Purchasing keywords (adwords) on search engines

Purchasing keywords is an excellent way to generate traffic to your web site and generate income for your business. Purchasing keywords on search engines can at first seem daunting, as paying a dollar or more for a single click may seem excessive. However, a well-tuned keyword program for your business can be well worth your time and money. If you have gone through the effort of creating a website to advertise your inspection services and are not purchasing keywords yet, we recommend you get started today.

Getting started

Keyword advertising is all about ROI (return on investment). To get the most out of your advertising dollar, you will want to pay for specific keywords. Purchasing a common phrase like "Home Inspection" will cost you a fortune and will not likely give you much business — it is by far too general. You don't want to get a call from someone in a distant state asking about your home inspection services, or even just clicking on your ad and you getting charged for a bad lead. It is advisable to be more specific. You may want to try keywords like "Home Inspection MyCity" or "Home Inspection Services MyState" or "Phase Inspections MyCounty". You get the general idea. If your keywords are more specific, you will get more targeted traffic and you will be more likely to get real business and a better return on your advertising dollar.

Keep an eye out

One nice thing about keyword advertising with online search engines is that you can modify your listings, keywords, and how much you are willing to pay on a real-time basis. We recommend you experiment with your keyword advertising, especially when first starting out. You will soon get a better idea of what is working and what isn't. If you are paying out a lot of money in keyword advertising and you are not getting any new business, something needs to be changed. You may need to modify your keywords, or maybe even adjust your website. Keeping a close watch on this at first is a great way to get the most out of it. Once you get going, you won't need to watch it as closely.

Where do I go to buy keywords?

We recommend starting with one search engine. Google AdWords is an excellent place to start out. Visit their AdWords program at the following link: https://adwords.google.com. If you are getting results and would like to expand your keyword advertising, the next site to go to is http://www.overture.com (now owned by Yahoo). For more information regarding these companies and their keyword advertising services, please visit their websites.

*Note that HomeGauge is not affiliated with any search engine company.