50onRed’s CPC and CPV solutions recently got hooked up with recommended keywords, which we pulled from our top-volume keywords across our most popular verticals. With one click, Advertisers can add entire lists by channel, or choose individual keywords to add to their campaign. Handy, right?

We’re not gonna sugarcoat it: Optimizing keywords can be downright tedious, especially because their performance will vary on different traffic platforms. Now that our Advertisers are equipped with a selection of supercharged keywords (applicable to all of our ad solutions, by the way), it’s a good time to discuss how to optimize them as painlessly as possible on our platform.

Read on for advice from our in-house experts on optimizing your CPC campaign’s keywords for maximum ROI.

DO: Start broad and narrow down.

On Traffic Platform, you’ll want to cast a wide net with your keywords, at least to start.

“Since our costs are so much lower than our competitors’, I typically recommend starting with recommended keyword lists,” advises Frank Fumarola, 50onRed Director of Product. “Target very broadly, just to get a feel for the traffic volumes. Once you start getting an idea, you can pause or archive keywords you don’t like, add new ones you’ve thought of, etc.”

Traffic Platform Tip: If you’re running InText campaigns, use short-tail keywords to get the most traffic, then refine based on performance.

DON’T: Give up on relevant keywords that don’t convert.

It’s a standard practice to ditch any keywords with a low CTR after racking up a decent number of impressions. In general, this is a good rule of thumb, but it’s not a blanket strategy. If you’re too ruthless, you could rule out potentially valuable keywords that aren’t being used properly.

Instead of deleting keywords, pause them for a while and give them a shot later. Keyword performance can fluctuate depending on a number of outside influences, including time of year and even the weather.

Sometimes, a keyword just needs a better fit. If a keyword you expected to back out is doing lousy, you might have better luck moving it to another ad group or campaign. And because our volume varies with each monetization solution (InText, Search, or Full-Page CPV), it’s usually worth trying those keywords in another type of campaign.

DO: Get the best bang for your bid.

Our platform has a variety of tools that help Advertisers predict keyword volume by bid and see how their bids stack up to competing bids. With a new campaign, these tools are especially invaluable to start off on the right foot.

Over time, you’ll want to test and optimize your bids so your keywords perform their best. “How high to bid is based on how much traffic you want and how well you can back out,” says Frank. “Just because you receive traffic at a lower bid doesn’t mean it is the most optimal. Higher bids tend to get the better placements, first impressions on the users, etc. Lower bids get the lower tiered traffic.”

Instead of placing a low (or high) bid right off the bat, test different bids to see how your ROI fluctuates. This will help you gauge how much each keyword is worth to you, so you can bid and budget wisely.

DON’T: Get hung up on insignificant keyword metrics.

Sure, a keyword’s CTR is a good way to measure the quality of traffic it’s raking in. And, yeah, impressions are beneficial for brand exposure, even when a user doesn’t click. But when you’re only paying for clicks—not impressions—it’s smarter to focus on how much money you’re earning per keyword.

With 50onRed, Advertisers can easily measure conversions in Traffic Platform by placing a tracking pixel on their conversion landing page. The Keyword Summary Report has all the bells and whistles for tracking which keywords are converting and how much you’re profiting on each.

DO: Choose the best keywords for your targets.

Targeting options like geo-targeting and dayparting can prevent otherwise valuable keywords from performing their best (You probably wouldn’t want “winter coats” as a keyword in a campaign running solely in the Bahamas, for example.)

Think about what you’re advertising in each campaign, and choose keywords appropriate to your targeted offers. A restaurant could promote a breakfast special running Sunday mornings by assigning keywords like “breakfast” or “waffles, and likewise with campaigns for lunch and dinner specials.

Traffic Platform Tip: You can add keywords in any language on our platform, and Advertisers can contact us to specially request a list of top keywords by geo.

Launch your best CPC campaign with us today!

50onRed assigns an Account Manager to each Advertiser for one-on-one optimization advice. Boost your marketing ROI with InText, Search, or Full-Page CPV ads. Contact us today to get started!

If you’re already advertising with us (or with someone else–we’re not cliquey!), share your keyword success stories with us in the comments.