Online advertising is easily one of the most effective ways that you can reach out to your target audience in the new age of digital marketing. You can target based on search terms; however, some search terms are reaching extraordinary prices. Keep in mind that the prices are all determined based upon an auction, so they will only reach the price that people are willing to pay for. Smaller markets are going to have more affordable search terms, while more competitive markets drive up the price for their CPC (cost per click) prices. For example, the suggested bid from the Google Adwords keyword planner for “mesothelioma lawyer” as of the writing of this post is $215.30. Less specific search terms are lower, with the search for “attorney” at $7.08 and “legal advice” having a suggested bid of a mere $3.22.

Trying to keep costs down on your ad words campaign can be very difficult over time, and requires a lot of testing and retesting. Using Google Trends can help with this, as you can see what searches are increasing or decreasing over time. Also, event specific searches can peak at certain times. If you haven’t ever gotten on Google Trends before, I highly suggest you try it. It is a fun tool that can give you a lot of good information regarding what people searched and when.

Sometimes, thinking outside of the box can help when you are trying to gain a consumer’s attention. We have all heard the phrase that “the customer is always right,” but most people in business know this is a customer service tactic and far from a enduring fact. A smart marketer might be able to turn customer’s mistakes into their advantage.

Take a look at the chart below, which shows the search results over time of “superb owl.” As you can see, the search term spikes each year at a very specific time, late January to early February. Once you look at the actual time frame, you realize that the customers are adding the space in the wrong spot as they are trying to search for the Super Bowl.

Mistakes like these are frequent, but should not be overlooked. Think about your business and your industry and see if there is a way that you can take advantage of this to maximize the ROI on your business. Many times people think tool literally when they want to reach their audience, and do not take mistakes or misunderstandings into their plans. What might you be able to do to take advantage of a similar mistake in your industry to bring in more customers and have fewer competitors bidding for the same search results?

Marketers are paid to be creative, and this is a great example of trying to think outside of the box to improve upon what you already are doing. Creativity can go a long way, and fuels innovation going forward.