Keywords are at the heart of Paid Search (at least in the current SEM environment). Therefore, choosing the right keywords along with implementing the right bidding strategy can have a significant impact on your SEM performance. When developing a keyword targeting strategy, having a solid understanding of your match type options is extremely important, along with how to use those match types effectively. I think it’s safe to say that most marketers involved with SEM understand the three basic match types, including broad, phrase, and exact match.
Until recently, these were the only match types at your disposal. That was until last year, when Google launched Modified Broad Match. It’s a versatile match type that can be a great option for targeting a wider range of queries, without losing a lot of control like with standard broad match. I’ve used modified broad match extensively since it launched, and I’ve been very pleased with the results. Note, modified broad match only applies to Google AdWords at this time.
As a quick example, here are the four match type options for the keyword Ping Golf Driver:
- Broad: ping golf driver
- Phrase: “ping golf driver”
- Exact: [ping golf driver]
- Modified Broad Match: +ping +golf +driver
With broad match, many queries related to ping golf drivers can trigger your ads. This can yield the most impressions and clicks, but can also be the most dangerous option for you. If you run broad match keywords, you need to keep a very close eye on raw queries triggering your ads to ensure they aren’t unrelated and untargeted.
Moving forward, phrase match can hone your targeting by matching only the phrase “ping golf driver”. When using phrase match, you know that the phrase “ping golf driver” will be in the query (in the exact order you specify). As a search marketer, you at least know that someone had the phrase (all three words in order) in their query.
Exact match is the most restrictive match type. Your ads will trigger only when someone exactly enters those keywords, without any other words in the query, and in that specific order. You obviously won’t have as many impressions or clicks, but you know exactly which query was entered.
What is Modified Broad Match in Google AdWords?
Now that I’ve quickly covered the three core match types in AdWords, let’s focus on Modified Broad Match. With regard to targeting, modified broad match is more restrictive than broad match, but less restrictive than phrase match (or exact match). By placing plus signs (+) in front of keywords, you tell AdWords that those specific keywords MUST BE PRESENT in the query.
You’re not leaving AdWords in charge of deciding what constitutes a match (like with Broad Match), and you’re also not telling AdWords that the keywords have to be in a specific order (like phrase or exact match). This enables you to expand your targeting, but in a smart way. Using our example from above, the modified broad match keyword +ping +golf +driver could match the following queries:
- ping golf driver
- how much does a golf driver cost from ping
- new golf driver ping g15
- golf beginners best driver ping
- used golf driver ping
You get the picture. It gives you more control than blindly using broad match, while not being too restrictive. As long as you analyze the various queries triggering your ads, you can learn a lot about prospective customers and how they search for the products or services you sell.
The problem is that your basic reporting in Google Analytics will only show you the keywords that triggered your ads (the keywords you are bidding on). The basic reporting will not show the raw queries that triggered your ads. And it’s important to analyze the raw queries when using modified broad match, as they can help you hone your targeting, keep untargeted clicks away, and increase your ROI. Yes, raw query analysis is extremely important.
The Basic Reporting in Google Analytics Does Not Show Raw Queries:
The Power of Analyzing Raw Queries
Revisiting our example from earlier, let’s say the last query that triggered your ad, used golf driver ping, isn’t the best match for your business (since you don’t sell used clubs.) If you caught this raw query, then you could add “used” as a negative. This would ensure your ads never show when someone includes “used’ in their query. In addition to finding more negatives, you can also choose to bid more aggressively on highly targeted keywords that you weren’t already bidding on.
If you noticed a modified broad match keyword capturing a query like, buy ping g15 driver 2011, then you might choose to add that keyword and bid more aggressively on it. Again, this is why analyzing raw search queries is so important. You can end up finding many negatives to hone your targeting, while also finding more targeted keywords that you can bid on separately. This can all lead to increased ROI, and that’s the name of the game in SEM.
How To Analyze Modified Broad Match in Google Analytics
Now that we know how important analyzing raw queries can be, how do you find them in your reporting? In addition, how do you know which raw queries were mapped to each modified broad match keyword? You will need both pieces of information in order to effectively analyze performance and implement changes. If you are using Google Analytics (and many of you are), then you can get to this data pretty easily via Dimensions and Filtering in the new AdWords reporting.
With the latest changes to AdWords reporting in Google Analytics, there were several new features added. One of the new features is the ability to see matched search queries based on the keywords you were targeting. This enables you to see the raw search queries that are triggering your ads. In addition, using Dimensions and Filtering, you can see both the raw search queries that triggered your ads and the modified broad match keywords those queries mapped to. That’s exactly what we want. Let’s dig in.
In Search Of, Raw Search Queries
I’m going to walk you through how to find the raw search queries that are triggering your ads (the queries that are mapping to your modified broad match keywords). Note, you can use this technique to analyze standard broad match keywords as well, although I won’t be covering that below.
1. Access An Ad Group in Google Analytics
The first thing we need to do is to access an ad group that uses modified broad match keywords. In Google Analytics, click the Traffic Sources tab, then the AdWords tab, click the Campaigns report, click through to a campaign, and then choose an ad group to analyze.
2. Review Your Keywords
Once you are in the ad group’s reporting, you will see the various keywords driving traffic. At this point, you will see some modified broad match keywords that have driven traffic, but you don’t know the raw queries that triggered those ads yet. Note, modified broad match keywords will have plus signs associated with them (see screenshot below.)
3. Dimension Your Keywords by Matched Search Query
Use the second dimension dropdown in your reporting and select “Matched Search Query”. This will display all of the raw keywords that triggered your ads in a new column. Note, you will still see the modified broad match keywords that those raw queries mapped to (in the first column), and Google Analytics will now present the raw queries in the second column. You’re almost there.
4. Filter the Results by Modified Broad Match Keyword
If you are trying to analyze a specific modified broad match keyword within an ad group, then you can filter your results for that keyword at the bottom of the reporting. For example, if you are trying to analyze +ping +golf +driver, then you can enter +ping +golf +driver in the filter box at the bottom of the reporting. This will enable you to analyze that one keyword and see all of the raw search queries that mapped to that keyword.
This is what you want. Note, since you can enter regular expressions in the filter box, you need to escape the plus signs. You can do this by entering a backslash ( \) before each plus sign you are entering. For example, to filter by +ping +golf +driver, you would enter \+ping \+golf \+driver in the filter box. Also, you can always click a single keyword in the list to simply view all results for that one keyword. That said, filtering lets you quickly jump between keywords without leaving one report.
5. Analyze and Export the Results
At this point, you have completed the first part of your mission. You have all of the raw search queries that mapped to a single modified broad match keyword. Awesome. Based on what you find, you may choose to add new keywords to your ad group, include negatives to hone your ads, change your bidding strategy, etc. You can also export your results to Excel for further analysis.
Identifying Strong and Weak Keywords Based on Performance
Now that you have your reporting set up the way you want it, what will you be looking for when analyzing modified broad match keywords? As I explained earlier, you will want to identify both high and low performing keywords and queries, based on conversion. Note, “conversion” can mean different things for different companies. If you have developed a strong analytics strategy, then you’ll want to review each raw search query to understand if it’s attracting targeted visitors (or not).
For example, if you run an ecommerce website, then you can easily analyze raw queries by transactions, revenue and newsletter signups. All three are important to your business, so finding keywords that yield high conversion (or no conversion) would be smart to do. Then you can either add negatives based on the raw queries to weed out untargeted visitors or identify new keywords to run that are driving conversion. Using our golf example from earlier, you might add “used” or “lost” as a negative while adding new, longer tail keywords like “new ping driver 2011 g15” or “where to buy new ping driver g15”. Yes, this can be time-consuming, but it can be a powerful way to increase your ROI. Do this over time and it can pay huge dividends for your company or clients.
Final Words – Keyword Analysis is Critically Important
As you can see, modified broad match is a great addition to the various match type options available in Google AdWords. But, the real power comes from analyzing those modified broad match keywords to find negatives and to find more targeted keywords to bid on. Doing this will enable you to hone your targeting and +increase +your +ROI. If you’re not using modified broad match, then I recommend testing it out. I have a feeling you’ll be pleased with the results. Just make sure you’re analyzing those keywords like I just showed you in this tutorial! Now what about that new ping driver? 🙂
