Wounded Warrior Project (WWP) saw an influx of “injured warriors” pop up within its keyword searches during the NBA Finals last month. The Golden State Warriors were battling the Toronto Raptors and two of their best players — Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson — were felled by injuries during the final two games of the series.
 
People were searching for information about injured Golden State Warriors players and not necessarily looking to donate to wounded veterans.
 
That’s an example of why it’s important to monitor keywords daily because of how online keyword searches can change in real time, according to Mike Lamar.
 
The vice president of integrated media strategy at the Atlanta, Ga.-based agency DRUM, Lamar presented the session “Increase Search Traffic with Less Budget: The Value of Periodic Account Recategorizing,” along with Michelle Mueller, online fundraising manager at Wounded Warrior Project in Jacksonville, Fla., during the 14th annual Bridge to Integrated Marketing Conference last week at the Gaylord National Hotel & Conference Center in National Harbor, Md.
 
The Quality Score assigned to keywords is dynamic, Lamar said. “It’s not just about the keyword but about the audience and what’s happening,” he said. Mueller stressed not relying just on technology but making sure you know what‘s going on in the news in case of overlap with your own keywords.
 
Keywords are essentially questions that people are asking, according to Lamar. Ask yourself: Can I get the same answer using this as this? Test different types of inquiries and backgrounds but make sure they’re relevant. WWP tests landing pages of individual warrior stories, not programs, while another might be more institutional, focusing on a program and what it does, Mueller said.
 
“Some of our searches have mixed intent,” she said, as a veteran looking for more information might hit a more donation-focused page but they still want them to get enough information to be able to find WWP and register if they want.
 
She emphasized making sure a call to action is clear and above the fold. While it may be Search 101, Mueller said sometimes a simple page may have tons of information but requires scrolling down until a call to action is evident.
 
“Make it easy for people to do what you want them to do,” Lamar said. “Think about how your average user would use your site. Make it seamless.”