Setting up a PPC program through a service like Google Adwords is a little tricky. In order to effectively run your ad campaign, you have to do a little keyword research first in order to ensure that you’re spending your money to advertise on the right search terms. Fortunately, there are a number of great tools available that can provide you with all the information you need to make sure you’re spending your advertising money wisely.

The Google Keyword Tool is the first tool you should spend some time with. Start by entering a word or phrase relevant to your website, and your advertising campaign. The keyword tool will show you a list of keywords related to your search, as well as how many searches each term gets in a month. Generally speaking, you want to try and advertise on search terms that get a good amount of attention in a month. If you’re having trouble picking keywords, you can also enter a website into the keyword tool, and it will show you a list of search terms relevant to that website. Try entering one of your competitors into the keyword tool, and see what terms they’re taking advantage of. Make a list of the ten or twenty keywords you feel best represent your site. That may sound like a lot, but don’t worry, you’re going to narrow it down a good bit before you’re done with your research.

Next, pop open Google Trends. If you don’t know where to find it, just search Google for Google Trends, and you’ll find it easily. This tool will show you whether or not a keyword is getting a consistent amount of searches. Some search terms only do well during certain times of year, and as such, those are terms you probably want to avoid. For example, the word “costume”  gets searched heavily around Halloween, but not during the rest of the year. Advertising under costume related keywords at any other point in the year may not be a good idea.  Cross any keywords off your list that don’t get consistent traffic all year long.

Now it’s time to see how much competition you have. Use a tool called Keyword Spy to see how many other people are bidding on the keywords you’re thinking about bidding on. If a keyword is already heavily saturated, you can cross it off of your list.

You should now be left with a handful of keywords that fit your needs. Pick the ones that you feel best represent your site, and set up your ad campaign accordingly. By doing a little research before diving into PPC advertising, you can spend your advertising budget effectively, and boost your traffic greatly.