Popular Keyword – iPhone Keywords

Speaking in terms of profits, Apple is one of the most successful firms in history. The company is responsible for roughly 18% of global smartphone volume and 86% of global smartphone profits. It’s easy to forget how unbelievable its run in the first decade of the 21st century really was. The iPod, the iTunes Store, the MacBook, the iPad, and, most importantly, the iPhone. Ground-breaking, earth-shattering pieces of technology—all released in a matter of years.

Oh, and then came AppleTV and the Apple Watch. Not too bad, either. Apple shows exactly zero signs of slowing down in any of the upcoming decades. The thing marketers and techies alike have been dying to figure out for years: how have they done it?

It’s actually rather simple. According to Scott Galloway, professor of marketing at NYU and author of The Four, Apple has successfully branded its products as luxuries. They have tapped into the same human instinct that compels the wealthy to purchase sports cars and high-end watches—the desire to collect beautiful, expensive possessions as means to become more attractive. The iPhone is a status symbol. It’s sexy. Consumers buy iPhones, in part, because they want to be seen holding iPhones.

Think about the Apple Store. Despite the alarmist warnings of skeptics who thought Apple was crazy to get into the brick-and-mortar game, the Apple Store has been an overwhelming success. Why? Because it’s an experience. Stepping into that sleek, minimalist building and browsing the most gorgeous smartphones on the market gives consumers a rush. It’s no different than stepping into Maxfield or Gucci.

To put it succinctly, the tremendous success of Apple is a testament to the power of branding. This leaves the marketing teams at other smartphone companies—Samsung, LG, Lenovo—wondering how they can capture even bigger slices of the market pie.

Believe it or not, the list of keywords you see above isn’t a good place to start. Bidding on Apple’s branded terms is a wildly expensive and likely ineffective strategy. Even if your company did manage to outbid Apple on its own branded keywords, it wouldn’t be worth it—not enough of their super loyal customers would make the switch to your products.

Instead, use competitive keyword research to find out which non-branded terms Apple bids on. Then, attach higher bids to your best ads. In order to truly arrest a prospect’s attention, you’re going to need ad extensions. These enable you to list all the awesome features your product offers—and that the iPhone doesn’t offer. Making the most of your search engine results page (SERP) real estate will increase your click-through rate (CTR). In turn, this will boost your Quality Score and improve your performance in the ad rankings.

Don’t forget about long-tail keywords. These are longer, more specific keywords that drive highly relevant traffic in lower volumes. A good example is “best smartphone for taking pictures.” They are the opposite of broad keywords, such as “smartphone,” which drive less relevant traffic in high volumes. Bidding on long-tail keywords is a best practice because advertising to a more relevant audience translates to higher CTRs, better conversion rates, lower costs per click (CPCs), and more efficient ad spend overall.

So, you successfully drive clicks by bidding on competitive and long-tail keywords. Now, you need to optimize your landing pages. An incredibly effective practice that far too few marketers use is custom landing pages. The idea is that each of your keywords (and, therefore, each of your ads) should direct prospects to unique landing pages. For example, the ads you show for “fast charging smartphone” and “smartphone best processor” should direct prospects to different landing pages. This practice works because it meets consumers’ demands for highly relevant and individualized advertising experiences. Plus, more relevant landing pages lead to higher Quality Score and better ad rankings.

For more online advertising advice,  read the WordStream blog.