Getting started with Google Ads – Part 3
Now that we have gone through setting up conversions and have our goals in mind, it’s time to start thinking strategically.
Strategy for keyword selection
When creating search campaigns, you will need to choose keywords. These are the words that will trigger your ads to appear and ultimately determine what you will pay.
There are several ways to approach keyword selection. A good starting point is to look at your own website and what you offer. Which keywords are most important? Do these keywords have a central place on your site?
Once you have identified your keywords, you can run an initial test. It is also a good idea to investigate the expected search volume for these keywords before moving forward.
There are several tools available to help you understand how your keywords might perform.
In Google Ads, there is a tool called the Keyword Planner. There, you can get reports on how competitive your keywords are, as well as how much traffic you can expect.
Another useful tool is Google Trends. It allows you to see how interest in a specific keyword has developed over time, which can help you make smarter decisions about when a keyword is trending and when click costs may increase.
Caroline has written more about choosing the right keywords for your website from an SEO perspective.
Match types
There are different match types to choose from when setting up your keywords. How you use them determines when your ads are shown and which search terms will trigger them.
Broad match
A broad match keyword is the widest option available and is the default match type, as no special notation is required.
Let’s say we run a bakery.
We might then use: Cakes (broad match).
One important thing to keep in mind with broad match keywords is that they can also include synonyms.
In this case, a search term might be: chocolate wafer bar
This happens because cakes and cookies can be interpreted as synonyms, which may eventually lead to completely irrelevant searches.
Imagine that we instead write: Baker
The search term could then become: Andersson’s bakery in Skåne
Or: How many bakers are there in the world?
Broad match keywords can therefore be difficult to control, as they allow for a wide range of interpretations. However, in some cases they can be useful, for example when you want to discover new keyword ideas.
Phrase match
Another option is phrase match, which is identified by quotation marks. The purpose of phrase match is to target a specific phrase.
Let’s say we enter: “best bakery”.
In this case, the search term could look like: best bakery in Malmö
It could also be: who decides what the best bakery is?
Or: Uppsala bakery best bun recipe
With phrase match, the phrase can be reordered, but no additional words may be inserted between the words in the phrase. Sometimes shorter phrases work well, but if the keyword includes a specific city, that can also be part of the phrase.
Exact match
The narrowest match type is exact match. This means that the search term must closely match your keyword. It is identified by square brackets.
Let’s say the keyword is: [bakery]
This will trigger when someone searches for exactly: bakery. However, close variants such as plural forms or misspellings may also trigger the keyword, for example: bakeries, bakary.
After reading about these match types, you might feel that something is missing. And you’re right—this is something Google Ads doesn’t always highlight clearly.
Broad match modifiers
The final match type is broad match modifier. It is identified by placing a plus sign in front of the keyword.
In this case, we might write: +baker
The search term could then be: Karlsson is a baker
Or: A baker changed my life
The difference between broad match and broad match modifier is that the modified keyword must appear in the search term. It works somewhat like phrase match, but is slightly more flexible.
You can also write: +pie raspberry
In this case, “pie” must appear in the search, while “raspberry” can be replaced by something similar.
For example, raspberry could become strawberry or raspberry jam.
Negative keywords
If you choose to use broad keywords, you should be prepared to regularly review search terms and add negative keywords. By adding negative keywords, your ad will no longer be triggered by those terms.
From the examples above, you as a baker would probably add “chocolate wafer bar” as a negative keyword.
Thematic keywords?
It’s important to note that Google has recently started broadening keyword matching even further by allowing keywords to match close thematic variants. For example, if your keyword is +lawn mower, a search term could become gardening tools.
This is something that should be monitored closely in your account, as these thematic searches do not always align with your intent.
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With that, we’ve covered the fundamental thinking around keywords and match types.
Feel free to visit earlier parts of this series.
Getting started with Google Ads – Part 1
Reaching the finish line in Google Ads – Part 2
Good luck with your marketing!
