Having thousands of keywords and ads is more likely to boost your CTR and Quality Scores. Since you can be more targeted with your keywords and ad messages, your ads will be more likely to match the user’s search words, with matching words appearing in bold. This will help to boost CTR, which in turn will lead to higher Quality Scores and lower CPCs.

I’ve also found some long-tail keywords receiving fewer clicks due to Google Instant, but since people are now being pushed down more clearly-defined searches, other long-tail keywords are receiving significantly more searches. You can see these artificially-high searches in almost any search query report – they’re those 9 to 10 word phrases which receive a disproportionately high impression and click volume for their word length. Capturing these artificial long-tails with a clear strategy in place can deliver great results due to their relatively low CPCs.

Have to agree there, its also good for varation in keywords, help with a whole ‘natural’ link profile too.

The keyword +green +tea will naturally match to more search queries than +green mint +tea, since the latter is more specific.

Although you’re essentially right that both keywords could match to the same search queries, imagine the following scenario, where both keywords are standard broad match (i.e. no modified broad match):

green tea
green tea pots for sale australia

While both keywords could potentially match to the same search queries due to Google’s broad-match mechanism, if you looked at the search queries matching to the longer keyword, you will find that Google tends to match longer and more specific searches to longer and more specific keywords. Even with standard broad match, if a keyword is a closer match to a search query, then all other things equal, Google is more likely to match the search query to the longer keyword.

The same is true when combining standard broad match and modified broad match within a single keyword. By adding extra non-modified words, you are more likely to receive search queries which are more relevant to those extra words.

Cheers,
Alan

Because technically +green +tea and +green mint +tea will match all the same queries. So why include a non broadmatch-modified keyword in there?

Cheers,

Trev

That could work, but people might also be more likely to carry out research or purchase online during lunchtimes or other times of the day. Different product and service types naturally have different buying cycles and different purchasing habits, so it’s important to look at the data to find the ad scheduling strategy which works best for your business.

We’re already seeing artificially high search and click volumes for 8 or 9-word phrases, simply because of Google Instant. Capturing these artificial long-tail searches with search query analysis can deliver great results for PPC advertisers.

I completely agree – it’s something I’ve written about before in my post on relevancy. While researching 1,000s of keywords is great, those keywords are not going to have the chance to achieve their full potential unless 1,000s of tailored ad messages are provided.

It’s good to achieve a balance in your campaigns, with more generic keywords complementing long-tails when more volume is needed. Casting a wide net and taking a holistic approach with your keyword selection is in my opinion always the best strategy to maximise you chance of success.