Keyword Insertion or Dynamic Text is a feature that is offered by Google, Yahoo and MSN for the creation of ad copy. It helps to make ads more relevant. In order to use keyword insertion, you will need to insert a code into the ad text. Then, once a keyword is searched, it will automatically replace the code with the keyword that triggered the ad. Keyword insertion has many benefits including increasing relevancy of your ads. However, there are many times when keyword insertion should be used with caution or not at all.

First, many advertisers might choose to bid on misspellings. This can be a cost-effective and strategic way to get more customers to your site, especially since there should be minimal competition. If your keyword is misspelled, then the dynamic text will also be misspelled in your ad copy. It is best to not use keyword insertion when you have misspellings as keywords, especially when it comes to your branded or trademarked terms.

Another case where keyword insertion may not be best is when you are bidding on keywords that are not relevant to the rest of your ad copy. For example, the ad below is talking about visiting Barbados, but the headline says italy vacations. This is a clear case of when you should not use keyword insertion.

Is everyone else using keyword insertion? When compiling research for ad copy, it is always a good idea to see what your competitors are doing. If you see that every ad has the same headline, it is probable that your competitors are all using keyword insertion. This is a great time to make your ad copy stand out.

Keyword insertion is an element that can be used to boost your click through rate and even your quality score; however there can be dangerous pitfalls to using this feature.

I cannot stress enough the importance of having a solid landing page to direct website visitors to. This is especially true when you are running a Cost Per Click (CPC) Campaign. If you are going to pay to drive a visitor to your site, you ought to make sure the visitor is sent to a page that clearly and concisely represents not only your offerings, but more importantly the offering that this particular visitor was searching for. In other words, it is rather frustrating for a searcher to click on an ad for a pair of Nike shoes and instead be sent to a page for Nike shirts. If you’re lucky, your visitor will be patient enough to go through your navigation and locate the Nike shoes page they should have been sent to in the first place. More than likely, however, the searcher you already paid for will just click on the back browser and find another ad. So how can online retailers prevent bounces like this from occurring? Although there is no way to guarantee a low bounce rate, there are steps you can take to improve it and your landing pages are a great place to start.

A good landing page will possess a clear cut call to action. What do you want your visitors to do? Examples: Click here to receive your coupon, Fill out this form to generate your free report, Enter your email address to be added to our monthly newsletter, etc.

In addition and beyond just the importance of user experience, Google very specifically factors in landing page quality and relevance as part of their algorithm. This algorithm determines where your ads will appear and how much you will have to bid. Therefore, having an effective landing page will not only improve the experience for your searchers, but also afford you the ability to garner better online real estate and at a lower CPC.

What are you waiting for? Get busy and start to improve your landing pages!

Establishing unique and well-focused branding or keyword groupings is critical for your SEM efforts when you have a branding initiative or new product line you’d like to successfully promote with a pay per click campaign.

Once you’ve determined the campaign’s initial keywords, you need to consider where you will want to direct the traffic. Generally, having a very targeted landing page is an important factor in achieving strong page relevancy. The landing page content should be pertinent to all keywords included in the campaign.

After the user has clicked through to your ad, you want to lead him or her to convert. The best method for driving conversions is by creating a landing page with a clear and compelling call to action. Giving your audience a convincing, action-oriented landing page should be a top priority.

Beyond gaining more sales or leads, another great benefit for using relevant landing pages is that you could pay a lower cost per click. Google AdWords critiques campaigns by multiple factors including: landing page, keyword relevancy, cost per click, click through rate, and ad copy relevancy. The aforementioned factors are weighted by Google who then calculates a Quality Score for each keyword. In most cases, if your quality score outweighs a competitor that is willing to pay a higher cost per click, Google will show your ad before that competitor. When this happens you are capturing your audience and at a lower price too!