Keywords play an essential role in the success of your digital marketing campaigns. Online marketers have to consider their target audience when carrying out keyword research and then incorporate the results into their content strategies.
This is important because 53.3% of all website traffic comes from organic searches. Your website won’t be served to those using the search engine if your content doesn’t include the right keyword and key phrases/phrase match keyword.
Similarly, finding the right keywords is important for the success of your paid ad campaigns as well. Google Ads allows keywords match types to be set on the keywords, which are parameters that decide the triggering of your PPC ads. With these parameters, Google provides control to advertisers on the PPC ads and keywords.
Read ahead to see what keywords match types are and their importance in online marketing.
A keyword match type is a Google AdWords keyword option that delivers an ad on Display Network and Google Search Network. According to the keyword option you select, the ads are shown to either a special user group or a broad target group.
However, the keywords are quite generic and broad to ensure that you factor in for the maximum number of users.
When you select a PPC keyword match type, you ask Google to match your ads to the user searches in a particular way. For instance, an exact match can be too specific and picky, while a broad one will show many user searches that may not apply to your product or service and therefore be of no use to you.
The keyword match type integration of your choice helps the algorithm decide the platforms where your ads appear. As a result, you can target the right and more specific audience. In addition, the keywords match type you select determines the relevancy of the presented ad and the search keywords.
Match type and keyword selection both help to target people when they search in Google. With this match-type option, you can use all the available matches and get a high return on investment for your PPC ad campaigns.
It is essential to understand the different match types and execute a combination of them to help you create an effective Google Ad campaign. You can avoid irrelevant keywords, which will help you save the budget that you can use to drive more conversion rates.
Your keyword match types ensure you get the most value from your PPC advertisement budget. The four main PPC keywords match types determine how a search query matches your Google Ads account keywords. These include phrase match keyword, Broad match keywords, Exact Match, and Modified broad match keywords.
With a proper understanding of each of these match types, you can choose the most suitable one for your campaign to improve your ROI ultimately.
Your keywords are assigned a default type which is the broad match. This lets search engines display your ads for terms that are your account’s keyword variations. Your ads can be displayed on searches with synonyms, related searches, misspellings, other relevant variations, and singular or plural forms.
This casts the widest net possible, bringing in all kinds of searches to show your ad. However, it is essential to realize that broad match keywords can waste PPC’s budget when it displays your ad on irrelevant keyword variations.
For instance, if you own musical instruments with a good variety of acoustic guitars at an Orange County shop, your selected keyword will be “Acoustic Guitar Orange County,” and Google can interpret it for the following search matches:
When you use the broad match type, you can end up paying for results or search terms that are different from the keywords you bid on, resulting in the Iceberg Effect. As a result, you can overpay for irrelevant search topic ads and have minimal control over the search terms your ad is displayed for.
If you want to generate the maximum traffic for your landing page, a broad match keywords is beneficial. However, you can get lost in the vast amounts of irrelevant terms that show up in your search term report, which will be of no use since you want to attract potential customers.
A broad match generally generates many clicks for your website, but not all of them are from your targeted audience. The chances of conversion are significantly less, resulting in high ad costs with less ROI.
A broad match is a good option for your ad campaign if you cannot create in-depth keyword lists. If a particular ad gets no clicks on some keyword variation, your ad will no longer be displayed by Google’s system for that search term. As a result, the click charges will decrease for your low-performing keyword variations so that you can spend more on relevant keywords.
You can use negative keywords with phrase and broad match keywords, as the addition of negative keywords helps increase targeting, improving your ROI when you use the broad match. This means that when you designate a negative keyword, Google can never display your ad when that term is used in a search.
Use a minus sign with a keyword to create a negative keyword and clock a significant amount of irrelevant traffic. But know that this will limit your reach.
This is a more trustworthy and responsible version of the broad match type for your Google Ads budget. It acts as a moderation between the broad type and other restrictive match types. In addition, it allows you to pick specific search terms that should be in your ad for it to be displayed.
Add the plus sign with one or more words and create your broads match keywords. These appear in a user’s search in no specific order. Broad match modifiers give more control and visibility over how you spend your ad budget than the broad match type.
Furthermore, broad match modifiers are safer with a greater click-through rate (CTR) than broad matches. This happens because synonym or related search keywords do not trigger your ads.
This match type gives a range of searches with helpful keywords that you had not previously considered, but that still have the potential to trigger your ad. With a modifier like the plus sign in your broad match keywords, your ad traffic’s relevancy increases as they generate highly targeted traffic.
It is best to use this match type to increase your impression count and decrease the irrelevance the broad match generally gives.
Phrase matches are keyword match types that eliminate the unnecessary and risky traffic that the other match types produce. With the phrase match keywords type usage, when someone searches for your keyword phrase, your ad is displayed in the search results in proper order.
Unlike broad match or modified broad match keywords, phrase match keywords does not have search terms with the middle words of your phrase. Phrase match is also a better option when your keyword’s meaning changes with the order of terms. It ensures that your keyword is displayed in the order that you choose.
Phrase match type has better flexibility than an exact match keywords which makes it so important, and it also lets Google show more discretion than the broad match types. Furthermore, since you don’t have to follow exact match, you can enjoy the phrase match’s wide audience. However, you can expect irrelevant traffic here as well.
Phrase match keywords is essential to maintain the word order and ensures that you reach the correct searchers. As a result, a specific keyword of your choice has increased traffic, and your ad budget is better focused on more relevant traffic.
There will be a difference between the traffic volume that broad match and phrase match bring to your site. However, phrase match keywords does get higher-quality traffic with more conversions using a more niche-targeted ad, which makes up for the lesser traffic.
The most restrictive PPC keyword match type is the exact match keyword type since it restricts the display times of your ad. So while this type gives you the most relevance, it provides the lowest reach to your ad.
It would be best to use the exact match keywords type when you want to serve your ad for a particular keyword. With an exact match keywords, you can choose to show your ad to only those customers who search for that same keyword or one that is closely related to it.
These closely related terms include misspellings, accents, abbreviations, stemming, singular and plural forms, recorded with the same meanings, conjunctions, and prepositions. Again, you can create an exact match keyword type with brackets around a specific keyword.
Such match types lower your ad’s traffic and generate fewer clicks or impressions than other match types. However, exact match keywords generates highly targeted traffic with the maximum conversion chances because users search for the exact term you have created your keyword around.
Additionally, exact match keywords help increase your Quality Score because of lowering the search term-to-keyword ratio. This match type has ads that create the most click-through rates but at the greatest cost-per-click.
The exact match type can help to decrease your overall costs because you only pay for fewer targeted clicks. However, it is also essential to note that you also risk missing helpful keyword-related traffic with the further inability to get long-tail data.
It is essential to choose the right PPC keyword match type for an effective PPC strategy. There are four match-type keywords that you can select for your campaign, depending on which one fits your needs closely.
Since the match type decides the extent to which a search query matches your keyword in the Google Ads account, you have several options to choose from. These include Broad, Broad Modifier, Phrase, and Exact match types, where each of these has its pros and cons, making them optimal for various types of campaign goals.
In any case, keyword match types play an essential role in online marketing, and marketers and advertisers must use them for effective marketing campaigns.
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Most marketers love Google Ads.
We're no exception.
But we totally understand that businesses in certain industries sometimes have a deep resentment of Google Ads and their restrictive policies.
Google's policies for advertising are generally intuitive and straightforward, but for certain regulated and sensitive categories, the standards are much higher and less clear. Pharmaceutical companies, gambling websites, political campaigns, and other industries often struggle to get their ads approved consistently.
In fact, if you don't know what you're getting into, trying to advertise as a business in one of these categories can be a recipe for disaster.
How are you supposed to use Google Ads effectively if you belong to one of these regulated or sensitive categories?
Sensitive and regulated categories in PPC advertising face a number of challenges, including:
· Stricter guidelines. Most PPC advertisers are familiar and comfortable with basic Google Ads guidelines. But if you belong to a regulated or sensitive category, you'll have far more guidelines and more nuanced guidelines to deal with.
· Higher scrutiny. Google pays much closer attention to ads in regulated and sensitive categories, meaning you face closer scrutiny when your ads start circulating. Reports will be investigated quicker and much more strictly, and even minor violations can work against you.
· More ad disapprovals. Similarly, ads are much more likely to get disapproved in these categories. You'll face an uphill battle as you try to get your ads circulating.
· The risk of suspensions. Businesses in these categories also face the risk of frequent, ongoing suspensions. This trend is also worsening; in fact, in 2023, Google Ads suspended more than 12.7 million advertiser accounts – doubling their actions over the previous year.
This makes it much more difficult to advertise effectively and secure a positive return on investment (ROI). Additionally, failing to adhere to Google’s advertising policies can hurt your company's reputation and compromise your long-term potential for success.
The most important thing you can do to improve your results in a regulated or sensitive category is to plan for a sustainable, long-term strategy. Every year, thousands of business owners in these categories attempt to fool Google, find clever ways around its policies, and devise techniques that allow them to cheat the system.
These approaches can usually work temporarily. You can cheat your way into the listings and generate some traffic to your landing page.
But inevitably, these techniques fail, and they can ultimately get you blacklisted.
You're much better off taking the slow, steady approach, following the rules even if it means compromising your advertising effectiveness in the short term. Think about the long-term consequences and possibilities of each decision you make.
There is some good news here.
Google isn’t shy about publishing its advertising policies.
If you're willing to do the reading and research, you can thoroughly understand what Google expects from regulated and sensitive categories like yours – and you can easily adhere to the guidelines.
Well, maybe not “easily,” but reliably.
Generally, Google splits content into two types:
· Restricted content. Restricted content is sensitive content that is subject to more regulations. You must precisely comply with requirements for copy, images, website content, and more if you want to remain in circulation.
· Prohibited content. Prohibited content is totally disallowed. You cannot include it without facing significant consequences.
Unfortunately, we can't give you a big list of all the rules you need to follow, as the rules are different for various industries. Some of the most popular industries and categories that face steeper restrictions include:
· Pharmaceuticals and healthcare products
· Weapons and explosives
· Financial services (including cryptocurrencies)
· Gambling/games of chance
· Alcohol, tobacco, and similar products
· Political ads
· Adult content and services
While there are certainly commonalities between regulations across these categories, each category has its own unique blend of restrictions and rules to learn. For example, pharmaceutical businesses require formal certification from Google and are only allowed in some countries. In the financial services industry, you'll likely need a specific license, and you'll need to provide adequate disclosures for your products and services.
The more intimately you know these rules and regulations and how they apply to your industry, the more likely you'll be able to advertise successfully. Don't advertise until you're sure you understand all applicable Google Ads policies.
One other important note here: you need to stay updated.
Google isn't stagnant, and its advertising policies are constantly in flux. Accordingly, you need to stay abreast of recent changes and update your ad approaches in line with them.
The easiest way to do this is to subscribe to Google Ads policy updates, but you should also regularly engage in Google Ads forums. If you're lucky enough to have a representative, maintain open and transparent communication with them and stay in touch regularly; they can be a massive benefit for businesses in regulated and sensitive categories.
The more research you do, the better. You need to thoroughly understand your advertising landscape before you try to thread this needle.
· Google Ads policies. Obviously, read and understand Google Ads policies as they relate to your industry. We mostly covered this in the previous section, but it's part of the research you need to do.
· Licensing and certification requirements. Even if it's not specifically required by Google, it's a good idea to get any appropriate licenses or certifications. It's a mark of authority and trustworthiness that might save you if any of your ads are reviewed for potential policy violations.
· Laws and regulations. Similarly, violating any laws and regulations in the country where you're advertising could be grounds for ad removal or account suspension, even if those violations aren't specifically listed in Google Ads policies. Always ensure legal compliance before advertising with Google.
· Competitor advertising. It's also a good idea to research your competitors. It's very likely that businesses similar to yours, in the same category, are already advertising successfully. Look at what they're doing. How are they phrasing things? Which disclosures are they including? Do you notice anything missing? You can learn a lot simply by studying previously successful ads.
· Market research. The success of your Google Ads largely depends on your ability to successfully target and appeal to your demographics. If you're properly informative and persuasive, with relevant messaging to the people you're reaching, you're much less likely to face reports, removals, and suspensions. Accordingly, you need to do a deep dive into market research so you better understand your target demographics and can appeal to them with relevant content. If you don't have buyer personas, develop them. If you don't know what your target audience is struggling with or what they want to, pause your ads until you figure it out. There are no shortcuts here, so do a deep dive into your market research if you want a reasonable chance to succeed.
When creating and preparing new ads, make sure everything is compliant, including your copy, your images, and any of your website content.
Remember that the rules and restrictions vary by industry, but these are some general rules that can help you get started:
· Stick to the facts. Don't exaggerate. Don't embellish. Certainly don't lie. It's important to stick to the facts as closely as possible, even if it makes your ad a bit stoic or “boring.” Purely factual advertising rarely gets removed.
· Avoid prohibited or sensitive terms. Review prohibited and sensitive terms that apply to your industry, and avoid those terms like the plague. Consider creating a list of alternatives that you can rely on instead.
· Be transparent. Be absolutely transparent with your target audience, even if you're forced to reveal things that weaken the appeal of your products and services. Offer disclosures when required, and potentially when not required if they can boost your credibility.
· Adopt a serious, professional tone. Don't play with fire. Your best course of action is to adopt a serious, professional tone across your ads. It's much less likely to be reported, and it will seem more authoritative and trustworthy.
· Eliminate sensationalism. In line with this, eliminate all forms of sensationalism. Graphic or revealing content, exaggerated claims, and other techniques designed to evoke strong emotions are probably going to work against you.
· Focus on using images for context. If you're going to include images, make sure they provide meaningful context. Advertisers sometimes select images based on how easily they grab attention or how exciting they are, but this is a surefire way to fail if you belong to a sensitive or restricted category.
· Include warnings if necessary. If there are any warnings that are relevant to your products and services, include them. More information is typically better in matters like these.
· Leverage the power of AB testing. The more relevant and effective your ads are, the more likely they are to succeed. Leverage the power of AB testing to learn more about what your audience wants to see and how to give it to them.
Don't forget about your landing pages.
These are important to Google as well.
If your landing pages deviate from Google Ads guidelines, or if they contradict what's in your ads, it could work against you.
These are some tips to get you started:
· Keep it relevant. Always make sure your landing page is completely relevant and in line with whatever is included in your ad. If users click your ad and find something unexpected, unpleasant, or otherwise jarring, Google might take action.
· Issue disclaimers and warnings. This is an opportunity to double down on disclaimers, warnings, and important disclosures. Err on the side of caution and make these prominent to show that you're in full compliance with both Google Ads policies and laws in your area.
· Make your business information accessible. Make your business information transparent and accessible. Offer your brand name and business location information, and give visitors some way to contact you, preferably via phone and email. It's a sign of trustworthiness and it can proactively resolve potential disputes.
· Be straightforward and transparent. Everything on your landing page needs to be straightforward and transparent. Follow the same rules you did for your ads, and avoid exaggerations and sensationalism.
· Double check Google Ads requirements. Always double-check Google Ads requirements when constructing your landing page. You should fulfill or comply with each item on your landing page to be safe.
You've already done significant market research, so make sure you apply it correctly. Target your audience very specifically so that your messages are only shown to people for whom they are relevant. If someone outside the scope of your target demographics sees your ads, they'll be much more likely to issue reports – and your ads will be much more likely to be removed. It's especially important to target people in the right geographic area.
There are some Black Hat techniques designed to circumvent Google Ads rules and regulations, or otherwise give you an unfair advantage in a sensitive or restricted category. These techniques typically violate Google policies and are largely considered unethical by the advertising community.
One of the most prominent examples is cloaking. Using one of several techniques, cloaking can allow you to advertise to audiences with content different from what you showed Google for approval. It's obvious why this is potentially beneficial, but it's also obvious why this is unethical.
As you might imagine, these techniques can work temporarily. They can give you a significant short-term advantage, allowing you a better strategic position and potentially more ad opportunities. However, if you use them, you could get your account suspended, or even permanently blacklisted. Even if you evade that, you could ruin your company's reputation and jeopardize your long-term results.
Do not follow these strategies. If a PPC agency recommends any such strategies to you, fire them.
They simply aren't worth it.
Navigating the world of Google Ads isn't easy.
In fact, it's stressful and incredibly difficult if your business happens to belong to one of these sensitive or restricted categories.
The good news is it's much easier to be successful when you work with a PPC advertising agency that has experience creating and managing ads for a business like yours. We're deeply acquainted with all the rules and restrictions you need to worry about, and we know how to make target demographics like yours convert.
If you’re ready to get started with a free consultation, contact us today!
When you want to use paid search marketing platforms, Google Ads often leads the list. Because of its versatility, simplicity, and popularity, it’s obvious why it’s a popular choice. But when you drop all of your PPC advertising money into one marketing strategy, you could lose some leads.
That’s why some businesses explore paid advertising marketing outside of Google, with many turning to Linkedin Ads.
Google Ads and Linkedin Ads are highly efficient ways to market your products and services to businesses and consumers. But each marketing channel has its advantages and disadvantages. Whatever you choose, make sure you discuss the matter with your web development company.
Below is a closer look at each option.
We think it’s reasonable to conclude that Google reaches a vast audience worldwide – its ad reach is a stunning 4 billion people. Google search handles about 70% of desktop searches, and many companies report that they get about 90% of their organic traffic from the search engines. Also, up to 95% of the mobile search market comes from Google.
People use Google’s search a lot, and having the ability to target search terms with specific search ads is a massive benefit of Adwords. People tend to search for very specific things in Google, so if you can customize your Google advertising for your targeted audience, you’ll receive plenty of leads.
So, we can assume that most people’s targeted audience uses Google to some degree. That’s a massive advantage for companies when they want to target an audience.
However, businesses that want to narrow down their search may have issues getting their Google ads settings right with both Google Ads. And if you blunder when segmenting your audiences, your digital ad campaign could suffer.
LinkedIn features a narrower audience – 500 million users – namely businesses and business professionals. But this more limited audience makes it the perfect place for effective B2B marketing. LinkedIn lets marketers serve online ads to decision-makers and vital audience members in several ways.
Summary: For B2B firms that want to reach decision-makers, Linkedin is a terrific advertising platforms. If your B2C company intends to increase its reach, Google Ads could be the best fit.
When you target your audience with Google Ads, you have a few options: location, affinity, technology, buyer behavior, demographics, and interactions with your app or website.
No matter how much you know about your buyer, you may struggle to avoid clicks from worthless leads that cost too much.
In some cases on Google, people may not even know what they’re looking for. You can try to advertise to your desired targeted audience on Google Ads, but it can be challenging to get to the precise people who will most likely buy what you sell.
When people sign up for LinkedIn, they usually provide many details, such as their occupation, title/job title, experience, industry, education, interests, and more. All of this information can be leveraged for great advantage when you start your marketing campaigns.
Also, LinkedIn users can join many groups, start conversations, and obtain followers. The data is priceless when you want to target a specific audience and market to them. LinkedIn also has a Matched Audience that helps advertisers match their email marketing lists and website visitors with users on LinkedIn.
Many marketing experts think that LinkedIn Ads offer more value. LinkedIn has refined targeting, and you can make your product known to them so that you can tell them about something they didn’t know existed.
Summary: For B2B and B2C companies looking for a broad audience, Google Ads has enough targeting features. But for B2B firms that want to target specific groups, LinkedIn Ads has about 100 segmentation methods for micro targeting.
When you want lead generation, Google Ads has a broader reach and is the most effective. First, you can bring in a lot of prospects to your site without breaking the bank. The audience you’re after on Google visits the search giant with the idea to find the best product or service. This makes generating leads easier.
Getting leads from LinkedIn can be more challenging. Users of the platform may sign in to read industry news or talk to group members. No matter how perfect your ad is, viewers may not be in the mood to buy anything.
That said, Linkedin has a way to target ad leads through in-site messaging, which can generate plenty of leads.
When it comes down to dollars and cents, LinkedIn Ads usually are more pricey than Google Ads. As in Google, you can select cost-per-click or cost-per-impression.
LinkedIn also features a cost-per-send for InMail advertising. Typically, you’ll pay about $5 for each click, $6 for 1,000 impressions, and .80 for each send.
With Google Ads, the average CPC is $1. But to leverage that low cost, you need to work on your audience segmentation. If you don’t your ROI may be below what you want.
Summary: Advertising budgets for each platform depends on several factors. On average, Google Ads cost less than LinkedIn Ads. If your B2B company has a tight budget, you may want to focus on a limited variety of LinkedIn ads instead of a broad range of Google Ads.
So should you advertise with Google Ads vs LinkedIn Ads? Yes!
What we mean is, it depends. The correct choice depends on your budget, product or service offered, marketing goals, and target audience. You should not assume that when you need a digital marketing campaign, Google Analytics Adwords is the only choice.
It’s critical to evaluate the market, understand who your buyer is, and make a data-driven decision about the best marketing platform to reach your well-defined goals. One type of company might do better with Google Ads, and another may find LinkedIn Ads preferable.
The great news is you don’t need to choose between the two platforms. Many businesses use both, as well as Facebook, Instagram, and others. If you have the budget, it may pay off to diversify your paid search advertising to get the best ROI.
