Understanding Keywords in Google AdWords – Session #1 of AdWords MOOC / Tutorial
Keywords drive AdWords! Customers search by keywords, so you must have a very defined and strategic sense of your keywords. Behind the scenes, however, Google matches your ads with user search queries based on ‘match types’ in AdWords. Match types include exact, phrase, broad, and broad match with modifier. Don’t miss the negative keyword match types as well. The AdWords Gotcha #1 is to not understand how to correctly use match types. Let’s get started!
Links Used in ‘AdWords Match Types: Understanding Keywords in Google AdWords’
Table Explaining Match Types with Examples
- :
| KEYWORD: | POSSIBLE MATCHES: |
| [Cat Boarding] | Cat BoardingThose two words and nothing else! |
| “Cat Boarding” | Cat boarding in San FranciscoSF Cat BoardingBest Cat Boarding near my houseThe phrase ‘cat boarding’ plus words before or after |
| +Cat +Boarding | Cat boarding in San FranciscoSF Cat BoardingBest Cat Boarding near my houseboard my cat in the city
where can I board a cat? boarding of cats board a bunch of cats in san francisco The words ‘cat’ and ‘boarding’ plus words before, in the middle, or after plus stemming (cats), board vs. boarding. NO SUBSTITUTIONS! Google will NOT substitute ‘pet’ for ‘cat,’ for example! |
| Cat Boarding | Cat boarding in San FranciscoSF Cat BoardingBest Cat Boarding near my houseboard my cat in the city
where can I board a cat? boarding of cats board a bunch of cats in san francisco pet boarding pets to be boarded dog boarding gerbil boarding cat vets cat shelters and cat vets iguana vetrinarians The words ‘cat’ and ‘boarding’ plus MANY possible similar words… as Google ‘thinks for you,’ and in some cases may do very poor matching! Watch out! |
| -cheap | cheap Cat boarding in San Francisco (do not show ad)SF Cat Boarding that’s cheap (do not show ad)Anytime the seacher adds the word ‘cheap,’ Google will not show you ad. |
- Examples from a real campaign – problems with broad match:
- Keyword set to: negotiation training for an business executive course in negotiation training. Google ran ad for these keywords:
- debt settlement training
- union bargaining training
- contract negotiation seminar
- hostage negotiation training
- negotiation mock up class
- If you are running a campaign / group with keywords set to broad match (no quotes, no brackets, and no +’s), go to group > keywords tab > details > search terms > all to see what are the actual keywords Google is running your ad for!
Free Resources for ‘AdWords Match Types: Understanding Keywords in Google AdWords’
- Broad Match with Modifier (as explained on the official AdWords blog)
- Using keyword matching options (Google help file explaining match types)
- Match Types Worksheet: register to gain access to the worksheets in WORD and PDF formats.
- AdWords Toolbook: register to get our comprehensive list of the most important free learning resources for AdWords as well as the best free tools for AdWords.
- Keyword set to: negotiation training for an business executive course in negotiation training. Google ran ad for these keywords:
