How to Identify Root Keywords for a PPC Campaign

Root Keywords are main keywords that marketers need to identify when setting up a PPC campaign. Usually Root Keywords are higher volume words that will trigger much longer tail keywords. It is not necessary to begin a campaign with tons of longer tail keywords. Only a few high volume root keywords are necessary to get started.

How to Determine Root Keywords

When Conducting Research, the first thing that we like to do is do a bit of competitor intelligence. Usually this will give us a rough idea of words and terms that competitors are using to help their business grow. This allows us to see words and topics that are successful with other companies.

After compiling a list of keywords, we try to strip them back. If a keyword has 4 words, what happens when we remove one word to 3? Does the term still have meaning to the business? If after stripping the word back and their is utility to the term and it can no longer be stripped back, then that is a root keyword. Obviously you don't want to strip it so far back that it loses its meaning related to the business.

For example, in the long distance moving industry, we will see many keywords such 'moving company from CA to NY', 'moving company from state to state', and 'find a moving company near me'. By looking at the previous 3 keywords, we can identify a related root keyword of 'moving company'. We can not strip it farther than that, as 'moving' or just 'company' would not have enough utility related to the business.

'Moving Company' will have a lot larger volume than the 3 listed keywords, and those 3 keywords will be triggered when we just use an exact match of [moving company].

Overall, we highly recommend discovering root keywords to assist in building out your PPC campaign. If you need assistance, contact High Octane Advertising at 216-825-1266 and a specialist will be able to develop a strategy for your company.