A reader wonders:

if my Adwords ad shows up on page 4 of a search, and the searcher never gets to page 4, does that count as an impression? It was potentially available to be seen, but the searcher quit before getting to page 4.

Or does an impression occur ONLY when the searcher actually views the page where my ad is located?

My response:

It’s only an impression if the searcher brings up the page with your ad on it. So in your example, if you’re on page 4 that doesn’t count as an impression.

That’s why, in your 80/20 AdWords management practice (described in AdWords For Dummies), you must check the average position of keywords after sorting by impressions descending. The total number of impressions is the limit of your market - unless you’re bidding too low to take advantage of the whole pool.

A reader wonders:

I have been using one particular keyword that has been garnering lots of impressions and clicks over the past 8 days.  Today, nothing. What happened?

My reply:

Several things may have happened. Here they are in no particular order:

1. Google may have reassessed your quality score. If it went from Great or OK to Poor, then your current bid may not be enough to put your ad on the first page of search results.

2. Did you activate position preferences? If so, you may be bidding for positions 4-6 while limited your ads to positions 1-2, for example. In that case, your ad would stop showing completely.

3. You may have new competition: more or higher bidders.

4. You may have maxed out your monthly budget a little early.

Here’s what I would do:

1. Show the quality score of your keyword. (The Look Over My Shoulder AdWords Video Series has a nice video tutorial on how to do this.) If it’s poor, then click the details link to find out why.

2. Use the Ad Diagnostic tool to see why your ad isn’t currently showing.

If neither of those methods reveals the path to keyword salvation, then you might want to reach out for help. You can try contacting AdWords help, or call in a pro. (Gentle plug: this sort of situation is exactly why I created the Ring of Fire coaching club. Included in the Ring of Fire is a Help Desk, manned by me, to get you the answers you need without having to hire me as a private consulting client.)

A reader wonders: 

Is it wise - after using KWspy.com and seeing what my competitors pay per keyword - to focus on the less expensive keywords with the higher ROI and leave the most expensive keywords for when I finally get the hang of this?

For example, one of the more “popular” keywords in my field is a $15.34 price/click, whereas another “popular” keyword is only $.05 price/click.

My response: 

Think of AdWords as a really powerful sports car - you can do amazing things with it, getting to places much faster than you could with any other medium - but you can also rev the engine and drive into a brick wall second after turning the key.

Make sure you practice in an environment where your worst mistakes aren’t fatal. Stay in first gear, drive slowly, stay away from racetracks, and make sure you’re wearing a seatbelt. Also, keep the airbags operational.

When you’re starting out and you don’t know  your ROI, you don’t really know which keywords are “expensive” and which ones are “cheap.” Ultimately, everything depends on ROI - what can you bid on profitably? If the expensive kw brings you sales and the cheap one doesn’t, then the cheap one is actually more expensive.

But you can’t know that until you take the keywords live and follow the money. So until you know the value/click of each keyword, you’re either betting or paying tuition.

At this point, pay only for wisdom. Figure out how many clicks you need to assess profitability. Then find keywords priced cheaply enough to afford that tuition. Once you can get them working, tackle the more expensive (which means more competitive) keywords.

Question: Is it better to have fewer keywords when you’re starting with AdWords, or more?

A reader wonders:

How can I stop my Google ad from appearing in cases where my website comes up #1 "organically" with a particular keyword phrase? I’m paying for clicks that I would otherwise get for free. My cunundrum is that I need to use all the words in those keyword phrases in other keyword combinations and I can’t use the negative word tool as you describe in the bat house example in your book.

My response:

My Non-Answer

First, you may not want to stop your Google ad from running. Yes, you’re cannibalizing your free listings - maybe - but let me pose a hypothetical question:

If the only thing your prospect saw on the Google SERP (search engine results page, yes I know it sounds like a rude bodily noise, but that’s what happens when you put geeks in charge of acronyms) was your listings (organic and paid), would that be a good thing?

Having the top spot on both organic and ppc "brands" you in the eyes of searchers. I’ve even seen websites advertising "#1 on Google" - as if that said anything about the quality of their products and services. But just like "as seen on TV" lends credibility, so now does a "thumbs up" from Google - because that’s how ordinary people interpret a first-page listing (and especially a #1 rank).

You might try an ad that says, "See our #1 Google rank on this page" - not sure if Google would go for it, but it might be worth a try. (Just don’t do anything that ticks Google off and loses your organic position.

My Answer

Now, if you want to keep your ad from running for a particular keyword, here’s how to do it.

Let’s say the keyword you’re ranked #1 for is get smart movie poster

Add the keyword in embedded match type: -[get smart movie poster]

Now your ad will show for

get smart movie posters
movie poster get smart
steve carrell get smart poster
anne hathaway poster agent 99

but not for the exact keyword you want to eliminate.

A reader wonders: The other day I heard the term "embedded match" for Adwords for the first time. Is this something totally new and are there any other matching options not of common knowledge?

My pithy, punctuationally-challenged reply:

-[keyword] is embedded match - just a combo of negative and exact

Say you sell whiteboard accessories and supplies, and you want your ad to appear for

whiteboard cleaner

whiteboard marker

whiteboard eraser

but not

whiteboard

whiteboards

because you don’t sell whiteboards. (Dude, you should sooo sell whiteboards. But that’s another topic…)

So you add

-[whiteboard]

and

-[whiteboards]

to your keyword list

Voila, you’ve just created an embedded match.

As far as I know, there are no other secret match types in AdWords.

A reader wonders:

I’m working my way though Ch. 5 and I have question. On p.114 you suggest listing out every permutation of a keyword phrase (e.g., buy real estate…, buying real estate… etc.). Yet you indicated earlier (on p.104) that a phrase match (e.g., Buddah Statue) would return all matches containing that phrase. Why is it then necessary to list out all the variations?

My answer:

Hey, there’s two creation stories in Genesis - do I have to be consistent in AdWords For Dummies?

Actually, there a several good reasons for coming up with as many phrase and exact match keywords as possible, as opposed to relying on the broad match for all your traffic.

1. In many cases, the broad match keywords are overly broad. While they’ll get you the eyeballs you do want, they’ll also include a lot that you don’t. When you replace broad match with lots of exact and phrase match, you’ll have much better control over your traffic.

2. Your landing pages should be optimized for one main keyword. If your broad match keyword "masks" lots of more specific ones, your quality scores can suffer.

3. Exact match keywords that others haven’t thought of, and that get less traffic, often cost less. Supply and demand in action - fewer searches means fewer competitors (or your competitors haven’t read page 114 and haven’t worked as hard as you).

4. Exact and phrase match keywords will get preferential treatment by Google in returning search results. If your potential customer types "Stihl MS 361 C-Q Chain Saw", that may trigger your ad if you’re just bidding on Stihl chain saw as a broad match. But the exact match advertiser will get a better position for cheaper, due to superior quality score and CTR.

5. Here’s the most important reason: The more you know about what your prospects are actually typing, the more you can present offers that match their exact desires. In the chain saw example above, if you had typed the name and model number of the chain saw you wanted, and you saw the following two headlines, which would you be drawn to?:

Lots of Chain Saws Here

Stihl MS 361 C-Q on Sale

Remember, keywords represent the tip of the iceberg of your prospect’s desire. The more exactly you can identify the desire, the more precisely you can fill it.

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A reader writes:

"Many of my campaigns are sharing the same keywords.  Is there a way for me to get around google’s rule of only one ad per keyword per advertiser?  The products advertised in each campaign are different with different urls and i need to advertise both of them equally.  Any info you can provide would be greatly appreciated!"

My response:

Google will show exactly one ad per account per keyword - no more. So if you bid on the same keyword in more than one campaign or ad group in the same network and at the same time and geographic location, Google chooses which one to display. And guess what - Google displays the ad that makes Google the most money.

The solution - and you didn’t hear it from me - is to set up multiple accounts (now that $25 gift card from AdWords For Dummies comes in handy, huh?). Each product gets its own account, as if they were competing against one another (which, in fact, they are).

A reader asks:

I’m trying to promote a PRODUCT TYPE called NAME. What would be the best way to come up with good keywords for this product that might be unique?

Note: I have removed the specifics of the product to protect this reader’s market, in case it needs protecting.

My response:

You don’t want unique keywords. You want the right keywords.

What are the people who need your product currently searching for? Use those keywords.

A metaphor: if you were opening a PRODUCT TYPE store, you wouldn’t search for a unique location. You’d search for a location where your prospects are already shopping, and make your offer to them as they pass  by.

A reader wonders:

For an adgroup is it necessary to add phrase match and exact match of the broad match keywords, when phrase and exact match are a subset of broad match keywords?

Here’s my answer:

If you add the phrase and exact match variations, you’ll find that they get different CTRs and different conversions. You may find that you optimize differently for the different kinds of traffic.

You may also find that some broad keywords don’t pay for themselves, while the phrase and exact match do. Remember, with broad match, you’re relying on Google to decide what’s a relevant search. Sometimes they get it right, and sometimes they don’t.

Google’s interest is getting as many clicks as possible. Your interest is in getting only the right clicks.