Maximizing Keyword Matching for Seach Engines
Copyright 2006 Stephen Wright
If you are like most internet marketing entrepreneurs these
days, you are taking full advantage of advertising with the
major search engines to increase the amount of traffic coming to
your site. After all, even if you have the greatest product
around, the best website layout and design going - if you don't
have traffic coming to your site--it's "just a pretty site".
Getting traffic to your site has to be a high priority to be
successful on the internet. Advertising campaigns on the major
search engines is a major strategy and technique of getting that
traffic to your site.
So one you've made that decision, you are quickly faced with the
next challenge. It simply not as easy as it might sound. Sure,
if you have the money, you can immediately get millions of hits
coming to your site. Getting targeted traffic quickly becomes
your next big challenge. After all, the secret to this type of
advertising is reducing your cost-per-click (CPC) and maximizing
(increasing) your overall return-on-investment (ROI).
The best technique to achieve this is proper application of
"keyword matching" options. There are four different methods of
making sure your ad campaign is targeted to your intended
audience and potential clients. These are: broad match, phrase
match, exact match, and negative keyword matching. A general
description of each is as follows:
Broad Match: As a starting place, broach matching is the default
option for most of the search engines (such as Google, Yahoo,
etc). When you include a general keyword or keyword phrase in
your keyword list your ads will appear and return several
variations of the search term. For example if a user's query
contained baseball cap, the ads would return the words baseball
and cap, in any order, and possibly other terms. The ads will
also automatically show up for expanded matches (including
plural variations of the terms). Because broad matches are
sometimes less targeted than exact or phrase matches, you should
create keyword phrases containing at least two descriptive words
each. You can also try the keyword tool and the other three
matching options to further refine your targeting. Finally, keep
in mind that other advertisers may have bid for the same
broad-matched keyword combinations that trigger your ads,
increasing your actual CPC amounts. Using exact, phrase, or
negative matches can help you keep your costs low. Phrase Match
- If you enter your keyword in quotation marks, as in "baseball
cap," your ad will appear when a user searches on the phrase
baseball cap, in this order, and possibly with other terms in
the query. For example, your ad will appear for the query fitted
baseball cap but not for caps for baseball. Phrase matching is
more targeted than broad matching, but slightly more flexible
than exact matching. To ensure your ads are as targeted as they
can be, you may want to include at least two descriptive words
in your keyword phrases.
Exact Match - If you surround your keywords in brackets-such as
[baseball cap]-your ads will appear when users search for the
specific phrase baseball cap, in this order, and without any
other terms in the query. For example, your ad won't show for
the query fitted baseball cap. Exact matching is the most
targeted option. Although you won't receive as many impressions
with exact matching, you'll likely enjoy the most clicks,
because users searching for terms in this manner typically want
precisely what your business has to offer.
Negative Keyword - If your keyword is baseball cap and you add
the negative keyword -fitted, your ad will not appear when a
user searches on fitted baseball cap. You can apply this option
for a keyword at both the Ad Group and campaign level.
And if you think about it - it is a "win/win" situation for you
and the potential clients who are not being taken by the search
engines to sites that are unrelated to what they were searching
for in the first place. Since you gain no benefit from paying
for clicks by internet searchers that are not interested in your
products/services ---it becomes an ideal situation for both you
and your potential clients. Being aware of and properly applying
these simple techniques will ensure that you get the greatest
bang for your advertising buck, while increasing your "targeted"
traffic.
To learn more about the benefits of keyword matching options,
look for the frequently asked question section of the search
engine application you are using.