Adwords Broad Match Quality Score
-
** This question is about QS of Broad Match and how it pertains to THE AUCTION ONLY. Not looking for opinions on campaign/ad group structure/strategies.
For an Adwords account where all the ad groups are using modified broad match keywords I see that some keywords are assigned quality score. Obviously a broad match keyword can be triggered by a very wide variety of actual keyword searches. So I assume/guess that Adwords assigns a quality score for every single keyword entered that matches with that broad match and then makes the quality score for the broad match an average of the actual search term used quality score weighted by the volume of searches for that search term?
Or am I wrong and the quality score for a broad match is the exact match quality score for that term (I doubt that since broad match the words can be in any order.)
So for example, let's same I have this broad match score: +auto +insurance
This is going to match with: auto insurance companies, auto insurance prices, luxury auto insurance, auto insurance brokers, and on and on and on.
Let's say my landing page happens to have a lot of content about ratings for auto insurance brokers. If the CTR for that terms is high, when it's matching my modified broad match, does that mean Adwords assigns a higher quality score, internally, to the search term "auto insurance broker" so if that term is entered, for the purpose of the auction, Adwords doesn't use the quality score of the broad match but the quality score it has calculated for that specific search term -- I just can't see what it is because I don't have that term as an exact match term on my account.
Or, does it use the broad match quality score no matter what search term is used that matched the broad match? I would be highly surprised if that was true. If this were true, then you would want to break out the important terms into their own exact match keywords. In many cases, the more efficient strategy for an account is to have fairly narrow modified broad match terms coupled with a very large negative keyword list.
The question is mainly, is there any advantage from the perspective of competing in the auction to have the term be an exact match versus matching a modified broad match keyword? If QS is stored for the actual search term, then I would assume the answer is NO. I know it would provide more granular reporting and the ability to more fine tune landing pages etc etc etc but I'm just talking purely from the perspective of the auction.
-
Fair enough. Sounds like you know your stuff.
Honestly i'm not sure how quality score is calculated from the broad match. I get it's the potential for the match to be a quality one. As you say the more potential matches may create a lower average. So the less strict you are, the lower the average as the is more of a potential for lesser relevant phrases to match.
All i know is a £1.24 click may look close to a £1.48 click but it's 16.2% on top of your cost. So if you don't have a 16.2% increase in ROI you need really think about what is being wasted. A rule that has served me well is: If most of your clicks are from quality scores of 5-7 you are pouring money down the drain, especially if these leads are rarely converting.
All the best.
-
I agree broad match will waste some money especially at the beginning of the campaign but as you examine search terms and build the negative keyword list, you eventually hit 'equilibrium' in that the advantage of catching long-tail keywords you have not thought of through modified broad match equals and eventually outweighs trying to add every long-tail keyword you find in the search terms as an exact (or phrase) match. In my experience, it depends on how competetive the industry is . Of course the account would not start out 100% broad match. You would include the obvious, high-volume exact and phrase match. But in most circumstances, if you place value on your time (which many fail to do), it's more cost effective for me to build a huge negative keyword list over time, then build a huge list of exact match and phrase match keywords for every possible search term you uncover has been used or think will be used.
QS is related to the search term used, not the keyword. Obviously an exact match keyword the search term will be identical. So I'm assuming the QS for a broad match is just an average for all the search terms that matched weighted my impression volume for each term. (I know I'm probably repeating what has already been claimed here or elsewhere.)
I've been around the block too many times to see people advocating very granular account structures which are very time consuming where the increased ROI didn't cover the cost of the extra labor to get so anal about the account structure. This of course is not true in many circumstances for very high cost accounts, but there's always the bias to justify your job.
-
This thread suggests that the quality score you see in the interface is only activated by searches which exactly match your broad match keyword, but that anything which activates your broad match keyword can impact Google's back end calculation of QS.
I initially agreed with Andrew, above, and the thread doesn't make me change my mind. Using a lot of broad match terms will result in lower control over what the ads are showing for, which is likely to reduce relevance and impact QS. This is just compounded by the fact that apparently the interface won't show accurate QS data in this scenario so you don't know how much you're being impacted. I'd lean towards closer matches wherever possible.
I know you said above you're not interested in account structure advice but that seems the most important outcome of this discussion. Do feel free to correct me if I'm wrong!
-
Quality score is to do with how closely you have matched the search term with your keyword, your ad text, and your landing page. It is much easier to get high quality scores with exact match as you are tailoring your ads far more sharply.
A broad match should only be used in a tiered ad campaign.
If you use broad matches as a general option you will waste money. You will easily double your costs or worse. A high quality score ad has a fraction of the click cost. Don't run anything below 9.
Got a burning SEO question?
Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
Adwords :what do you think about creating 2 different ad groups for each match type of the same kws into the same campagn?
one modified broad and one exact. ADGR1:
Paid Search Marketing | | pupazzoinfame
+red +cat +buy
+red +cat
+red +cat for +sale ADGR2:
[red cat]
[buy red cat]
[red cat for sale] Am i bidding agains myself without negative kws?2 -
AdWords Match rule for "&" and "and"
Howdy, folks 🙂 Here is a question - is there way to have an AdWords matching rule, which would cover both "&" and "and"? Here is an example - rule to match both "B & B" and "B and B". Any help appreciated 🙂
Paid Search Marketing | | DmitriiK0 -
Google Analytics showing my Adwords campaign bounce rate at 0%
I am relatively new to Adwords, and I can't figure out why the Adwords section of Analytics is showing all my site visitors at 0% bounce rate. Does that mean the account connection is not done right? Obviously Google ads are not a 0% bounce rate. If I can't get that to work, does anyone know how Google ads appear in Traffic? Is it Direct or Referral? I'm sure there's some simple answer I'm just not aware of, I would appreciate anyone's help. Thanks!
Paid Search Marketing | | Crystalline_150 -
Why doesn't exact match appear to be working for me in Google AdWords tool?
Hi guys, I recently read Rand's article here and tried out the exact match symbols on my keywords. However, these don't appear to be working for me as the results aren't showing up as they do in the above SEOmoz article (attached screenshot). What am I doing wrong? Google_AdWords__Keyword_Tool-20130511-115528.jpg.jpg?resizeSmall&width=832
Paid Search Marketing | | featherseo0 -
Adwords Keyword Research - Impressions, CTR
Hello, In my Adwords Keyword Research (spending $300 to find out any keywords I'm missing using mostly exact match keywords) am I looking for impressions or Click Through Rate, or both? Please explain.
Paid Search Marketing | | BobGW0 -
Do Google Autofill and Instant Search affect Adwords' Keyword Tool reports?
While performing keyword research around the term "windows", I noticed the keyword "windo" gets 18,000 global monthly searches with .23 competition. Why is this? Do y'all think the Google Autofill and Instant Search features affect reports generated by using the Google Adwords keyword tool? For example, if a user starts typing a search query only to find the site they were looking for before they finished typing the search query, does Google count the partial keyword the user never finished typing into the Adwords Keyword report? I've always wondered about this. Sometimes I find it tempting to attack a misspelled keyword because of the massive search volume and low competition for that keyword. I realize that many consumers may not be very good at spelling, and this may reflect a large search volume towards a misspelled keyword. On the other hand, I see this trend of high volume, misspelled keywords many times while performing keyword research for a variety of clients. Thanks.
Paid Search Marketing | | GlobeRunner0 -
Your site is in organic results for adwords keyword - improved quality score?
Let's say I am targeting a keyword "Blue Widgets Cityname" with an AdWords campaign. My SEO landing page is coming up in position #6 in the organic results for this keyword. Because I have my website in the organic search results, does my quality score automatically improve? Conversely, my quality score could go up because the organic search results facilitate a higher CTR for both the ads and the organic results. However, I am wondering if there is a quality score algorithmic component that automatically makes my quality score go up simply because the same domain I am targeting is in the organic results.
Paid Search Marketing | | qlkasdjfw0 -
Keyword domains for AdWords - duplicate content an issue
Hi guys, A client of mine has bought a raft of keyword domains for use in an AdWords campaign. This isn't my area of expertise, hence the question. They have a hosting account which can host an unlimited number of domains. Can they set up the domains with the same content on each site and then use AdWords to drive traffic to the sites? I've suggested they can use rel="canonical" to specify that the preferred site is the main site of the company which should bypass the duplicate content issue. Is this the best way to host the sites or is there a better alternative? Thanks in advance, Brendan.
Paid Search Marketing | | brendanbelladesign0