Mark covers Google AdWords Keyword Tool basics in this episode, breaking down the three concepts that trip up new internet marketers most often. He also shares his experience visiting Leo Laporte at the TWiT studios and updates the corn sheller site earnings.
What You'll Learn in This Episode
- The difference between broad, phrase, and exact match keyword data and why it matters
- How local versus global search volume affects your affiliate marketing projections
- Why the competition score does not measure organic ranking difficulty
- What Mark learned visiting the TWiT studios about building a media business from podcasting
Episode Summary
Mark records from San Jose, California after visiting Leo Laporte's TWiT Brick House studios in Petaluma. He is inspired by what Laporte built from a small podcast into a full production studio with multiple shows and a dedicated staff — all driven by genuine passion for technology.
The core of the episode is a tutorial on the Google AdWords Keyword Tool. Mark identifies three things new marketers consistently misunderstand: match types (exact versus phrase versus broad), local versus global search volume, and the competition metric (which measures advertiser bidding competition, not organic ranking difficulty). He also covers the CPC estimate, seasonal trends data, and the limitations of the tool's accuracy.
The episode includes updates on the corn sheller site (steady traffic growth but volatile eBay earnings), the snoring niche site (declared a failure due to a previously penalized domain), and Mark's plans for the Forever Affiliate coaching program.
Key Takeaways
- Use exact match keyword data for conservative, reliable traffic projections
- Match local search volume to your monetization geography — global numbers can be misleading
- The Google Keyword Tool competition score measures ad bidding, not organic ranking difficulty
- Leo Laporte's TWiT network shows what a decade of passionate, consistent content creation can build
What's Changed Since This Episode
The Google AdWords Keyword Tool was replaced by Google Keyword Planner in 2013. Modern keyword research relies on tools like Ahrefs, Semrush, and Ubersuggest for more accurate and actionable data. The match type concepts Mark explains remain relevant for understanding how search queries work.
Google Keyword Planner now requires an active Google Ads account with spending history to access detailed search volume ranges. Free alternatives and third-party tools have filled this gap for organic SEO researchers.
Resources Mentioned
- Google Keyword Planner — successor to the AdWords Keyword Tool
- TWiT.tv — Leo Laporte's technology podcast network
- Late Night Internet Marketing Podcast
- Subscribe on Apple Podcasts
Related Episodes
If you found this episode helpful, you might also enjoy:
- LNIM049 Transcript — Google Keyword Tool Tutorial (Full Transcript)
- LNIM053 — Finding Niche Keywords
Listen and Subscribe
Listen to Late Night Internet Marketing on Apple Podcasts or subscribe at latenightim.com/internet-marketing-podcast/. Have a question for Mark? Call the digital recorder at 214-444-8655 or drop a comment below.
Nice Dan Miller liner at the beginning! I’ve been a fan of his for a long time now.
And…massively jealous of your TWiT experience! The studios look gorgeous, and I’ve spent countless hours watching their various programs.
Thanks Chuck. Dan rocks and TWiT was awesome. The studio was impressive — but the staff even more so. Worth the trip.
Glad you were able to find some information about that quirky eBay affiliate program issue. I had no idea people had to actually *win* the auctions for you to get consistent commissions. That’s an interesting thing to look at, because even if they don’t win eBay is still making more money from your traffic when they’ve bid up the price point of the items.
Thanks for inspiring me to check. Still not happy with the earnings from that site.
I’m not fond of the Google Keyword Tool but enjoyed your episode. 🙂
I don’t use it much either Jerry. I prefer tools like Keyword Canine that pull data from the Google Keyword tool.
One of the best Google Adwords tips I ever got, from a guy named Simon, was to include a solid mix of the three (four including modified) match types, with the correct proportions of broad, phrase, and exact within each ad group. Most people that get started on PPC don’t think to do things that way. If you want to talk to Simon, you can call him at 302-401-4478.
One of the best Google Adwords tips I ever got, from a guy named Simon, was to include a solid mix of the three (four including modified) match types, with the correct proportions of broad, phrase, and exact within each ad group. Most people that get started on PPC don’t think to do things that way. If you want to talk to Simon, you can call him at 302-401-4478.
I didn’t know this before, but with site extensions on your Adwords ads you can give people several options to visit your page, or, just offer a bunch of different ad copy in the form of links that all point to the same place. Do you have sitelinks setup, and actively gaining impressions/clicks in your account? If that sounds tricky, it isn’t as difficult as you might imagine. You can get help by just giving Simon a ring, his number is 256-398-3835.