In search marketing, keywords are a window to your customers' wants and needs, making it really crucial for SEM specialists to manage the process well. Here are some simple steps to ensure you're on the right track.

Search engine marketing is growing rapidly. In many places, corporations are beefing up in-house resources specifically to manage SEM activities on both the organic and paid front. But have we truly evolved into keyword-driven marketers?

In a search environment, customers use keywords to communicate their needs, interests or intents. Keyword-driven marketing calls for marketers to decode each verbal cue, determine the intent and then deliver the right message. That message is then conveyed in a cross-media campaign that leads to content or a conversion path corresponding to the customer interest. It may sound simple, but few organisations are actually doing this successfully.

I recently attended an online marketing conference during which the speaker mentioned the importance of thinking the way your customers would think when searching for your brand or product. In reality, it can be difficult to put yourself in their minds. How do I think like my customers if I am not in the market for my products or services? And how then do I put together an effective campaign to reach them?

The first and most crucial step to a keyword-driven marketing approach is gathering keyword marketing intelligence. Below are a few tips to get you started:

Identify the keywords customers use across all marketing channels
This includes researching information posted on blogs, forums and community sites. The way you refer to a product or service is not necessarily the same way a customer refers to your product or service. Information from a customer focus group can be helpful, as it facilitates building a repository of keywords that cover all stages in the buying cycle, helping you understand your customers more in the process.

Analyse quantitative data sources for keyword inclusion
Historical data can be a great source of information. Dig into your web analytics data to determine which terms are driving traffic, high response rates and conversion rates. Do the same with past paid search campaigns to identify star performers. Don't forget to reach out to the local search engine reps to research the search volume and popularity of keywords.

Study competitor activity
Evaluate competitor activity to identify the keywords for which they are bidding. Who else is competing for the same keywords on the paid search front? On what keywords are they favourably ranked with respect to organic search? How much effort and resources are needed to gain traction with these highly competitive keywords? Going through all these areas will help you see how other players are operating. You should also do a cost/benefit analysis to determine which keywords are worth the investment.

This keyword marketing intelligence forms the foundation of the keyword-driven marketing approach. The uncovered keywords can then be applied to a cross-channel campaign, be it as keywords within your paid and organic search initiatives, content for your landing pages, copy for your banner advertisements, or even subject lines of an email direct mailer. These are some of the key ways that would help you evolve into a keyword-driven marketer!

Farah Sadiq is vice president online strategy of Acronym media.