In 2008 Google introduced Google Suggest to enhance the search experience. Google Suggest allows users to fine-tune their search queries and explore related keyword phrases. The interface is so intuitive that in many cases it can actually reduce the number of key strokes required to produce a search result as well.
You may have noticed when you input a query on Google.com, a dropdown of related topics appears below the search box.
An example of Google Suggest results for the keyword "nintendo":
If you were to type in either "base" or "table" you could expect the following
suggestions:
"baseball"
"baseball hall of fame"
"basecamp"
"tablet pc"
"table"
"table tennis"
"table of elements"
As a Search Engine Marketer, Why Should You Care?
The recommendations offered by Google Suggest are often highly relevant and help searchers find related variations of keyword phrases they may not have initially considered. As more users begin to act on Google Suggest recommendations, their search habits become more predictable.
This is important for Search Engine Marketers because it helps them identify relevant keywords that users are more likely to search for. I encourage you to spend some time with Google Suggest because you’ll probably find some interesting keywords that are not in your PPC campaigns.
A Negative Keyword Tool
From an SEM perspective, there is another obscure benefit to leveraging Google Suggest. Google Suggest is also an effective negative-keyword suggestion tool. Recall our "table" example from above: if you are an online retailer specializing in traditional dinner tables or conference tables, you probably don't want your ads to show for keywords related to table tennis.
For a more practical example on our own "Clickable" brand:
Notice the irrelevant suggestions - clickable for myspace, clickable oil, clickable fairy charms. These are prime examples of negative keywords that should be added to our branded Adwords campaigns.
Useful keyword data is everywhere, you just have to keep your eyes open and consider sources outside of traditional keyword research tools. While the Google Suggest tool was originally developed to benefit consumers, as you can see it also has the potential to help you optimize your PPC accounts.
Tony, Clickable SEM Guru
Note: Clickable employees volunteer several hours a week to helping other search marketers succeed. "Clickable Gurus" participate in numerous online search communities to provide straightforward answers to numerous questions, and, each week, one of the gurus posts a search marketing tip to the Clickable Blog.