How to Judge The Real Cost of a Keyword!

5 replies
  • SEO
  • |
What is the EPC?

EPC is the earnings per click. The amount you usually see when you do your keyword research on google's adwords keyword tool is the amount of money people are bidding on to get featured on the google SERPS. This is the amount PPC advertisers will pay google.

If Acne Guy is paying Google $1, we will only receive appx. $.60. Google gives 60% to its adsense publishers.

Adwords is an auction. Advertisers bid on keywords. The highest bidder gets the 'best' placement of their ad. When you see an adblock of 4 ads, for instance, the first ad is paying much more than the last ad in that adblock. And when you see two adblocks, the advertisers in that second adblock are paying less than those in the first adblock.

This in one reason why optimizing ad placement is so important. Not only do you want to get as many clicks as possible, but you want those clicks to be on the most 'expensive' ads.

What determines which adblock is 'first'? It's the order in which they appear in the page source code.

The best way to judge the real valus of a keyword is to use Spyfu.

Not only will you see an estimation of ad costs but you'll see if there are many advertisers. A keyword phrase with only 1 or 2 advertisers might be worth skipping for your niche.
#adsense #adwords #cost #epc #judge #keyword #real #spyfu
  • I can see your off to a great start adding some valuable content to the forum. And it's something a lot of newbies and even veterans don't understand when doing keyword research. They think if the G. Keyword tool say's it pay's out $10 a click, that's what they will actually get. Or that if they create a site around a niche, all their clicks will be for that exact keyword.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[3064035].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author Yan Ramma
      Originally Posted by OnlineMarketingSys View Post

      I can see your off to a great start adding some valuable content to the forum. And it's something a lot of newbies and even veterans don't understand when doing keyword research. They think if the G. Keyword tool say's it pay's out $10 a click, that's what they will actually get. Or that if they create a site around a niche, all their clicks will be for that exact keyword.
      Thanks for the kind words. I have learnt a lot here. I usually loiter around but I decided to create a new profile and start sharing some solid info to help people around as my 2011 new year resolution!
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[3064690].message }}
      • Profile picture of the author paulgl
        You wrong on one count. The highest bidder does not always get the highest
        placement.

        Google will put the best performing ad highest. Not the highest paying. So,
        the highest paying ad may be on the bottom. Google rewards adwords users
        who have a great QS with a lower cost per click, and higher placement.

        There are so many other intangibles as to what exactly you can expect per
        click for adsense.

        You are also forgetting a huge fact. Many high paying adwords users choose
        to NOT put ads on people's webpages. There is no way you actually know how
        much per click you get until you start getting clicks.

        Many people do not understand that the highest paying ad is sometimes not
        on top.

        And....content ads cost less than search results ads on a whole to begin with.

        What will get you top dollar, is if people can target your page. But people will
        not target your page if it's junk. Sadly, nobody ever says anything about the
        quality of your content and why people should even put ads on it. Funny thing.
        Google tells you to do this first and foremost if you are thinking of putting
        adsense on your pages. Maybe that is why so many people here some and
        complain about their adsense being banned. They are suckered into riches
        of some mythological high paying click.

        The insanity of tossing some pie in the sky high paying keyword niche site and
        expecting riches is why google is cracking down.

        You can make money no matter what your keywords are. If people would just make
        websites that they can devote quality time to, instead of keyword research, they
        might actually get somewhere.

        Oh...and for a $1.00 click, google would pay you roughly 68 cents, not 60.
        68% content, 51% search.

        I guess that's wrong on two counts.

        Paul
        Signature

        If you were disappointed in your results today, lower your standards tomorrow.

        {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[3064780].message }}
        • Profile picture of the author Yan Ramma
          Originally Posted by paulgl View Post

          You wrong on one count. The highest bidder does not always get the highest
          placement.

          Google will put the best performing ad highest. Not the highest paying. So,
          the highest paying ad may be on the bottom. Google rewards adwords users
          who have a great QS with a lower cost per click, and higher placement.

          There are so many other intangibles as to what exactly you can expect per
          click for adsense.

          You are also forgetting a huge fact. Many high paying adwords users choose
          to NOT put ads on people's webpages. There is no way you actually know how
          much per click you get until you start getting clicks.

          Many people do not understand that the highest paying ad is sometimes not
          on top.

          And....content ads cost less than search results ads on a whole to begin with.

          What will get you top dollar, is if people can target your page. But people will
          not target your page if it's junk. Sadly, nobody ever says anything about the
          quality of your content and why people should even put ads on it. Funny thing.
          Google tells you to do this first and foremost if you are thinking of putting
          adsense on your pages. Maybe that is why so many people here some and
          complain about their adsense being banned. They are suckered into riches
          of some mythological high paying click.

          The insanity of tossing some pie in the sky high paying keyword niche site and
          expecting riches is why google is cracking down.

          You can make money no matter what your keywords are. If people would just make
          websites that they can devote quality time to, instead of keyword research, they
          might actually get somewhere.

          Oh...and for a $1.00 click, google would pay you roughly 68 cents, not 60.
          68% content, 51% search.

          I guess that's wrong on two counts.

          Paul
          I, for one, admit that I was wrong and you are absolutely right. Still learning. Thank You. I guess I got it wrong on the google "adwords bidding tutorial" guide on youtube.
          {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[3064958].message }}
          • Profile picture of the author my.a.ae
            Is it also depends on the traffic of the website??
            {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[3065780].message }}

Trending Topics