For you to succeed and get long-term success in Pay per Click (PPC) advertising, you have to have an in depth understanding. While there are many e-books and products educating people on this critical issue, they only give a soupcon of information, which only promise to make you an expert overnight. Luckily, there are few legitimate training programs that will take you step by step with in-depth knowledge.
Of particular interest that you have to understand is how to use the different ‘types’ of keywords available. In PPC, there are 4 main types of keywords that will have an impact on where your ads will be ranked in every given search. Needless to mention, you have to rank very highly for you to heighten your chances of reaching your target audience. These four keywords are:-
- Exact Match Keywords:- as the name may suggest, the match for keywords in this case ought to be exact. If for instance you used ‘garden hose’ as your key phrase in your PPC ad, the search query has to have exactly the same words and the results will only match the ads or listings that match these two words.
- Phrase Match Keyword – like in the exact match keywords, the search query has to have the exact phrase as it is in the ad. Thus, if the ad key phrase is ‘long-lasting garden hoses’, search terms have to have the exact phrase. A point to note, the search can have extra words before or/and after the phrase and will still give you results of the same. If one keyed in ‘plastic long-lasting garden hoses in the US’, your ad will show up. And if the searcher keyed in ‘plastic garden hoses’, your ad will not show up.
- Broad Match Keywords – in this form of keywords, search query words can match individual words in your ads, in spite of the order in which the words have been arranged. Thus, when you searched for ‘garden hose’ by keying in ‘hose garden’, or ‘garden’, the results will match the ad. Still on point, it can match a plural word to one that is singular or parts of a specific word. Thus, when searching say for ‘garden tips’, it could bring results for ‘garden hose’, and when searching for ‘gardens’, it can still bring up words in the ad ‘garden hose’.
- Negative Match Keywords – this form of keywords ensures that your ad doesn’t appear if certain words or keyphrases are keyed in while searching. For example, if you don’t want the word ‘plastic’ to show up with your garden hose advert when someone is searching; you simply make the ‘plastic’ word negative. In case the word plastic is used in the search phrase, your ‘garden hose ad’ will not appear, in spite of the abovementioned definitions.
Keep in mind that PPC search engines have a different way of treating keywords. The abovementioned definitions seem to work best with Google PPC searches, through AdWords. A search engine like MSN and Yahoo will have a different interpretation, albeit slight, hence it is advisable to check the rules and regulations for the particular search engine ad you wish to use.
