New Zealand keyword data tips n' tricks

Good keyword research is the foundation of any successful search engine marketing strategy.

Keyword Research in New Zealand presents a unique challenge. International online marketers in the USA and the UK have the benefit of quality research tools such as wordtracker or trellian.

Travel industry businesses in New Zealand should invest in keyword data from google.com using trellian.Potential tourists will often research using geographical type phrases such as 'Car Hire New Zealand' in the wider google.com database.

But what happens when you want to get keyword data for searches conducted on google.co.nz? There are no New Zealand filters on these research tools yet. So these tools are near useless if you want data for the keyword 'Buy Clothes' in our local NZ google database/filter.

I'm going to let you in on a few tips that I can offer after a number of years getting around this problem. I have developed my own proven strategy for New Zealand keyword research.

My strategy is really well suited to those online marketers who are serious about getting optimal performance from their search engine marketing- and are prepared to invest time and money in doing so as part of a long term strategy.

Believe me, if you follow this plan your long term ROI on search engine marketing locally in New Zealand will be a lot more healthy.

NOTE: Before you start implementing this strategy it is ABSOLUTELY crucial that you have web analytics software installed and working accurately along side your website. It needs to be software such as google analytics that will allow you to establish what keywords are driving traffic to your website. Web analytics are very important.

After all that buildup- my strategy is quite simple:

Phase 1- The Basic List

Start by creating a basic list of generic keywords that you know are relevant to your product or service. For example, if you are in the clothing game a generic keyword would be Buy clothes.

If you have a competitor who you have established as a successful search marketer you may want to consider a tool such as keycompete that will sell you your competitors target keywords. It's quite a cool tool =)

Phase 2- Adwords set-up

If you do not already have a Google Adwords account, get one.

Create one campaign to target these generic keywords in using a broad match. Make sure you are only targeting google.co.nz traffic.

Broad match means that your advertisement will show up for any phrase searched for in google.co.nz that includes your generic key phrase.For example, if your targeted generic phrase was 'Buy clothes' with a broad match, your text advertisement will appear when someone types 'Buy clothes in Auckland' or 'Places to buy clothes in Auckland'.

Also, make sure that you tag the page URL that your advertisements point to (your landing page) with the appropriate source code. This will make it easier for you to segment traffic that derived from the generic campaign later on in phase 4.

Phase 3- Get aggressive

Make sure that your ads are in the top 3 places where possible. You will not always be able to achieve this. It may seem expensive, however, the goal of this exercise is not to gain instant ROI but rather to get keyword data. I would suggest running this aggressive campaign for 1 month and/or as long as your budget allows- but 1 month is plenty.

Consider the budget that you put towards this tactic as 'research budget'. You may have some nice surprises in the way of some extra business, particularly if this is the first time that you have really pushed your test advertisements up into the top 3 positions on Google.

Phase 4- Consolidate the data

This is where the hard work that you did implementing and testing your web analytics software pays off. You need to segment the data from the generic campaign that you have set up from all other traffic.

Once you have done this you should have a list of all the search phrases that relate to your product or service from Google NZ. The longer you run the test, the more accurate your data will be.

Conclusion

I use this approach for any major adwords campaign. I actually factor the testing process into the budget. Initially the ROI data can look ugly due to a bunch of traffic being generated that does not generate sales, however, in the long run you are going to have a very clear idea of the search behavior for your product or service in the local ' New Zealand Google market place'. Having this knowledge  really helps your long term ROI figures.

By taking this approach you will also un-earth new opportunities. For example, you may find that a lot of people are searching for your product or service in an area where there is no competition.

The secret is to value the search data that you generate through your web analytics software. The more granular analysis you do, the better. It's that simple. These search phrases are being typed in by your potential customers. Use your search data to understand your customers and provide them with what they want!

Comments

[Tolits Bana]

How about using KeywordSpy? - This will give you an opportunity to immediately track down your competitors and gather keywords for the promotional campaign of your online business. It offers Free trials.

KeywordSpy is keyword research technology where you can also earn and even surpass what your competitors are making with Google Adwords and Overture. KeywordSpy gives you the key to their success: a good ad-campaign with the right keywords.

It also has a ClickBank Affiliates Search Engine where you can see the actual market landscape at ClickBank.