Match types are deceptively simple controls. They’re relatively easy to understand, and almost everyone takes advantage of their basic capabilities. But the difference between using match types and mastering match types is enormous. Match types can be used like a machete – to clear large areas while making sure that nothing is missed, or they can be used like a scalpel – to target very specific queries while leaving adjacent queries undisturbed. The best paid search managers use them as both.
Match Types Decide Who’s In Control
Three Rules of Broad Match
Broad match keywords serve an important purpose, and you should use them. But I’d suggest three rules:
- Use broad match keywords as much as you have to, and no more.
- Use any specific broad match keyword only as long as you have to and no longer.
- While using any broad match keyword, try to continually drive down its volume (and probably its cost)
Broad match keywords exist because as a starting point it’s hard to know which search queries people use to express a specific intent. Without this knowledge you have no way of directing search ads towards those people. Broad match keywords give you a way of advertising to them. The cost is imprecision and therefore waste. Sometimes the good will outweigh the bad, othertimes it won’t. But in either case, the use of broad match should be a starting point and nothing more. Once you see the search queries that broad match attracts, it’s time to start query-mining:
- Add negative keywords
- Add new phrase and exact match keywords
- Adjust bids on all three match types to reflect their relative importance and returns
Every step along the way, you catch less queries by accident and more queries on purpose.
The Match Type Keyword Trap
Some time ago I wrote a lot about match type and a strategy for using multiple match types together for the same keywords. The benefits are extensive:
- You stop paying for bad queries
- You catch a higher percentage of the good queries
- You can pay (bid) appropriately for both the good ones (with high exact match bids) and the bad ones (with lower broad match bids.
- Your new keywords will raise impression share
- Your new keywords will increase impression and click volume
- Your new keywords should earn better quality scores (long story that, we’ll get to it in an upcoming post) which drives position up, cost down, and therefore profits higher.
Alternatively, you can just leave those broad matches alone and hope the people doing unrelated queries just stop searching…
Measuring Progress
Summary
Broad match is a powerful tool, but like many others needs to be used wisely and not over-used. For too long in PPC the assumption was that keywords should be on broad match unless it was perfectly clear or proven that they or versions of them should be promoted or duplicated to the more specific match types. It’s time to start turning that thinking around, and require keywords to prove that they should be on broad match instead. What Do You Think?
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