Should you bid on the same keyword but with different match types in Adwords? The simple answer that question would be: It depends on your account.

Ben Wolfram
SEM Coordinator

First thing, let’s review the four match types offered in Adwords.   That’s right I said four and I’m not considering Negatives as a match type (however, important in their own right).  It is very important to not overlook the value Modified Broad Match can bring to your campaigns.

Broad match: keyword
Allows your ad to show on similar phrases and relevant variations

Modified Broad Match: +keyword
Each term within the keyword preceded by a + must appear in the user’s search exactly or as a close variant

Phrase match: “keyword”
Allows your ad to show for searches that match the exact phrase

Exact match: [keyword]
Allows your ad to show for searches that match the exact phrase exclusively

Now that you have an understanding of the match types, you might think, “Well I bid on all Broad matched keywords, so I’m covered.”  Yes, this is true but you need to consider that for your Head Terms or Rock Star keywords all the data and history associated with those keywords is rolled into one.   The data related to Broad matched queries, which may or may not match that closely to your target, is affecting the exact matched queries for exactly what you are targeting. It is key to note that according to Google, “If you have multiple keywords that are the same, the system will prefer to use the keyword with the more restrictive keyword match type.”  Because of this, you may want to capitalize on the superb history you can build with more defined match types.

A great way to check and see what type of match type traffic you are receiving is to take a look at your keywords segmented by ‘search term match type.’

Once you determine you have the traffic to break out the keywords by match type you need to determine how you are going to do so.  There are three ways to go about this and it depends on the size of your account and the time you have to devote.  The first method is to add the new match types to your exciting ad groups.  This is the quick, easy way and the personal favorite of mine.  There is a con to this method, being that the broad match keyword can still be triggered for an exact, phrase or modified broad query.  According to Google, “On rare occasions, the system will prefer to use a keyword that is cheaper (i.e., it has a lower actual CPC), has a higher Quality Score and a higher Ad Rank.”  So, as always, it is important to keep an eye on your Max CPC Bids and Quality Scores.  The second method would be to create new ad groups for each match type.  The con here is that your campaign can become overwhelmed with new ad groups to manage. The third and final method would be to create new campaigns for each match type; however the con is that you now have additional budgets that need to be managed.

Overall, is up to you to determine how you want break out your campaigns and which strategy will work best for you.  Personally I like to start with Broad match then, as I define the head terms, I add the multiple match types to the same ad group (keeping a close eye on Max CPC and Quality Score).   After the match types have been added, I generally keep the Broad matched keywords to catch any queries that may have slip past the other match types. This helps discover new keyword variations and covers the long tail.