How to select Google Ads Keywords?
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Updated on : 06/01/2022
What Keyword Match Type Is Preferred?
Situation #1: Search is Identical to a Keyword Type
- Exact Match
- Phrase Match
- Broad Match
but what about when searches aren't identical?
Situation #2: Search is NOT Identical to a Keyword Type
Ad Rank x Relevance Signals = Keyword Selected
What are ad rank & relevance signals?
Let's define them before breaking down match type selection. Knowing this separates good PPC managers from great ones
Ad Rank
- Bid amount
- Ad quality
—>eCTR/ad relevance/lp experience
- Competitiveness of auction
- Context of search
- Location
- Device
- Time of day
- Nature of query
- Extensions
- Threshold —>Reserve price
This is why manual bidding can be hard.
Relevance Signals
- Meaning of the search term
- Meaning of all keywords in an Ad group
- Landing pages within an Ad group
Google admitted:
- All keywords in an ad group will be used in an auction.
- Landing pages are scanned for search relevancy.
Breakdown how keywords are selected now for a search WITHOUT identical keyword <> search query.
Eligible Keywords: 1+ Broad Match
- Only relevant keyword(s) from the most relevant ad group will be considered.
- Ad rank will be used to decide which keyword is selected.
Eligible Keywords: 1 Broad + 1 Phrase/Exact
- If exact/phrase match keywords are deemed more relevant = they will be selected.
- If exact/phrase match keywords are deemed similar/less relevant = comes down to ad rank for each keyword.
Best Practices
- Group keywords into relevant themes (Ad groups).
- If using broad match keywords : —> test bidding changes to tCPA if manual.