Since being first introduced in 2012, close variant keyword matching has been a success, and starting in September, all exact and phrase match keywords will be applied to the close variant keyword matching. Before, like all betas for Google, you could opt out.
So what does this mean?
Let’s just agree that people are not perfect spellers, or just type so fast that they miss or add letters that just don’t belong. That is what close variant matching helps us with. It picks up these misspellings and shows your ad still, even if it is not in your account. In fact, Google estimates that 7% of searches contain a misspelling, and the longer the query the worse it gets, but as a business, would you not want to connect to these customers that are looking for your business, product or service?
Let’s look at an example; [kids bike]. For examples sake, let’s just assume that this is the only keyword in this ad group. With close variant matching, you can now show for kid’s bike, kid bike, kids bikes, kid bikes, child bike, etc. Now, some people don’t like change so they will complain, because they say that they are losing control of their account but that is not true. Close variant matching does not mean that you will start showing for transportation, scooters, tires, handle bars, etc. That is what your broad match term should do. Again, you must look at the search queries that are coming up and negative keywords that with one letter may mean an entirely different thing. If you know that is already happening, then add the negatives now.
This should actually be a relief to advertisers as they don’t have to build huge exhaustive lists o misspelled, abbreviated or other close variants to get the coverage you want. Just allow the system to do what it needs and you double check it and add the negatives that are needed. If you do find keywords that work, add them as phrase and exact and control those better.
Windy City Strategies specializes in medical website design and dental Internet marketing solutions. With over 10 years of experience, our staff of expert web designers and Internet marketers have been leading the way with advanced solutions for dental companies by delivering customized strategies with you and your patient in mind.
By Bjorn Torling