VKontakte has launched keyword targeting – a new tool for business promotion.

The system takes into account the behavior of VKontakte users and the data of Mail.ru Group projects as a whole. These can be search queries, transitions to sites of certain topics, views and transitions to cards of goods and services, views of various content, that is, it will work on the principle of contextual advertising.

We figure out how keyword targeting on VKontakte works and share tips for selecting key phrases.

Read also: How to set up targeted advertising on VKontakte correctly

How to run ads targeting “Key Phrases” in VK

The main difference between Key Phrases and Interests and Behavior targeting is that you yourself set the criteria for target audience behavior using key phrases and negative keywords. The new setting is located immediately after the “Demographics” and “Interests” blocks.

Step 1… Create your ad – any format can be used.

Step 2… In the section “Target audience settings” – “Key phrases” enter the selected phrases. Use commas or line breaks as separators.

The system will help you to find similar queries based on the entered key phrases. You can enter up to 150 phrases with a total text volume of up to 4,500 characters.

Step 3… Specify negative keywords using the Add Exception button. They apply to each of the key phrases.

Step 4… In the “Search period” field, specify the number of days during which users were interested in the listed phrases. When choosing a term, consider the purchase cycle, for example, 7-14 days are enough for a request “buy a humidifier”, and for a request “buy an apartment” – 30 days.

Technical restrictions and requirements:

• Key phrases can be used for any format – posts in the news feed, site advertisements and stories, as well as in TGB;
• available payment models – CPM, CPC and automatic strategies;
• the allowed number of characters in one phrase is 128;
• the search period is 1–30 days.

How to compile a list of key phrases for targeting VKontakte

Here is a list of recommendations.

Primarily, choose queries that are two or three words long – not too narrow and not too wide. The principle of action is the same as when selecting keywords for Yandex.Direct.

The best option would be an average between broad and narrow queries – “men’s Timberland boots” or “sign up for a course in ceramics.” The advertisement will be shown to users who are now interested in this and are set to buy.

Use different types of key phrases in one list… It can be:

• brand inquiries and requests of competitors, which contain the name of the company, the names and surnames of its representatives, the names of goods and services;
• requests for services and product categories;
• synonym queries;
• jargon queries from colloquial speech or professional slang;
• queries with errors and different spellings;
• related requests.

Watch the type of requests – they must correspond to the purpose of the advertising campaign. If you want to receive applications from the site, then the list should contain key queries with a direct indication of a product or service, including those with selling additives.

Selling supplements Are words that clarify the request. For example, the phrase “apartment renovation” can be specified to “order apartment renovation” and “turnkey apartment renovation”. This will make the requests more targeted.

One product – one list of keywords… For example, if you are promoting an online home appliance store and want to promote only refrigerators, do not use phrases from other categories like “buy a vacuum cleaner” so that the effectiveness of advertising will not be affected.

Combine targeting carefully… Don’t include cities and regions in phrases – use geography setting instead. Do not combine keywords with retargeting audiences or “Interests and Behavior” – this will severely limit the audience and will not have a positive effect.

Conclusion

The new targeting tool allows you to work with an audience that has already generated demand. At the same time, “Key phrases” can be used not only by professional marketers, but also by beginners in advertising: the algorithm will give hints and offer additional phrases and show the volume of the audience that used them in the search.

Earlier, VKontakte launched the “Reporting” function, and also added new opportunities for video conferencing.