Proper keywords need to be selected to tell Google how to match advertisements based on keyword researches. There are 4 different types of keyword match types to select from when advertising with Google Adwords. The article covers all the four keyword match types, crucial to the success of any PPC campaign.
Select a broad match, phrase match, modified broad match and exact match for the keyword match type when creating a text ad in the Adwords PPC campaign. Every match type has its benefits in Adwords account.
Broad match is the match type which targets audience widely. For instance, if a user types “luxury car,” your ad would be displayed against those searches. Google can also match the ad to queries using syllables, for example displaying your ad against “expensive vehicles,” even though none of the terms are included in your keyword.
Since broad matched ads are used for reaching a large audience, these can often bring in irrelevant users adding to surprisingly more costs. So make sure when using broad match that you do not pay for the irrelevant traffic.
The modified broad match is viewed as a type of middle ground between the more restrictive match and broad match types. It helps you to reach a similar type of audience, however, you need to see who controls your ad, by locking the individual words in a phrase with a “+” parameter. A plus sign added in front of the term tells Google that a search query needs to include it.
For instance, when appending the “+” parameter to the word “gel”, Google only matches the ads to queries included in the word gel. When appending it to word “batteries,” the search queries need to include it before the ad enters an auction.
Phrase match provides broad match versatility, however, just like the modified broad, gives marketer a high control level. The ad appears when a user queries a key phrase using keywords in a way you have entered them. However, there needs to be other words entered before or after the phrase.
For instance, if a key phrase is “web design,” the ad would appear when a user searched for “web design”, “web designer”, “website design” but not for searches such as “web development”, web building” etc. as the query contains text before and after keywords, you get some flexibility, however, you miss out on a lot of traffic.
Exact match is the most restrictive and specific of all keyword match types. In this case, the ad is displayed to the users when an exact keyword phrase is typed by the user. For instance, if a keyword phrase was “cocktail dress,” the ad is only displayed when a user searches for “cocktail dress,” but not for a “black cocktail dress” or a “black dress”. However, the positive side is that the users clicking on an ad are interested in a service or product coming through such ads. However, you will have less traffic this way and you will not get many impressions.
Ad match types have a strong impact on an account’s performance. Their control determines what search queries are being worked on. When considering the match types to use, a few components to consider are:
The way a keyword performs or have performed gives you an overview into the match type offering the best investment return.
How do the competitors work on different terms, structuring the accounts and how the accounts perform historically affects the return you get from these match types.
Cost per conversion and click are strongly affected by bids. Marketers most of the times use different methodologies for changing bids to frequently or aggressively bid based on the post match type. This influences what match type is significant.
Many marketers work on a “money” keyword, running it on broad, exact and phrase match types. The way advertiser structures an account also has a major effect on the performance of different match types.
Using Adwords match types is important as it helps in reaching target audience while avoiding the unnecessary payment on irrelevant traffic. You can also hire Medialinkers SEO analysts to optimize the keyword match types for our audience.
