Survey reveals most expensive Google AdWords, but experts say SMEs don’t need to pay more to keep up

Companies in the insurance, mortgage broking and legal industries are paying the most for Google Adwords, according to a new survey from SEO firm WordStream, which lists the financial and legal categories as some of the most expensive online advertising.

But local experts say SMEs are able to navigate their way around such high charges by creating longer keywords, and targeting specific locations rather than general, less-specific words.

“As a business owner you need to know what your sales are actually worth, and that you’re bidding for words accordingly,” says Reseo chief executive Chris Thomas.

The survey researched the 10,000 most expensive AdWords in the world, and ranked them into 20 categories, with insurance, loans and mortgage coming out on top, with keywords such as “buy car insurance online”, “cheapest homeowner loans” and “remortgage with bad credit”.

The categories for “attorney” and credit” follow, along with “lawyer”, with keywords such as “bad credit home buyer” and “criminal defense lawyer”.

Other categories include “donate”, “degree”, “software”, “gas/electricity”, “classes”, “rehab” and “treatment. Experts say many of the keywords associated with these categories could sell for tens of thousands of dollars, depending on how they are used.

WordStream says depending on the keyword in competitive categories, Google can be making up to $US50 per click. In the past year, Google has made over $US32 billion in advertising revenue.

It points out the categories at the top of the list are associated with companies that will be able to pay more in order to acquire new business.

“The keyword categories with the highest volumes and costs represent businesses with very high lifetime customer value – in other words, these industries can afford to pay a lot to acquire a new customer.”

This represents a problem for many SMEs which find themselves in the same categories as these larger businesses. With all the generic keywords requiring thousands of dollars – money they don’t have – many business find themselves priced out valuable keywords, resulting in little search traffic.

But local experts say businesses only need to think a little differently.

“You’ve firstly got to know what you can afford to spend,” says Chris Thomas. He points to one of the most expensive key words in the world, Mesothelioma, a rare form of cancer, which WordStream actually included in one of their categories.

Thomas explains that because this form of cancer is associated with asbestos exposure, for which many victims have sued building and construction companies, law firms use the “Mesothelioma” keyword to gain new clients.

“That keyword was maxing out in terms of if you wanted to bid on it. It may still be the case, but these legal cases are worth so much, perhaps quite a few hundred thousand dollars, so these lawyers can afford to spend all this money and have a 1% conversion rate.”

Thomas says businesses need to simply understand their ROI and then bid on appropriate keywords accordingly.

“As a business owner you need to know what you sales are worth, and adjust bidding when keywords become too expensive. You want to make sure your conversions are good and giving you the best opportunity.”

Stewart Media chief executive Jim Stewart says businesses should also focus on making their keywords as specific as possible.

“Focus on geo-location,” he says. “If you’re a mortgage broker, you don’t want to focus on the whole of Australia, but only perhaps a 10 or 20 kilometre radius. So just target those areas, which will be cheaper.”

“Also go for longer-tail phrases, or phrases that would indicate the person is looking for something very specific. When people are looking for products, they’re further down the decision-making process anyway, and likely want something specific.”

The full list of most expensive keywords:

1. Insurance (example keywords in this category include “buy car insurance online” and “auto insurance price quotes”).
2. Loans (example keywords include “consolidate graduate student loans” and “cheapest homeowner loans”).
3. Mortgage (example keywords include “refinanced second mortgages” and “remortgage with bad credit”).
4. Attorney (example keywords include “personal injury attorney” and “dui defense attorney”).
5. Credit (example keywords include “home equity line of credit” and “bad credit home buyer”).
6. Lawyer (“personal injury lawyer,” “criminal defense lawyer).
7. Donate (“car donation centers,” “donating a used car”).
8. Degree (“criminal justice degrees online,” “psychology bachelors degree online”).
9. Hosting (“hosting ms exchange,” “managed web hosting solution”).
10. Claim (“personal injury claim,” “accident claims no win no fee”).
11. Conference Call (“best conference call service,” “conference calls toll free”).
12. Trading (“cheap online trading,” “stock trades online”).
13. Software (“crm software programs,” “help desk software cheap”).
14. Recovery (“raid server data recovery,” “hard drive recovery laptop”).
15. Transfer (“zero apr balance transfer,” “credit card balance transfer zero interest”).
16. Gas/Electricity (“business electricity price comparison,” “switch gas and electricity suppliers”).
17. Classes (“criminal justice online classes,” “online classes business administration”).
18. Rehab (“alcohol rehab centers,” “crack rehab centers”).
19. Treatment (“mesothelioma treatment options,” “drug treatment centers”).
20. Cord Blood (“cordblood bank,” “store umbilical cord blood”).