Before we go any further, first let us define what SBS keyword analysis is.
SBS is short for side-by-side. An SBS keyword analysis is a PPC management term which refers to the side-by-side comparison of individual keyword performance across multiple time frames. PPC management experts use this to find out which of the keywords have increased or decreased in performance after implementing certain changes to your account.
In PPC management (and you can verify this with your PPC management team), keyword analysis is quite a tedious task especially if you have a large account with lots of keywords to keep track of. There are several tools available to help manage keyword analysis. Google AdWords, for example, has dynamic graphs and interface segments. However, these tools sometimes fail to produce the specific data that we want so improvisation becomes necessary.
In this blog post, we borrow tips from PPC Hero on how to do an SBS keyword analysis. Here is a step-by-step guide.
1. Determine the two time frames you want to compare. You (or your PPC management expert) will have to extract the keyword data for these two time frames. Download the statistics, select all your keywords and then copy-paste these into an Excel document. Do this for the other time frame. To help you better organize, create separate tabs in your spreadsheet.
2. After data extraction, compile the data side-by-side. Create a new tab for this purpose. Decide which metrics you want to transfer over to your comparison tab. Quick PPC management tip: Alphabetize the keywords for stricter keyword order when transferring between tabs. Once all your data is compiled and organized under one tab, start analyzing individual keywords. Now, you can see better position movements, declining or improving quality scores and average click costs.
It is a bit tricky at first but once you get the hang of it, it’s bound to get easier. Like all else in PPC management, SBS keyword analysis can be mastered in time with a lot of patience and hard work.