There are three major choices to select from when you are creating a Pay Per Click (PPC) account and an ad campaign with Google Adwords or Microsoft adCenter—exact keywords, phrase keywords and broad keywords. When using exact match keywords, search terms entered in a search engine must be exactly the same as your keywords in order for your ad to appear. With phrase matches, your ad will show for searches including several more words appearing before and after the key term. In broad keywords matches search engines are allowed to interpret the keyword you have bid on and enable it to show up in other searches which the search engine counts as related to the subject of your advertising campaign.
When you run all three keyword match types, you will gain valuable data and knowledge to help you optimize your ad campaign. You can track and compare the percentages of searches for each type of keyword match. For the best possible ad campaign results, these comparisons should show a larger percentage on exact and phrase keyword matches.
There are actually some very definite dangers and disadvantages to running broad keywords for campaigns. With Google Adwords accounts, the program is set to run your ads on related variations of keywords. In addition, these key terms may or may not be in your keyword listings. Variations of given keywords can be singular/plural forms, synonyms, appropriate variants of your keywords, and various phrases which contain your keywords. For instance, if you run an ad campaign on a broad-matched keyword such as “window treatments,” you may get ad showings for search queries like “bay window treatments” or “window treatment design textbooks.” The variations on your key terms which will trigger your ads will be different over a length of time when using Adwords. Its tools and features constantly monitor key term strength, quality, and overall performance. This close tracking will ensure that your ads will appear only when triggered by the most closely related keyword variations returning the best results.
Although a broad keyword match will attract Web users with an interest in your site’s products or services, it is not employing search terms that trigger your ads, it is still simply an algorithm. It may also begin showing your ad to high volumes of searchers not interested in what your business or personal website has to offer. Not only will this decrease the amount and effectiveness of your campaign budget—it can cause a pronounced fall in your CTR (click through rates) and your overall Quality Score.
Instead of a broad match, some experts in keyword usage recommend expanding your key terms to every sensible combination so you can run them for a phrase match. By this method, you will be able to prevent unfavorable broad match results. In addition, you may discover tail terms that bring a remarkable increase in returns at a much lower cost.
For example, for the broad key term match: Greek CD recordings, you can create an expanded phrase match to include:
Greek CD recordings
CD Greek recordings
recordings Greek CD
CD recordings Greek
Greek recordings CD
Such use of an expanded phrase match can literally eliminate half of your ad costs.
Most people want to have as much control over their ad campaigns as possible. For instance, while your campaign is in progress, you will want to regulate when your ads are shown and which key term most frequently triggers them. There is no guarantee that a broad match will determine this data, and many times it will not. The advice most often given is to change to phrase and exact match to lower your cost per click and per sale.
In direct contrast, with use of Google Adwords’ expanded broad match, CTR plummeted, much fewer clicks were productive conversions, and cost per click greatly increased. In order to gain profits and success for your online business products/services or your personal website endeavors, choose Adwords’ exact or phrase match. You can easily create a valid phrase match simply by placing quotation marks around a phrase, e.g., “Greek CD recordings.” If you want to run an exact match, just place your phrase within square brackets: [CD recordings Greek].
Including negative keywords in your ad campaign can be a definite advantage. These negative keywords are any terms relevant to your advertising text, but not actually related to your website’s subject and content. By using these key terms, you can be sure that your ads will not be shown on Web search results listings not directly related to your site and business. As an example, a website selling theater costumes and props might have ads showing for the key term, “theater tickets.” Since the site does not sell tickets, the owner may designate “tickets” as a negative keyword, so no further ads for tickets will be displayed.
You must use negative keywords to keep your ads from appearing when triggered by certain key term variations. Remember, whenever you make use of broad matched keywords, pausing or even eliminating a term will not prevent one of the active broad matched keywords from expanding to include that key term. For instance, if your keyword group included the terms “fruit” and “oranges” (broad matched), and you paused the term “oranges,” your ad might still be triggered on the search term “oranges” because of its connection to the broad matched key term “fruit.” The solution, then, is to designate “oranges” as a negative keyword.
When using AdWords’ broad match modifier, a specialized targeting feature, you can extend the influence of your keywords more than with phrase match. You will also gain more lasting control than you could ever have with broad match. You will be delighted to discover that when modified broad match keywords are used in an ad campaign, you will be assured of a greater number of clicks and conversions, with an impressive ROI. You will notice these areas of improvement even more if other key terms included are exact and phrase match. This outstanding Adwords feature permits the addition of other words before, between or after a key term with a plus sign (+) directly before it. If you place a plus sign before one or more terms in a broad match keyword or phrase, each word following a + symbol must be included in a search, either exactly or as a very close variant. Acceptable variants are singular/plural forms, slight misspellings, abbreviations, acronyms, and stem forms (e.g., light and lighting).
There are definitely serious dangers and problems associated with running broad keywords in your ad campaigns. It is true that a broad match may seem attractive for enhancing site traffic volumes, especially to beginning online advertisers and marketers. However, you will soon see your CTR and conversion rates plunge downward, while your campaign costs quickly escalate to new highs. Fortunately, with Google Adwords features, you can also utilize exact and phrase key term matches, as well as expanded phrase matches. In addition, negative keywords usage and the broad match modifier feature will greatly increase your business or personal website’s appropriate visibility, traffic, CTR and conversions for heightened levels of profitability and success.
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