Keyword Matching

In Google Ad Words, there are four different keyword matching options, each specifying a different way for a keyword to interact with search queries. With some options, you'll enjoy more ad impressions; with others, you'll get fewer impressions (but potentially more targeted clicks). By applying the appropriate matching options to your keywords, you can best meet your ROI goals.

Your options are:

Broad Match - This is the default option. If your ad group contained the keyword tennis shoes, your ad would be eligible to appear when a user's search query contained tennis and shoes, in any order, and possibly along with other terms. Your ads could also show for singular/plural forms, synonyms, and other relevant variations. For example, you ad might show on tennis shoe or tennis sneakers. Run a Search Query Performance Report to see what keyword variations trigger your ad.

Phrase Match - If you enter your keyword in quotation marks, as in "tennis shoes," your ad would be eligible to appear when a user searches on the phrase tennis shoes, in this order, and possibly with other terms before or after the phrase. For example, your ad could appear for the query red tennis shoes but not for shoes for tennis, tennis shoe, or tennis sneakers. Phrase match is more targeted than broad match, but more flexible than exact match.

Exact Match - If you surround your keywords in brackets - such as [tennis shoes] - your ad would be eligible to appear when a user searches for the specific phrase tennis shoes, in this order, and without any other terms in the query. For example, your ad wouldn't show for the query red tennis shoes or tennis shoe. Exact match is the most targeted option. Although you won't receive as many impressions with exact match, you'll likely enjoy the most targeted clicks - users searching for your exact keyword typically want precisely what your business has to offer.

Negative Keyword - If your keyword is tennis shoes and you add the negative keyword -red, your ad will not appear when a user searches on red tennis shoes. Negative keywords are especially useful if your account contains lots of broad-matched keywords. It's a good idea to add any irrelevant keyword variations you see in a Search Query Performance Report or the Keyword Tool as a negative keyword.

Remember, no matter which matching options you use, it's important to only use keywords that accurately describe your product or service.

Comments

Comments are content generated by users in response to an initial publication, most notably blog posts. These are usually posted below the blog entry, and can often be vehicles for creating advanced levels of discussion that increase the lifespan of blog posts. Comments are also typically associated with news articles, videos, media-sharing sites, and Facebook posts.

Collaboration

In reference to Web 2.0, this concept states that shared contributions of large numbers of individuals, using social media tools, is a main driver of quality content on the Internet.

Cloaking

A prohibited practice of tricking a search engine into indexing different content than the user actually sees. In essence, it is serving one version of a page to search engines (for intended SEO benefit) and another to humans. Often the content is entirely unrelated to the actual topic/theme of the rest of the site.

Click-Thru Rate (CTR)

The percentage of people who actually click on a link (e.g., in an email message or sponsored ad) after seeing it.

Broken Links

Links to pages which no longer exist or have been moved to a different URL without redirection. These links usually serve pages with the “404 error” message (see “404 error”). Incidentally, most search engines provide ways for visitors to report on broken or “dead” links.

Bounce Rate

Refers to the percentage of a given page’s visitors who exit without visiting another page on the same site. This term is often used in e-commerce in conjunction with merchandise shopping carts. Also known as “abandonment rate.”