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Option 2: Phrase match This specifies keyword by surrounding it in quotes like so: “blue widget”
What this means is that should somebody search for keywords: Need blue widget Blue widget Blue widget where are you Don’t need blue widget
Then your advert will show because phrase is found within keywords. This is next most highly targeted form of search matching and is an ‘improvement’ on broad match – in terms of specialisation.
Option 3: Exact match This specifies keyword by surrounding it in square brackets like so: [blue widget]
Now, your advert will only show if and only if keyword Blue widget
is searched for.
In an ideal world, you will know exactly what every keyword is that your prospects are searching for and you could therefore have an exact match for a keyword search. This would serve to both minimise your advertising expenditure and increase your return on investment simultaneously .
But, to get to a point whereby you know keywords (or at least know as many as possible) which are profitable to you, you need to conduct some research within your adwords campaigns.
So which is best matching options to use? Starting off, it is best to utilise all 3 matching options within your ad-group because: 1. You get to know if there are keywords out there you have missed in your research and can dig further to find out if they should be specified with more targeted matching or added to your negative keyword list. 2. The assignment of your keyword status (on hold, in trial, disabled) is delayed because impressions are spread between variants of keywords. 3. More targeted terms (using exact match) generally have higher conversion rates so you can assign different more cost effect cost per clicks accordingly.
Eventually, as your campaigns mature in time, you will have more and more exact match and less phrase & broad match. As a result your advertising costs will decrease whilst your return on investment will naturally increase.
#3 The Unholiest Error ---------------------- Ok, this isn’t an adwords tip perse as it should be adopted and applied to each and every part of your online and offline advertising.
It’s time to be honest – for each and every piece of advertising/PR you have on go, how well are you tracking results?
I mean can you categorically put your hand on your heart and say, “Yes, by handing out business cards, I generated £x of business last month” (doh! – I’ve just got a new batch printed up and even I’ve missed out on this, slap my wrist, practice what you preach Tom!).
In world of Adwords, you need to know what keywords are giving you results and focus your budget and efforts accordingly.
If you have an advert that shunts prospects to a generic landing page, which is not tracked and you have no idea as a result whether they signed up or bought a product/service.
Then, you are wasting tens, hundreds, thousands (bigger companies are some of worst offenders wasting millions) of pounds every year.
Now you can no longer claim ignorance on biggest mistakes made with Google Adwords. And I shall make sure my next batch of business cards are trackable!
Director http://articles.PDQProspects.com Target Traffic, Fast Google Adwords Campaign Management Specialists