Are you new to Google Ads? If so keyword research is a critical step to effective advertising.
Read on for some helpful tips and download free list of keywords for the boating industry to get you started advertising your charters.
Keyword Research For Google Ads
Keywords are the bedrock of any Google Ads search campaign. In short, keywords are the phrases and words your potential customers are searching for. When your target customer is planning an event what do they type into Google Search? “Boat Charter” “Boat Rental” “Rent A Boat” “Boat with Captain”? Yes, those and more.
Keyword research is the process of identifying words and phrases that are likely to be searched by your prospects. This can in turn lead to clicks by customers who are ready to do business. This research can be a lengthy process and always involves some trial and error.
How To Conduct Keyword Research – Google Ads Keyword Planner
While Google Ads does not charge for keyword research it does require that you have an active account before you can use the planner. To get started, create a new Google Ads account here. Skip this step if you already have an account.
Once you get signed up, find the Keyword Planner under Tools…Planning….Keyword Planner.
Next find the “discover new keywords” button and hit it.
You now have two methods of keyword search to choose from: 1. Start with keywords or 2. Start with a website.
Let’s do number 1 – start with keywords.
Next you’ll see a screen like below. Go ahead and enter several (up to 10) search phrases, like I have below and hit get results.
Next up you’ll see planner results with lots of good information.
First up top you’ll see “broaden your search” which allows you to add more “seed” keywords to generate even more related keywords. Let’s stick with our short list.
The graph shows how many searches by month, which in our case is very affected by seasonality as you would expect for a leisure boating excursion – slow in October through March. This gives you an idea of how popular searches for your keywords will be during the year.
Further down you’ll see statistics on both your “seed” keywords you supplied and the system-generated list of keyword ideas. The bottom set is where the power of keyword planner lies.
Scroll through the list and get a feel for how popular and how expensive the different keywords can be.
Finally on the right side of your screen is a relatively new feature that allows you to refine keyword by brand name, body of water, boat type and more. This can be helpful, for instance, if you know you don’t want to bother with boat brand names.
What’s Next
Now some good news and bad news. The bad news is to create a robust campaign you need a thorough list of keyword organized into logical ad groups. This takes time and decision-making on your part which leads us to the good news.
I’ve already created a keyword list for you! Just download and modify a few things and you’re off and running.
Free Boating Industry Charter Keyword List
Download your keyword list here. 
I hope this list helps you on your journey to better boating ads.
Happy Boating!
Steve, Owner
STEVE WARD MEDIA, LLC
