We all know the power of positive thinking. But in the world of SEO marketing, the negative can be remarkably positive. Sound like a contradiction? It isn’t. The proven positive element is the negative keyword. A staple of many SEO strategies, negative keywords target a very common problem faced by digital marketers – how to eliminate the extraneous and irrelevant from search results?
What constitutes extraneous and irrelevant? Any users not interested in your product or service. During the average search, many of them will find their way to your doorstep. And they could be costing you money, as well as pulling you down in the rankings. What you must do is wall them off before they arrive. That’s the job of negative keywords.
Negative keywords are digital filters, telling search engines to eliminate certain content from search results. In a nutshell, here’s how they work. Let’s say your business offers boating lessons. Your goal, then, is to be discovered only for this service -- and nothing else related to boating or lessons. By identifying related yet irrelevant search terms, you help search engines repel unwanted traffic. In this case, negative keywords might be ‘boating tours’, ‘boating equipment’ ‘fishing lessons’, etc. Anything that you don’t want to be found for … but might. When these unwanted terms are searched for, your content becomes invisible.
While the use of negative keywords can benefit virtually every type of campaign, PPC strategies get the lion’s share of these benefits. By filtering out unwanted traffic, the negative shield minimizes unwanted clicks – and therefore unwanted withdrawals from your PPC account. Every irrelevant click prevented is a coin your pocket. Down, down, down will go the average Cost Per Click (CPC). Up will go the admiration of all around you.
Also rising will be your Click Thru Rate (CTR), thanks to the better targeting of relevant traffic. The higher this rate, of course, the better your Keyword Quality Score (QR). And as this goes up, so will your SEO ranking. Nice how that works.
Remember, when implementing negative keywords, update often. Search engines appreciate that. For the average campaign, once monthly will do. Slightly more often for mega campaigns.
If you have questions or comments about using negative keywords in SEO marketing campaigns, or about any other brand-related topic, feel free to send them our way.
You can connect with the Young Company team at 949-376-8404 #4033 or bart@youngcompany.com. And be sure to follow us for the latest brand marketing news and tips.