by Laurie Sullivan , Staff Writer @lauriesullivan, July 3, 2017

The search for the 25 most expensive keywords led WordStream to analyze a series of the most “super competitive” words running in Google AdWords.

The analysis looks at keyword data for five different currencies in English-speaking countries and their average cost per click (CPC).

The top five most expensive keywords in Google AdWords are related to Business Services at an average $58.64 CPC, followed by Bail Bonds at $58.48 CPC; Casino, $55.48 CPC; Lawyer, $54.86 CPC; and Asset Management, $49.86 CPC.

Interestingly, the keywords for the category of Business Services include Data Room or Network Security Monitoring, which demonstrates the challenges that companies now face with data theft and malware.

Finance-related issues at companies have experienced major shifts. Last year, WordStream noted that finance-related keywords like loads and mortgages were high on the list. This year Asset Management and Banking rate higher. (View the entire list here.)

It shouldn’t be that difficult to determine the most expensive keywords when using the philosophy that costs are mostly driven up by immediate problems. When people have a problem they need to fix immediately. One of the top keyword terms in the Medical Services category is “emergency room near me.” Bail Bonds, Lawyer, Rehab, Plumber, Termites are all examples of keywords related to an urgent problem.

One name that analysts didn’t expect to see on the list was Google. This year, Google rated at No. 25 on the most expensive keyword in Google AdWords.

WordStream search analysts also recently sought out the best words that produce the highest click-through rates or the 612 ads analyzed. They wanted to determine whether numbers and punctuations make a difference, most effective call to action, and if positive or negative sentiment creates the most impact. They also looked into whether those clicking on the ads were influenced more by pages stuffed with keywords or the creative messages.

Running text analyses on some of the best ads in AdWords from the past year, WordStream found the most popular call to actions include the words Get, Buy, Show, Try, Learn, Build, Sign Up, Discover, and Click.

MediaPost.com: Search Marketing Daily

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