding connected are included.

This advertisement by ADONIS Foods is simply a bully example. The keyword “vegan macromolecule bars” is salient successful the advertisement headline. This helps the advertisement basal retired and get bolded statement substance connected SERPs: 

Looking for inspiration to constitute amended advertisement copy?

Try Semrush’s AI Ad Copy Generator. 

It does the dense lifting of generating effectual advertisement headlines, descriptions, and callouts. Allowing you to optimize your campaigns efficiently. 

To begin, participate the landing leafage URL that you request transcript for, and click “Continue.” 

On the adjacent page, participate keywords related to the landing leafage oregon advertisement group. These volition beryllium included successful the AI-generated ads. Then, prime “Generate ads.”

To see aggregate keyword groups, take “Add keyword group” to see different acceptable of keywords. Then, click “Generate ads.”

From here, you’ll beryllium capable to person notifications successful your inbox. 

Return to the AI Ad Copy Generator homepage. Here, you’ll find your results nether the “History” section. Click “Get assets.”

A pop-up model volition punctual you to download the copy. Select “Export CSV.”

You’ll present person a database of headlines, descriptions, and callout substance based connected the keyword “vegan macromolecule powder.” 

Using this tool, we’ve generated aggregate compelling angles to animate our advertisement copy. All wrong a mates of clicks. 

This accelerates the probe process and reduces clip spent connected researching and drafting material.

4. Test and Optimize Your Campaigns

The Google Ads Experiments tool helps you fine-tune advertisement show with A/B testing. 

A/B testing compares 2 versions of an advertisement (“A” vs. “B”) to spot which performs better.

Tests often comparison an ad’s originative elements similar the headline, description, CTA, oregon image. 

This reveals the astir effectual elements of your ads. Enabling you to pinpoint precisely what resonates with your people audience. 

For example, you mightiness observe that a definite header leads to a importantly higher CTR. Or that a telephone to enactment that includes discounts generates much conversions. 

When conducting A/B testing, absorption connected 1 adaptable astatine a time. Testing a azygous constituent allows for clearer insights into what specifically influenced the changes. And ensures a much actionable mentation of the results.

Here’s however you tin commencement optimizing your campaigns: 

1. Create Variations

Let’s accidental we’re creating variations for a “vegan macromolecule powder” ad. 

And we privation to trial which statement resonates champion with our audience. 

Let’s caput backmost to the database that we created utilizing Semrush’s AI Ad Copy Generator. We tin spot aggregate transcript variations to test, focusing on: 

• Science: Vegan Protein Powder With “Full Amino Acid Profile”
• Grams of protein: “22g of Plant Based Protein Isolate”
• Sports performance: A nutritious summation to your plant-based fare to “fuel sports performance”

2. Run Your Ads 

Ensure some ads tally astatine the aforesaid clip for astatine slightest 2 weeks. And nether akin conditions to get close results. 

This means some versions of the advertisement should usage the same:

• Audience targeting
• Landing leafage destination
• Keywords (negative and positive) 

3. Analyze Results

Determine the winner. 

You tin usage metrics similar click-through complaint (CTR), conversion rate, and instrumentality connected advertisement walk (ROAS)—depending connected your run goals.

Let’s accidental we’re optimizing for CTR. And our divided trial results amusement that descriptions offering a redeemable discount coupon codification thrust much clicks than those that warrant debased prices. 

We tin now:

• Use the advertisement saltation with higher CTR to amended run performance 
• Test antithetic discount codes to spot which is much effective 
• Keep our discount codification CTA portion investigating caller elements similar headlines oregon images 

Need immoderate inspiration to travel up with effectual advertisement variations?

Spy connected your competitors’ ads with the Advertising Research tool.

Open the instrumentality and participate a competitor’s domain. Then, click “Search.”

You’ll archetypal spot the “Positions” report. Which shows which keywords their ads are appearing for. Use this study to spot what keywords your competitors are bidding on. 

(We tin spot that Myprotein appears for “vegetarian macromolecule shake,” which is utile if we’re considering bidding connected rival keywords.) 

Next, click the “Ads Copies” tab. 

You’ll present person entree to the nonstop headlines and descriptions your competitors are utilizing successful their Google hunt ads. And which keywords are triggering them.

Use these examples to commencement brainstorming ideas for your ain copy. 

Refine Your Keywords 

Trends and existent idiosyncratic searches tin power however your keywords execute and rank.

So, it’s important to amended your keywords for amended targeting. 

You tin bash this by identifying precocious oregon low-performing keywords via the Google Ads Search Terms report. 

The hunt presumption study shows queries users searched to trigger your ads. 

It’s a almighty mode to prune your database of keywords to optimize advertisement targeting. And makes it casual to region poor-performing keywords and adhd imaginable winners to your list. 

Let’s revisit our illustration of a vegan supplement store with an advertisement for “vegan macromolecule powder.”

Our hunt presumption study shows that our ads are appearing for “vegan collagen protein”—a merchandise we don’t sell. 

We’ll adhd “vegan collagen protein” arsenic a antagonistic keyword. This means ads won’t look for the circumstantial keyword. 

Which successful crook optimizes show and directs our advertisement fund to the products we bash sell. 

Keyword Bidding Strategies Explained 

A keyword bidding strategy is the attack you instrumentality to measurement the show of ads and keyword bids. It is an integral portion of moving (and optimizing) immoderate campaign. 

Google Ads offers some automated and manual bidding strategies. Each accommodates antithetic advertizing objectives and levels of expertise. 

So, what’s the perfect usage lawsuit for each? 

Manual Bidding

You manually acceptable the bid for each keyword based connected its worth to your run goals. It’s the cleanable enactment if you’re aft implicit power implicit bid amounts. 

With that said, manual bidding requires the clip and expertise to intimately show and set bids based connected performance. 

This bidding strategy is large for advertisers with a heavy knowing of their market, audience, and keyword. But not the champion enactment for those debased connected skills, time, oregon cognition of their people audience. 

Maximize Clicks

This automated strategy aims to get arsenic galore clicks arsenic imaginable wrong your budget.

It’s perfect for advertisers looking to boost website postulation without spending excessively overmuch clip connected bid management. And suits campaigns that prioritize clicks arsenic a cardinal show metric.

Target Cost Per Acquisition (tCPA)

Google automates bids that execute an mean tCPA adjacent to your people crossed each advertisement groups and campaigns.

Target outgo per acquisition is built for advertisers looking for much power implicit acquisition costs. 

They’ll cognize the worth of a conversion. And volition privation to support a circumstantial outgo per conversion extremity for a profitable campaign. 

For example, accidental you’ve calculated that acquiring a caller lawsuit for your “vegan macromolecule powder” shouldn’t outgo much than $20. 

Target outgo per acquisition volition optimize your bids to deed this extremity for each acquisition. So if you’ve acceptable a monthly fund of $1,000, you tin expect astir 50 caller customers. 

Enhanced Cost Per Click (ECPC)

You acceptable your bids, and Google adjusts them to maximize conversions. 

Google tin rise your bid for clicks that look much apt to pb to a merchantability oregon conversion. And little it for little promising clicks.

Enhanced outgo per click is utile for advertisers wanting to onslaught a equilibrium betwixt manual and automated bidding. And is particularly adjuvant if you’re looking to summation conversions portion maintaining immoderate power implicit bid amounts.

Create Effective Advertising Campaigns 

Keyword bidding is the gathering artifact of immoderate PPC advertizing campaign. 

However, moving an effectual paid advertizing run requires much than targeting effectual keywords. 

It’s a continuous process that includes researching the competition, optimizing creative, moving tests, and staying connected apical of marketplace trends. 

You tin usage Semrush’s almighty tools to accelerate astir immoderate portion of your campaigns. 

Keep an oculus connected your competitors with the Advertising Research Tool. Spawn full campaigns wrong a fewer clicks with the Ads Launch Assistant. Or make dozens of advertisement transcript variations utilizing the AI Ad Copy Generator. 

Get started contiguous with a escaped account.