On the internet today, keywords have become more than just words but instead specifications that can make or break your business.
Every business is in the business of putting themselves out there via blog posts, videos, ads, and so on. The one thing all of these have in common is words and if you don’t get the words right, your target audience is not going to listen to what you have to say. This is where an in-depth understanding of keywords and their worth comes in. Why is it that one keyword costs more than the other?
In this article, we are going to discuss the importance of keywords in online visibility, tell you about the ten most expensive Google keywords, and why they are worth so much.
What Are Keywords?
Keywords, also known as key phrases or search queries, are words or phrases that users type into the search box while searching for information on a topic.
They form the basis of SEO and are used to determine the ranking of websites on Google by its algorithm. Any phrase or word typed into a search box is a keyword no matter its length.
Why Are Some Keywords Expensive?
So, why do we have expensive keywords?
There are several ways of determining the cost of a keyword but one of the most common ones is by CPC.
CPC means cost-per-click and refers to the amount a client will pay a publisher for every time their ad is clicked on the publisher’s website. Today, Google is, of course, the most popular publisher. Naturally, the price of keywords differ from one another.
One of the reasons for this price variation is demand. Referred to in SEO as search demand, this refers to the number of times the keyword is typed into the search engine and it can range anywhere from a hundred to hundreds of thousands. Now, would you expect a keyword with a search volume of fifty to cost the same per click as one with a search volume of fifty thousand?
But here is the kicker, some expensive keywords in Google have a low search volume. This is in cases where advertisers are highly interested in them. An example of such is a “mesothelioma” keyword in the legal industry. For a while now, these keywords have been raking in money due to the million-dollar lawsuit settlements that they provide law firms with.
Another factor that may affect the cost of a keyword is profit margin and expensive services. Businesses with high-profit margins can afford to pay more than the average $2 per click. The water damage industry, for instance, with profit margins of around 75% can pay between $50-$100 per click. Anything below that may even be deemed unfair. This is because whatever the reason for a click is, it is bound to be huge business for them.
Speed-to-purchase also determines how much a click will cost. People who are looking for loans are likely to get them immediately when they find a suitable option. Therefore, such ads will have a high speed-to-purchase. An example is payday loans whose ads will have a higher-than-average Pay-per-click. Therefore, as a lender, you have to be willing to pay higher to get a prime spot in that competitive zone.
The Ten Most Expensive Google Keywords
Here are ten of the most expensive keywords on the internet today with their respective average cost per click:
- Insurance $54.91
- Mortgage $47.12
- Attorney $47.07
- Claim $45.51
- Loans $44.28
- Lawyer $42.51
- Donate $42.02
- Degree $40.61
- Credit $36.06
- Hosting $31.91
You will find that many of these keywords are finance and insurance keywords. Think about the insurance industry. How much are they getting from just one individual that clicks on their ad? You may not know the accurate answer but it is somewhere close to “a whole lot.”
Degree, as well, in reference to education, shows how the CPC of a business with high lifetime customer value will be higher than average. If you are trying to get a degree and are searching for an institution to get into, chances are you are going to be at that institution for more than a year at the very least. The money made by such institutions will be enough to afford high CPC keywords.
The keywords donate and hosting show that there are a lot of people in need of and willing to give to charity.
The list above is based on keywords in Google ads since it is the largest known publisher and search engine.
How To Use Expensive Keywords to Your Advantage
It’s a little hard to come to terms with but if you plan to start a business in an industry with expensive keywords, what can you do? Well, you will have to employ the best digital marketing strategies to make the money worth it. Here are some of these practices:
Target A Few Specific Keywords
If you already have to pay over hundreds of dollars for some target keywords, the last thing you need is unnecessary experimentation. You will need to carry out your own keyword research to find about 3-5 specific keywords and related keywords that are sure to convert in your niche. You can use the Google Ads keywords tool. All of this is in a bid to prevent you from spending more than you already have to.
Optimize Your Landing Pages
While experimenting with huge amounts of money is not advisable, with your landing page you have to continuously improve and change a few things. So, try out different strategies and see how people respond to them. Refine the ones that seem to be working and discard the ones that don’t.
An ad may take your audience to your landing page but if there’s nothing worth seeing, they’ll be gone before you can say “sale.” And here’s what you may not know, if you have a well-optimized landing page, you can have conversion rates as high as 30% which is several times more than an ad may give you.
Use Negative Keywords
Negative keywords are keywords related to yours but are irrelevant in your business.
For instance, if you offer singing lessons for kids, your keyword may be “singing lessons for adults.” If someone types in a query searching for single lessons for kids, your ad may pop up. If on the ad, they see that it is for adults, they will ignore it and this will reduce your click-through rates. If it isn’t obvious that it is for adults, they will click and then leave which will cost you the money you paid for that click.
The way to avoid this would be to add kids to your negative keywords, to avoid wasting money and unnecessarily triggering your ads. This applies to other industries as well.
Improve Your Quality Score
There is a criterion called Quality Score on Google Adwords. It is a measure of the quality and relevance of your ads based on your keyword data, account structure, and click-through rates.
The best way to achieve a high-quality score is to do proper keyword research as mentioned in the first point and organize them into small groups to make specific and compelling ads. This will increase your click-through and ultimately your quality score. Your quality score determines the position of your ads and your CPC.
Pay Attention to Other Marketing Strategies
Ads may be unavoidable, especially for other businesses but it is inadvisable to rely solely on them. There are other marketing practices that cost less and will be just as effective. An example is SEO- Search Engine Optimization. SEO is a strategy that uses relevant content and keywords to rank on Google’s SERP- Search Engine Result Page. It is also the best channel for organic traffic, meaning customers that you find your business on their own by typing in a relevant search query.
Conclusion
Keywords are the foundation for online success for any business. This is why they differ in prices; industries like insurance and education have some of the most expensive keywords based on their profit margin, lifetime customer value, and speed-to-purchase.
With the points above, we hope you now have a better idea of how to go about your PPC campaign. Contact a PPC advertising agency or create your team, it doesn’t matter. What matters is that your strategy converts.
If you are considering starting a business in any of these industries, you should be ready to deal with the high CPCs. However, we have discussed with you ways to tailor this to your advantage and minimize the costs. Get your SEO and PPC to work hand in hand and you won’t have to work so much. Pay attention to social media, emails, and other forms of digital marketing and you won’t be wasting money. There you have it. Now, what are you waiting for?