If you find yourself hitting Google to find information about Adwords match types best practices then you should be calling a consultant as you may find you are spending money on clicks that are not adding value to your business.

Google Adwords Advice About Match Types and Best Practices

The importance of a planned and executed Google Adwords campaign is something that needs to be understood before you got to Google and start paying for clicks. You need a strategy for dealing with match types and getting it wrong can be very costly, the same ad copy with the same landing pages can achieve so much more when you understand the importance of the matching structure and negative keywords.

There are four types of Adwords match types, firstly Broad Match which is often the default type we find being used when we take over an existing campaign, then there are Modified Broad Match which are like Broad Match on steroids. Then there is Exact Match and Phrase Match which all serve a slightly different purpose.

What Are Broad Match Adwords Used For?

This is the most common type of Adwords match type we find when we take over the management of a Google Adwords campaign. This is because it is the default type when starting to set up your keywords.

To provide an example of broad match types, you sell computers for this example using broad match you enter the keywords “dell computer” this means that you are asking Google to show your advert to anyone searching for keywords these words and it could show your ads to people searching “dell computer spares” which might be something you want, but the chances are you are more likely to get a conversion for a computer if the person searching is not looking for spares. The very fact that they entered spares in a Google search means they are looking for spares for an existing computer with their focus on fixing this and probably not buying another.

Using broad match you will get the largest impression volume and this helps with data if you know how to use it as it will provide a large amount of search term data which can identify what keywords you need to be targeting. This will also show you how many irrelevant searches you are get matched with. It is vital to remember that a click on your advert costs you money and if you do get a conversion from this it is a total waste of money.

Then comes the bigger problem, Google is very clever and these clicks to things that do not add value are also probably going to affect the quality score which will then mean you are going to be paying more for the keywords you actually do want to achieve overall.

What Are Modified Broad Match Adwords Used For?

If you understand from the above text about broad match then using modified broad match give you more control over the search terms. Using the example of “dell computer” as a broad match type as long as someone uses “dell” and “computer” in any order within a Google search it will trigger an advert.

A modified broad match is then controlling this with a “+” symbol in front of each keyword, so it looks like “+dell +computer” and doing this will attract an array of searches but you will still be showing for irrelevant search terms.

What Are Exact Match Adwords Used For?

This is the most accurate way to achieve exactly what keyword you want. Using the example earlier “Dell computer” as a broad match, if we took this and entered it as [Dell computer] this means that people searching for “Dell Computer” is Google will get the advert and if someone searches for “Dell computer spares” they will not. The problem arises here now as if some searches “computer Dell” your advert will also not show which means you have to work harder to identify the keywords you are looking to achieve and the variations used by people searching. This is targeted so should produce conversions as a result if the landing page works well for the visitor providing the right information and at the right price.

What Are Phrase Match Adwords Used For?

Phrase match provides you with the ability to target exactly what you want in terms of keywords with other words included. If you wanted to achieve “Dell computer discounts” as Phrase Match, it can appear in something like “Black Friday Dell computer discounts”. To use phrase match you enter the keywords like this: “Dell computer”.

Which AdWords campaign type is right for me?

Keywords to the Wise – Google Best Practices

Use Broad Match in AdWords to Capture Local Searches – Google Best Practices

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