If you want to elevate your organic SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) or paid SEM (Search Engine Monetisation) capability, we’ve got two surefire ways to do it. Choosing the right keywords is critical to the success of your paid search campaigns, and there are excellent tools to help you achieve the desired balance of relevance versus search volume. Google Ad Words is a cost-effective and simple way to use keywords to create paid ads that appear when people search for events similar to yours.

There’s a keyword for that.

Keywords are the foundation of SEO. These are the words your potential attendees type into the search box on Google, Bing, and other search engines when they’re looking for something. Keyword research allows you to see what words and phrases people are using to search for an event like yours. Once you know what these words are, you can use them strategically in all your content so your marketing pops to the top of search results.

Do your keyword research

Before you start researching keywords, get set up with Google Keyword Planner.  You’ll need a Google account to access Google Ad Words and the Planner. Once you’re in, you can use the tool to see:

• What the keywords are related to your products, services, or website.

• Estimates on the number of searches a keyword gets each month.
• Average cost for your ad to show on searches for a keyword.
• How your keywords fit into different categories related to your brand.
• What kind of new campaigns you can create leveraging your keyword research. 

As you conduct your research, create a list of relevant keywords and group similar keywords into ad groups. You should have anywhere from five to 20 keywords per group.

Then you’ll determine which keywords have the most search volume by using tools like Keyword Tool, SEMRush, LongTailPro, SpyFu, or Keyword Spy. As you move forward, continually test the keywords that are unique to your brand. Use the ones that work best according to your research and ditch those that don’t perform.

Follow this step-by-step guide to keyword research (with visuals!) and your personal keyword will soon be “expert.” You can also listen to an experienced expert discuss keyword research in a recent webinar about SEO for events.

Trust your Google Ad Words

Google Ad Words gets you in front of customers when they’re searching for events on Google Search and Maps. With Search Engine Marketing (SEM), you pay for results such as clicks to your website or calls to your business. Google Ads are a great way to grow online ticket sales, registrations, or mailing list signups with online ads that direct attendees to your website. 

You decide where you want your ads to appear — local or global — in Google search results. Then you write three sentences aimed at customers or create banner ads (by adding images). Set a budget cap (it’s totally your choice). Finally, go live. Your ads will appear in Google Search and Maps when people search for events like yours. You’ll pay for results when people click your ad to visit your website.

For everything else you need to create a well-rounded marketing plan for events, check out Eventbrite’s Ultimate Marketing Guide.