Are You Bidding on the Right Keywords?

Building a successful campaign requires picking effective keywords—and the proper match type to go with them

Keywords are the foundation of your search marketing account, as they help lead customers to your website. Think of them as the main building blocks you’ll use to construct your Sponsored Search marketing account.

As you work with your keywords, you’ll also need to consider match types. The two different match types—Standard and Advanced—help you control the way in which your keywords are matched to the terms that web users enter into search boxes.

The Keys to Choosing Keywords
1. Look for keywords on your own web site
Think like a customer, and pick the words that your customers might be searching on to find you.

2. Use one of our keyword suggestion tools.
Click the “Add Keywords” link in your account. This feature provides three easy options for generating keyword ideas.

3. Use keywords that attract customers at each stage of the buying cycle.
Customers pass through three phases as they consider buying something: Research, Shopping and Purchase. Generally, the closer someone is to purchasing, the more specific your keywords should be. For example, customers may search for “guitar” during Research, “Fender guitar” while Shopping, and “American Standard Fender Telecaster guitar” when they’re ready to Purchase.

4. Pick a mix of broad and specific keywords.
Generic keywords like “guitar” can quickly deplete your budget and may not lead to sales as often, but can attract prospective customers who are in the Research phase. Selecting more specific keywords may deliver fewer clicks, but can be more likely to result in sales.

Making Sense of Match Types
The Advanced match type is the default setting, and allows your ad to appear in response to a broader range of searches, even when the keyword you are bidding on is not an exact, word-for-word match with the search query. In this way, it can display your ad for related searches using keywords that you may not have considered. While it saves you from having to think of every possible keyword, it also can deliver a high volume of traffic and result in less relevant clicks.

Example of the Advanced match type: The keyword “Fender guitar” could be matched to related search terms such as “Fender Telecaster guitar,” “Fender Stratocaster guitar” and “electric Fender guitar.”

Tip: Be sure to use Excluded Words to specify search terms that you don’t want to be matched to through the Advanced match type.

The Standard match type restricts your ad to be displayed only for searches that are exact matches to your keywords, as well as for common variations and misspellings. Consider using this match type when you want to receive very relevant clicks.

Example of the Standard match type: “Fender guitar” could match to “Fender guitars” and “Fender’s guitars.”

Still hungry for more information? Find out more about choosing keywords and match types in our Help Center.

— The Team