keyword research

[BitShift]

Ive manage to locate the google keyword search tool, but I would really like to do is target a specific area and a 75 mile radius out from there. Also, just going from the keywords that I had in mind, there doesnt seem to be much related to my target audience. In other words, just from playing around with the tool, and searching on the phrases that I *THINK* these users would be searching on, just isnt happening. I see data on some of the individual keywords, but not the phrases im using. Im trying to put myself in the shoes of my potential customer and the phrases they would be using if doing a search.

By the way, does yahoo have a similar keyword tool?

So, based on the keyword tool, if im not getting many results or even "not enough data", is it safe to say that those phrases just arent being search on?

[BitShift]

Also, is it true that I can limit my ads to being displayed for a specific location? Im wanting to limit my ads to being displayed to users within 75 miles of a specific zip code if possible. Looking at adwords help it seems this is possible. Anyone care to comment on this? Any issues?

[buckworks]

Yes, you can set the geographical area, so that your ads are only shown to users in your trading area. Google's geo-targeting isn't 100% perfect, but it's pretty good.

It can be a huge challenge when you're trying to market something that few users are actively searching for. This is where the content network can shine, because you can get your ads in front of people based on broader interests rather than specific searches.

I usually prefer to create separate campaigns for search and content, because the user mindset is different and you want to be able to adapt your ads accordingly.

[MadeWillis]

Google themselves provide excellent resources on Adwords targeting. It works pretty well from my experience.

[adwords.google.com...]

[BitShift]

So if the keyword tool isnt able to find a match on the phrase you entered, is it a safe bet that not many searches are bing done with that phrase, at least through google?

[eWhisper]

If you're trying to conduct keyword research and just don't know what your consumers are typing in; don't let the 'no results' trick you. No results means Google does not have enough data to be confident in the numbers - not that the searches haven't been done.

What you could do is:
1. Choose the more appropriate keywords regardless of search volume.
2. Add those into your account as a phrase or broad match variation.
3. Use AdWords conversion tracker
4. Accumulate some statistics
5. Run the 'search query report'. This will show you what words were actually searched. It's a great place to find negative and positive keywords.
6. The words not hitting your goals, add them as negative keywords.
7. The words hitting your goals and are not in your account, add them as keywords
8. Now that you have an idea of what is actually being searched for, revisit the keyword tool and use your most profitable keywords as a starting place to find new keywords.

In addition, you can have one campaign targeted to just your area. Since you've already choosen an area, do not use geographic keywords (i.e. don't use chicago plumber in a chicago targeted campaign) to start with.

If you want to use geographic keywords, then have a 2nd campaign that's set to the entire country and then use your geo keywords in just that campaign.

[BitShift]

Thank you eWhisper!