How to Get Results With Google AdWords When You Have a Low Search Volume

Have you launched a campaign with Google Adwords listing all your keywords for your new product and the next day you find your keyword has ‘low search volume’ status? This is not uncommon. If you have a brand new product or site, people can’t search for something they don’t know exists. 

Low search volume means that the keyword in your Google Adwords account doesn’t have enough search volume yet. Your ad won’t trigger until search traffic increases for your keyword. 

Just because your keyword isn’t well known at first, it doesn’t mean the keyword is low quality.  

It can be frustrating to have your keywords come back as ‘low search volume’ especially when they’re relevant to your specific product.

There are some ways you can work around this. You may only need to target the right audience instead of trying to target a wider audience. You can optimize your account with these tips. 

Identify Your KPI

With a low search volume account, you can measure conversions as a KPI (key performance indicator) instead of click-through rates, impressions, and clicks. If you can increase conversions every month while you’re waiting for your keyword to kick in, that may be all you need right now. 

If you want to maximize conversions, pay attention to your account spend. Also, if you have a limited budget Google will cap your campaigns too soon, in order to prevent overspending. It may save you money but visibility is limited. If you increase your budget slightly higher, then Google will spend your full goal amount and you’ll get more visibility.

Start spending a lower amount at the beginning of the month. If your ad spend is too high and you have to pull back later in the month, your conversions will be lower.

Combine RLSA with Broad Keywords

Remarketing Lists for Search Audiences (RLSA) is how you can target your ad campaign towards people who have visited your website. When people leave your site without buying anything, RLSA helps you connect with those people as they continue searching in Google.

You can bid on more broad keywords for people who have either purchased something from your site in the past or just visited. This can increase your sales. 

Try Dynamic Search Ads

Dynamic Search Ads are the easiest way for people to find exactly what you have when they are searching Google. DSA can pick up on keywords you may not have included. It’s surprising how many different words and phrases people use to describe a product. DSA uses your website content to target your ads. 

When someone is searching on Google using similar words and phrases that are on your website, with DSA Google will find a landing page close to those words on your site, and create a new relevant headline for your ad.

If you have a huge website with lots of products, you can target which categories you want to use for DSA. You can also upload a page feed of specific pages you want to target. 

If you want to advertise to new markets, DSA can do this faster than any other type of advertising. It can help you gain traffic from new places that you aren’t already targeting with keywords. 

Use Social Media

If you don’t have the search volume because of your low volume keywords, use social media to create demand. This will cause people to start searching. Creating awareness is an important step. Use social media to build brand recognition which will drive people to search for your product later. 

• On Facebook, you can target people interested in publications related to your product niche.
• On LinkedIn target groups relevant to your target audience.
• Use Quora to find relevant questions or topics to target.
• Use Twitter and target hashtags that are related to your product.

You can also create a lookalike audience on Facebook and other platforms that have that feature. Use this if you already have existing customers.

Use Custom Intent Targeting

The Custom Intent Audience tool will help you target audiences who will probably buy products from you in the future. These audiences have already expressed interest in topics related to the keywords and URLs you supply to Google Adwords. 

You can reach people with custom intent targeting who are interested in the types of products you have. Once they come to your website, you can then retarget them on social media. They will see your message even if they’re not searching for it.

Add In-Market Audiences

While your keywords have a low search volume status, when the right people do search for them, you want to make the most out of it. You can reach potential customers who are researching and comparing the types of products you sell. 

If an in-market audience doesn’t apply to you, it’s good to watch it to see how it performs. Use the ‘observation only’ setting in Google Adwords. If a particular audience is converting then you can add a bid adjustment so that your ads will show to that audience. You can also use negative adjustments and stop wasting money on audiences who don’t convert. 

Low search volume for your keywords can cause some frustration, but don’t give up on them. Be patient and try these tips to continue to increase awareness of your website and products. It won’t be too long before people start searching using your keywords. Create lots of buzz around your products on social media and you will start to see results. 

How will you optimize your campaign and gain the audience you need?