Most Expensive Keywords to Advertise With on Google AdWords

For those in the know – Google makes most of it's revenue from paid search advertising using GoogleAdwords. But just how much? In 2011 it was 97% at 32 BILLION. Yes, that was BILLION!


So, have you ever wondered what the most expensive keywords are? And what keywords demand the highest costs per click and are most competitive in terms of high search volume?

Where does Google make its money? We've found this rather cool Infographic from WordStream which graphically represents this data rather nicely:

So to put this in black and white the 20 most expensive keywords categories with the highest search volume (i.e. the most used keywords) and highest costs per click, thereby netting Google the most money, are:

  1. Insurance (example keywords in this category include "buy car insurance online" and "auto insurance price quotes")
  2. Loans (example keywords include "consolidate graduate student loans" and "cheapest homeowner loans")
  3. Mortgage (example keywords include "refinanced second mortgages" and "remortgage with bad credit")
  4. Attorney (example keywords include "personal injury attorney" and "dui defense attorney")
  5. Credit (example keywords include "home equity line of credit" and "bad credit home buyer")
  6. Lawyer ("personal injury lawyer," "criminal defense lawyer)
  7. Donate ("car donation centers," "donating a used car")
  8. Degree ("criminal justice degrees online," "psychology bachelors degree online")
  9. Hosting ("hosting ms exchange," "managed web hosting solution")
  10. Claim ("personal injury claim," "accident claims no win no fee")
  11. Conference Call ("best conference call service," "conference calls toll free")
  12. Trading ("cheap online trading," "stock trades online")
  13. Software ("crm software programs," "help desk software cheap")
  14. Recovery ("raid server data recovery," "hard drive recovery laptop")
  15. Transfer ("zero apr balance transfer," "credit card balance transfer zero interest")
  16. Gas/Electricity ("business electricity price comparison," "switch gas and electricity suppliers")
  17. Classes ("criminal justice online classes," "online classes business administration")
  18. Rehab ("alcohol rehab centers," "crack rehab centers")
  19. Treatment ("mesothelioma treatment options," "drug treatment centers")
  20. Cord Blood ("cordblood bank," "store umbilical cord blood")

97% of Google's revenue comes from advertising on Google sites. Between Q3 2010-Q2 2011, Google brought in $32.2 billion in total advertising revenue.

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