As a PPC account manager, match types are necessary tools in the arsenal. As we discussed in a previous post, ensuring that keywords of different match types are prioritized properly is vital to accurate and efficient data gathering.
What about when starting a new account? Should all match types be used out of the gate? The simple answer is yes … mostly … sort of. OK, maybe avoid a simple answer here. Let’s take a quick look at a few scenarios I’ve run across and which match types are appropriate for each.
When to Use Broad Match Modified Keywords:
- Looking to scale or expand
- Looking for additional keyword options without losing relevance
- Willing to accept small to medium levels of erroneous traffic
- Maintain heavy and consistent doses of negative keyword additions to keep traffic quality in check
When to Use Broad Match Non-Modified Keywords:
- Looking to scale or expand exponentially
- Looking for additional keyword options
- Willing to accept medium to large levels of erroneous traffic
- Maintain heavy and consistent doses of negative keyword additions to maintain some level of traffic quality
In general, broad match non-modified keywords can be useful initially to gain new insights into potentially relevant keywords, but using them in the long term is usually a bad idea — unless you have endless piles of gold to shovel into your campaigns.