It’s not exactly a secret that advertising is a tricky game. With the expansion of digital marketing, and the growing number of firms these days, it may seem downright frustrating to attempt to stand out from the crowd. One of the most important tools you can use to rise above the rest is PPC, or pay-per-click, advertising.

PPC advertising is a common, and powerful, technique used by firms across the country to help gain attention and generate more case leads. And one of the most valuable aspects of the pay-per-click campaign is that of the negative keyword.

Keywords and Search Terms and Negatives, Oh My!

Arguably the greatest tool within the pay-per-click world is the ability to target your audience through specific keywords. When a potential client types a request into a search engine, whether that be Google, Yahoo, Bing, etc., they’re thrown into a vast ocean of possible options for their choosing. Ever notice that the first few paid results to pop up tend to closely resemble the search query? This is due to careful planning from a PPC advertising campaign manager.

How to Use Keywords

Keywords are specifically chosen terms to help advertisers gain attention from a specific audience. Bear with me. Let’s say you own a firm called “The John Smith Law Firm” in Georgia. Useful keywords would include “injury attorney”, “attorney in Georgia”, “Georgia attorney”, “personal injury lawyer”, etc. Once you’ve chosen these terms, you set a determined price that you’re willing to bid for the keyword.

Now, because you’re not the only law firm in existence, many other firms will bid for these same words as well. These amounts, along with the quality of your website, determine how close to the top search results your ad is shown. The closer to the top you are, the more likely you’re able to obtain potential clients’ attention from their search query. Seems easy enough right? Well, it’s not always that simple.

Negative Keywords: Your New Best Friend

Sometimes, you’ll notice that a keyword, which directed users to your firm’s site, did not happen to help you at all. Each time one of these irrelevant search terms triggers your ad to show up and lead to a click, it’s costing you money. And if these search queries don’t result in any conversions? Well, that’s a lot of cash flow going into a vortex of no return. This is why negative keywords are such an incredible tool. It allows for you to block any potential searches that won’t give you the leads you want, and save you your cold, hard cash.

Let’s use an example to break this down. Let’s use “The John Smith Law Firm” as our sample again. Say someone goes to search in the search bar “Karen Jones Law Firm”, another firm within the Georgia area. Because you’ve created keywords such as “attorney in Georgia” and “Georgia attorney”, this search might trigger your ad and cost you money, especially if they happen to click your ad by mistake. However, the searcher was clearly looking for a different, specific firm and their search will therefore not generate any profitable results for you.

The remedy? Make “Karen Jones Law Firm” a negative keyword. Any time someone specifically searches for this, your ad will not be shown. Thus saving you considerable money that won’t be wasted on irrelevant searches. This is a small scale example - imagine what having dozens of negative keywords can do to help target your most specific audience, and save you hundreds, even thousands of dollars.

Alright, This is A Lot to Process. Is There an Easier Option?

This is only scratching the surface of utilizing negative keywords on a PPC campaign. Choosing to outsource your marketing campaigns can be a wise move - especially if you’re not certain on how to navigate the PPC world, or if you don’t have the budget to hire a paid search specialist. PPC campaigns can take a great deal of time and effort to get precisely right – and can end up being a time-consuming and expensive venture. Luckily, there’s a budget-friendly option when it comes to generating your leads and obtaining valuable clients.

With eGenerationMarketing, pay-per-click advertising is just one of several tools we use to generate quality case leads for attorneys who specialize in Social Security Disability, Personal Injury, Workers’ Compensation, and Employment Law claims. To learn about how we can bring more cases to your firm, contact us at 617.800.0089.