Why the exact match keyword type in PPC is still relevant today

How typically have you ever heard, “Use broad match together with sensible bidding to get the very best outcomes?”

Broad match can study based mostly on earlier conversion exercise. It may well additionally use earlier consumer search information, different key phrases in your advert group and your touchdown web page’s content material to point out your adverts on related searches. Broad match has extra studying capabilities than phrase or actual match. 

If broad match can do all these items, is there even a necessity for actual match?

Let’s stroll via one advertiser’s journey to find what keyword match types labored finest for them and the reasoning behind their choices.

Impression share

Impression share is a helpful metric that appears at how typically your adverts had been proven in comparison with how typically they had been eligible to be displayed. 

It’s your finest analysis into your share of voice for any key phrase and it will probably inform you ways far more quantity is attainable. You’ll be able to see this metric on the marketing campaign, advert group or key phrase stage.

This explicit advertiser is within the house financing sector. After they checked out their key phrase stage impression shares for his or her prime key phrases, listed below are their impression shares:

As these had been their prime key phrases by way of complete conversions, they wished to extend their impression shares for these phrases. They had been utilizing max conversion bidding with a CPA goal. Their solely choices for rising impression shares had been to boost the CPA or improve their Quality Scores. 

Their High quality Scores had been largely 7s, in order that they determined to boost their goal CPA for these advert teams.

Over the course of the subsequent two months, they slowly raised their goal CPAs. Their conversions did improve. Their CPA elevated greater than their bids, however they had been OK with that. Nonetheless, their impression shares barely elevated even with pretty vital bid will increase.

They had been utilizing largely broad match key phrases of their account. After some discussions, they determined so as to add actual match key phrases to those advert teams and do an in-depth search time period evaluation.

After including the precise match phrases, they may now see the impression share for his or her prime key phrases. 

Since impression share is calculated each time a key phrase is eligible for the public sale, having the precise match key phrases offers you probably the most correct image of how typically you’ll be able to present on your prime search phrases. They had been displaying far more for his or her prime phrases than they realized and wanted to discover different key phrase prospects to get extra quantity. 

After they examined their search time period information, they discovered many search phrases displaying from a number of advert teams and that their advert serving was subpar. 

Dig deeper: Google Ads broad match: What the data reveals for PPC marketers

Duplicate search phrases

Duplicate search phrases occur when a search time period matches a number of advert teams. In these circumstances, your stats for the search time period are cut up throughout a number of advert teams and your most popular advert and touchdown web page is probably not used.

As an example, the search time period “30 yr fastened mortgage” had been displayed from these advert teams of their account:

• 30-year mortgage.
• Mortgage charges.
• House mortgage.
• Mounted mortgages.
• Mortgage mortgage charges.
• And several other others.

If we take a look at the stats for a similar search time period for a number of the advert teams, we see very completely different stats throughout the advert teams:

Whereas the search time period has been displayed from a number of advert teams, there’s a clear selection as to which one performs finest for this search time period and their thought advert group for the search time period to show adverts. 

Google does have a precedence order to make sure the right advert group is displayed for a search time period. Beneath is an excerpt from Google’s PDF, “Unlock the Power of Search.” 

Which means that we have to have the similar key phrase to a search time period (which is spell-corrected) to manage the place any search time period will probably be displayed. 

Technically, it doesn’t must be an actual match, nevertheless it does present the necessity for a course of so as to add the highest search phrases as key phrases in your account.

As you add these variations, you’ll set off a advice in Google: 

By taking management of your advert serving, Google will make suggestions to take away a few of these key phrases, which, in flip, could cause your top-performing search phrases to point out from the wrong advert group. 

If you wish to management how your adverts and touchdown pages serve on your search phrases, ignore this advice.

This advertiser was bulk-adding its prime search phrases as key phrases within the acceptable advert teams and found their High quality Scores had been inferior to they believed. 

High quality Rating

The High quality Rating displayed in your account is simply calculated when the search time period is the very same as your key phrase, no matter match kind.

As an example, the advertiser has a 7 High quality Rating for the time period “mortgage charges.” As soon as they added their prime search phrases related to the key phrase “mortgage charges,” that they had a special image of their High quality Scores. 

As soon as once more, you’ll be able to add all the brand new search phrases as broad or phrase match. The key phrases wouldn’t have to be actual match to see your High quality Scores for a search time period. 

Nonetheless, in case you proceed so as to add all of your prime phrases as phrase or broad match phrases, then you’ll constantly increase what you might be eligible to point out for, which may trigger budgeting points. 

Regardless, having your prime search phrases as key phrases whatever the match kind offers you a greater understanding of your High quality Scores.

Funds

The recommendation to make use of Sensible Bidding and broad match is usually made with the belief your finances is limitless. Most advertisers wouldn’t have a limiteless finances. If in case you have a most quantity you’ll be able to spend in a given month, does the identical recommendation to make use of broad match nonetheless apply?

That is the place it’s essential study the stats in your account. On this account, the advertiser provides their prime changing search phrases as key phrases for each match kind (actual, phrase and broad). 

Which means phrase and broad match solely obtain impressions if the time period has not persistently transformed for a couple of months and has but to be added as a key phrase. 

Because the impressions on any of their key phrases considerably improve, it alerts the corporate that Google has discovered new search phrases for these key phrase and match kind combos. 

A few of these new phrases are good and others are poor. Nonetheless, with the ability to look ahead to a change in impressions helps them determine when they should go deeper into their question and n-gram evaluation to find out if they’ve new key phrases or unfavorable key phrases so as to add to their account. 

The stats under are typical of many accounts the place actual match has the very best conversion charge and lowest CPA and broad match has the bottom conversion charge and highest CPA. 

This account is bidding by goal ROAS and broad match has a greater ROAS (conv. worth/price) than phrase match even with the next CPA.

In case your finances is proscribed, beginning with largely actual and phrase is often a good suggestion. Then, if you’re not hitting your finances, increasing to broad match is a pleasant means of receiving extra conversions. 

Conversely, if you’re hitting your finances, pausing your worst-performing key phrases, no matter match kind, is at all times a good suggestion, so your better-performing key phrases are spending your finances.

If you happen to can afford so as to add broad match key phrases, your bid technique typically governs their effectiveness. 

Bid methods

The 2 commonest bid strategies are goal or max bidding. This could possibly be goal CPA, max CPA, goal ROAS  or max income. 

Please notice that focus on CPA or ROAS makes use of the maximize conversions or income technique with the optionally available field checked to set a goal for that marketing campaign. 

Max bidding’s objective is to get probably the most conversions or income no matter how a lot anybody conversion will price you. 

What we frequently see with max bidding (max income or max conversions) is that Google will discover methods to spend your whole finances in case you use broad match since they’ll match broad match to many alternative search phrases.

This account bids by max conversions and has pretty typical metrics for the way the CPA variations happen by match kind, the place broad match has a way more costly conversion than phrase or actual match key phrases. 

With max conversions or max income bidding, actual and phrase match usually outperform broad match.

Conversely, this subsequent account is utilizing goal CPA bidding. Whereas actual match nonetheless has the bottom CPA, the broad and phrase match metrics are very comparable. 

Broad match has the next conversion charge than phrase match, so Google can bid extra (therefore the upper CPC for broad match) on the broad match variations to acquire the identical CPA because the phrase match phrases. 

There are lots of nuances in how goal versus max bidding performs. On the final SMX, I went via these variations intimately. You’ll be able to watch the video from the session if you need to study extra. 

Conclusion

Impression share is the one metric you actually miss out on if you don’t use actual match. You’ll be able to add all of your prime search phrases as actual, phrase or broad match to see your High quality Scores and handle duplicate search phrases to assist management advert serving. 

If you’re budget-constrained, utilizing actual and phrase match usually will get you higher outcomes than broad match. 

If you happen to use any bid technique apart from Goal ROAS or Goal CPA, then broad match is never a good suggestion since you’ll typically spend your finances no matter what number of conversions you obtain. 

There are exceptions to this rule, particularly in case you battle with search quantity, which is frequent in B2B accounts or accounts that focus on small geographic areas.

Suppose you’re utilizing a goal bid technique (Goal ROAS or Goal CPA) and wish to mix advert serving management with information insights whereas leveraging machine studying. In that case, a mix of actual and broad match affords a lot flexibility in administration. This may simply be achieved by including the precise and broad match of the identical key phrase to the identical advert group. 

In case your finances decreases, you’ll be able to pause your worst-performing broad match phrases. In case your budgets improve, you need to use extra broad match phrases. As you see broad match serving incorrectly, utilizing actual match and unfavorable key phrases may also help steer the machine.

There isn’t a must depend on a single match kind. Your key phrase’s match sorts are simply one other instrument for use. 

Utilizing a mix of actual and broad match (together with phrase, as vital) offers you with management, insights and machine studying to maximise your PPC account’s efficiency. 

In an period of machine studying, actual match has not change into out of date. It nonetheless has loads to supply for PPC professionals seeking to optimize their accounts. 

Dig deeper: How each Google Ads bid strategy influences campaign success