Adwords video tutorial on keyword matching
When assigning keywords to your ads, you have the option to define how Google will use those keywords in the millions of different search queries on www.google.com. This is called keyword matching. A lot of people do not know the exact difference between these options. The result will be that the Cost per Click will be too high, so the ads are shown less often for the same money … this is bad. The good news is: there is a little known Video tutorial, officially from Google (scroll down to see it). But first a bit more about keyword matching options.
At the moment of writing this article there are 3 main variations of keywordf matching. Definitions of these by Google:
Broad match
This is the default option. When you include keyword phrases – such as tennis shoes – in your keyword list, your ads will appear when users search for tennis and shoes, in any order – and possibly along with other terms.
Your ads may also automatically show for expanded matches, including synonyms and plurals. This means that Google will analyze your keyword list, ad text, and millions of daily Google search queries, and show your ads for relevant terms and variations (such as tennis sneakers), even if you didn’t include these terms in your keyword list.
Broad matches are often less targeted than exact or phrase matches. If you decide to run your ads on broad-matched keywords, we recommend creating keyword phrases containing at least two descriptive words.
Phrase match
Your ad appears when users search on the exact phrase and also when their search contains additional terms, as long as the keyword phrase is in exactly the same order. A phrase match for “tennis shoes” would include “red tennis shoes” but not “shoes for tennis.”
Exact match
The search query must exactly match your keyword. This means “tennis shoes” will only match a user request for “tennis shoes” and not for “red tennis shoes,” even though the second query contains your keyword.
So what should you choose?
Usually Broad Match will result in a very low CTR (ClickThroughRate), because your ads will be shown in every search query that contains at least one of your set of keywords. And with Googles Ad system, a low CTR will result in a higher CPC (CostPerClick) for your keywords. Which is of course bad news for your ROI.
Still onto it ?
If not, here is the link to the little known but official Google video tutorial … tucked away in a corner of the Adwords Help site. Go and watch this video tutorial, which explains the keyword matching options into more detail.
