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Fundamentals of digital marketing: module 9/26

Improve your search campaigns

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In this module...

Module Overview

Lessons
2/4

1. Achieve relevance with good structure

Watch the lesson

4 min

Check your knowledge

 4 min

2. Get the most from your keywords

Watch the lesson

3 min

Check your knowledge

2 min

3. Fine-tune with keyword match types

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4. How to know what’s working and what isn’t
5 min

Watch the lesson

Check your knowledge
4 min
2 min

Check your knowledge

2 min

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9_4 Fine-tune with keyword match types

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Hi! Want to make your search engine marketing efforts even more successful? Of course you do!
In this video, we’ll be exploring a feature called keyword match types. And learning about how using
different match types can increase your control over which searches trigger your ads. Did you know
that search engines might also show your ads when people search for other terms—terms you didn’t
specifically choose?

That’s because search engines can show your ads when people search for variations of your
keywords. This is called broad matching.

Most of the time, broad match is useful. It means that you don’t have to add every variation of the
keyword you’d like to target, like singulars, plurals and misspellings.

But this flexibility also means that sometimes, search engines show your ads for keywords that aren’t
relevant to your business. Using keyword match types can help. Let’s say you’re a portrait
photographer. As you brainstorm keywords for your ad campaign, you might consider "London
photographer".

If you include this keyword, a search for “London photographer” could trigger one of your ads even
though the person making the search might not be looking for exactly what you’re offering.

What if they’re actually looking to buy prints of photographs of the city of London? Or someone to
photograph an event in London? Or do a commercial magazine shoot? Any of these searches could
potentially trigger your ad, but the searchers are not likely customers.

One way to prevent ads from appearing on these searches is to choose more specific keywords, since
your target customer is probably searching for things like “London portrait photographer” or “London
family portraits.”

On top of that, you can add match type to further refine the results. How do you do that? Let’s take a
look. Keywords are broad match by default. Aside from broad match, the other primary match types
are phrase match and exact match. To change broad match to phrase, simply place quotations around
the keyword. So, the keyword London portrait photographer becomes “London portrait photographer.”

Phrase match tells Google Ads or Bing Ads that adverts can’t be displayed unless the search includes
the entire phrase. So if someone searches for “London portrait photographer” that’s great-your ads
can show up! Minor variations, like plurals, are included. This means that a search for “London portrait
photographers” can also trigger your ad.

But, if someone searches for the more generic London photographer, your ad won’t show up, because
the word portrait is missing.

With phrase match, the searcher can include words before and after the phrase, so “East London
portrait photographer” could also trigger an ad.

To get even more specific, exact match keywords are distinguished by enclosing the word or phrase in
square brackets. So, the keyword London portrait photographer becomes [London portrait
photographer].

Now, if someone searches for portrait photographer, your ad can’t appear because it doesn’t match the
keyword exactly. Along the same lines, a search for London photographer also won’t trigger your ad.

Unlike phrase match, the ad can’t display if the searcher includes additional words. But minor
variations, like plurals, can still trigger the ad. As you change keywords from broad match, to phrase,
to exact, it restricts the opportunities for ads to display. Your best bet is to try to find a match type
balance, allowing ads to show to likely prospects, but blocking ads when you think success is unlikely.

As you add restrictive match types for keywords, you’ll probably notice that your traffic quantity goes
down... but traffic quality should improve. And that’s what matters here.
Hide

Key learnings
Search engine marketing (SEM) is great for letting you choose specific searches to trigger your ads.
But search engines often show your ads for keywords that are slightly different from the ones you’re
targeting. The solution: keyword match types. This video explains:

what match types are and why they’re useful

the different kinds of match types
how to control which searches may trigger ads.

Check your knowledge

Check your knowledge

Anna has a themed portrait photography studio. She offers competitive prices and reaches and
engages with visitors to her site through her online presence. However, not many of them become
paying customers.

Anna has a range of keywords and wants to fine-tune them to best target potentially paying
customers.

Put the keywords in order of the broadest to the most restrictive.

Click and hold to drag the items into in the right order, then hit SUBMIT.

1. 1

Photography, portraits
2. 2

Movie themed portrait photography

3. 3

Portrait photography studio

4. 4

Film themed portrait photography, low cost

 Submit

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