Internet Marketing - Matt Bailey [240]
Developing these keyword targets goes back to the keyword research you developed in Chapter 6. Understanding the full range of the keywords that are relevant to your business and industry will help you decide on when to broad match and when to focus into a smaller search group but a more targeted approach with exact match.
It is a balancing act in your budget and campaign to ensure that your ad shows to the widest and the most qualified audience. The more targeted your ad groups and the more clicks your ads receive, the better the quality score will be for your campaigns.
Phrase Match
Closely related to the exact match is the phase match. This is where your keyword bid consists of a few words but needs to be focused on a particular phrasing rather than just including the words. The phrase match works for you to match the words of a phrase in a particular order, rather than simply matching the words in any order.
To create a phase match, put quotes around your selected phrase. For example, If you bid a phrase match on fishing pole, your ad would show up in searches for the following:
sport fishing poles,
fishing pole reels
kids fishing pole
It would not show up in searches for the following:
fishing tackle and pole
fishing reels for poles
poles for fly fishing
As you can see, the phrase must match the order of the words in the quoted phrase in order for your ad to appear.
This is a matching technique that requires careful execution, because you could also potentially exclude relevant traffic if you are not careful. Careful keyword research will enable you to find the particular phrases and order of words that will work best in particular searches.
Negative Match
Often overlooked, the ability to use negative keywords is one of the most powerful matching tools in developing a campaign. Few advertisers use this function, yet it is one that can maximize your budget, increase your quality score, and improve your conversion rate.
When you developed your keyword lists from your research, you should have noticed that there were some keywords that simply weren’t part of your business or strategy. In fact, those keywords may have some very high search volume but just are not relevant to your business. In cases like this, a negative match would be utilized to screen out those keyword phrases that are not relevant but would use phrases that could cause your ad to show.
The quality score measures the number of impressions (when your ad is displayed) as compared to clicks. This is called the click-through rate (CTR), which is the number of clicks your ad receives compared to impressions. The higher your CTR, the higher your quality score, because your ad is performing well and has shown to be relevant.
The advantage of utilizing negative keywords is you can reduce the number of irrelevant impressions your ads receive, which, in turn, increases your CTR. If your ad displays for irrelevant keywords, which means that nonqualified visitors would see the ad and not click it, then that would reduce your CTR. Screening out nonqualified visitors is an advertiser’s dream. By limiting the exposure of your ad to only those who are interested in your particular product or service, you are able to save more money on your budget and spend it in areas that are targeted and profitable.
Let’s continue with the example of fishing; the keyword research for fishing shows a few keywords that use the phrases that I am bidding on but aren’t relevant. One example, if I were a fishing-goods retailer in California, is Florida fishing. To make this a negative keyword, I include a minus sign prior to the word Florida: -florida. This removes my ad from rotation whenever a searcher’s phrase includes the word florida. If I don’t