Help! Basic Adword Express search phrase construction confusion?

[Gavin James]

Hi everybody,

Apologies if this is a basic question but I've confused myself.

I use Adwords Express (which is essentially Adwords for beginners) and it restricts me to adding 5 search phrases.

I provide consultancy (80%) and some training (20%) across various service lines.

I'm a bit confused about phrase construction works in practice. For instance, does my phrase have to exactly match those searching it? Or can only some words match, and if so do they need to be the same order within the phrase. Examples below:

(1) If my phrase was "International trade consultants & training":
a. Would somebody have to search for the full phrase?
b. Or would somebody searching "International trade consultants" see it
c. Would somebody searching "International trade training" also see it
d. If 'yes' to b or c would this negatively impact how these are rated since they do not exactly match?

(2) Due to limited phrase option I am also thinking about including "International logistics & supply chain consultants & training" to capture all of the following and more:
- Logistics consultants
- International supply chain consultants
- Logistics training
- Etc.
Is this a bad idea?

Any pointers very welcome...

 

[Erno Horvath]

Do not use Adwords Express! Many PPC experts say this not just me.
You have no control over the exact terms you'd like to be appear for. (all keywords you use considered as broad match which means Google will decide for what exact search terms will show your ads).
There are four type of keyword matching in Google Adwords, and broad match is the least targeted. I still can't include links, but search for "google adwords match types" and there will be plenty examples.

Eg you use "international trade consultant & training" as a keyword in Google Adwords Express you might appear for both of your examples, BUT you might appear for "international trade definition" or "international trade consultant salary" or "international trade consultant jobs" and I think it will be a waste of money for you to get clicks for these terms as they are not searched by your target market.

I strongly suggest to consult with some beforehand about proper targeting & setup.

 

[Gavin James]

Thanks so far. By the way Erno you can now phone Adword Express and have your own specific terms added, but yes only 7 maximum.

 

[fisicx]

7 is nothing. I normally start with a few hundred and filter out the ones that don't work until I'm left with a few dozen that attract the clicks.

You need exact match on everything. Any other option will lose you money.

You need the actual keywords people use, so for example: Singapore logistics consultancy. Using words like international are way too broad.

 

[Erno Horvath]

7 keywords were okay about 3-5 years ago... nowadays it's hard, especially because Google removed the right side ads so you either on the top or either on the bottom.. and there are just only 7 ad slots left from the 11.

As fisicx mentioned, yes you need a few hundred keywords also segmented into themed groups, like:
Logistics consultants
Supply chain consultant
logistics training

because otherwise you can't be specific with ad texts too.

Who is searching for 'logistics consultants' more likely click on an ad about 'logistics consultants', and who is searching for 'logistics training' just won't click on your 'logistics consultants' ad... so you miss an opportunity & also ended up paying more a click. (Google Adwords maintain a Quality Score and the more tailored and targeted your ad this score is higher, so when you show 'training' ads to someone who is searching for 'consultant' you can expect low QS and low QS means you have to pay more for the same traffic)

 

[StevePoster]

1 If my phrase was "International trade consultants & training":
a. Would somebody have to search for the full phrase?
b. Or would somebody searching "International trade consultants" see it
c. Would somebody searching "International trade training" also see it
d. If 'yes' to b or c would this negatively impact how these are rated since they do not exactly match?

I normally start with a few hundred and filter out the ones that don't work until I'm left with a few dozen that attract the clicks.

Fisicx post is proven and effective, while running your campaign you can determine the related phrases that are converting so that you can focus on the selected phrases in which you can bid higher for more conversions.