Make Your Advertising Dollars Count
This part 2 of a 4 part series on executing an effective online advertising campaign. It is intended to educate business owners on how to avoid common mistakes when advertising online.
If you didn’t get a chance to read part 1, you can always find it here.
Who Is Seeing Your Ads?
The ineffective use of match types is a common mistake business owners make when doing online advertising. I have included the basic functions of each match type in the table below. Using the correct match type will help you get the exposure you are looking for. This is all dependant on your business and what type of traffic you want to gain.
The Second Way To Burn $3000: Showing Everyone Your Ads
Always follow the quality over quantity theory (Unless you have an unlimited budget). The five general match types (broad match, broad match modifier, phrase match, exact match, and negative match) are used separately or combined with multiple match types to help create high quality traffic for bidders. The broad match, broad match modifier, and phrase match achieve better results for bidders when the negative match tool is utilized appropriately.
♦ Broad Match: If you have all your keywords under broad match your budget can run out VERY fast with little to no leads generated. Internet users have transitioned from one word searches to entire sentences! If you use an algorithm that allows you to replace the keyword you want to bid on with related searches and relevant variations, you are increasing traffic on your webpage but experiencing low quality traffic.
♦ Negative Keyword List: Because there are SO many search words that can be put in front of searches on your ad you need a VERY VERY GOOD negative keyword list. Your negative keyword list can be larger than the actual keyword list you are bidding on.
♦ Broad Modifier Match: This is the newest addition to the original 3 match types. This algorithm allows many online users to see your ad even if the order of the words searched vary from one user to another. For instance, I might search “Dentist in Toronto” where you might search “Toronto Dentist.” Using modified broad match you can ensure that your ad will appear to any searcher that includes the word Toronto and Dentist in their sentence, regardless of whatever other word might be included. (+Toronto +Dentist is how you would input it into AdWords & Bing Ads).
♦ Negative Keyword List: With this technique you have to be confident that you have a REALLY GOOD negative keyword list. If not, the sentence can include the words you are bidding on, plus other words that will completely disqualify that traffic. For example, someone searching “Dentist Schools in Toronto” is not someone you want to pay to see your dental practice.
♦ Phrase Match: The function of this match type allows you to determine which phrases you want to bid on. Therefore, any search that has the phrase you are bidding on will show your ad. For example, if the phrase you bid on is “Furnace installation in Toronto” then only searches with “Furnace installation in Toronto” will show your ad. The searcher can put anything before or after, as long as they have that particular phrase in their search your ad will appear.
♦ Negative Keyword List: A good keyword list is also needed for this because someone can search “cheap furnace installation in Toronto” and if you do not want to compete on price this is a wasted click. The point is searchers can put anything in front or behind the phrase you bid on and it will display your ad if you don’t add negative keywords you don’t want to appear.
♦ Exact Match: This is the most conservative. It will be the cheapest on a CPC (cost per click) basis but I would only recommend using this for keywords you KNOW convert to calls either through previous data or years of experience in the industry.
♦ Negative Keyword List: N/A
Another big mistake I see owners make is by using very technical terms that the common person would not use to find their services. For example if my central AC was broken, personally I would search “AC repair Toronto” but I have seen HVAC contractors bid on “HVAC,” a very technical keyword. For those who don’t know, it stands for Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning. Bidding on this keyword usually attracts only people within the industry and usually reduces your quality score because the CTR (click through rate) is low on very technical and specific keywords. As stated earlier, if you are using exact keywords no negative keyword list is needed.
If you have any questions, suggestions or need clarification on the content above, feel free to give us a call at 1-888-986-7475 or send us an email using the contact form to the right.
Stay tuned to the ClientFlo blog for Part 3 of the series!