Google Ads: how to choose and use your keywords effectively

When you want to advertise on search engines via Google Ads, a significant number of elements need to be taken into account and defined with precision in order to optimise your campaigns.

Among these elements, one of the foundations of a good campaign is the keywords you choose and the way you use them (keyword match types).

Although… once you have grasped the logic, defining all these components yourself can prove complex. All the more so since Google Ads can seem to play on nuances that are as important as they are imperceptible.

In this article, we will try to explain these basic steps in plain language, to make the early stages of building your campaign less daunting or time-consuming. Let us therefore turn our attention to keywords.

What type of keywords should you choose?

Here you are — you are about to create your first campaign via Google Ads. And how do we conduct searches on Google? By typing terms into the search bar, which then presents results it has deemed relevant.

These terms are nothing other than "keywords", and for your campaign to appear at the top of the list, take care to study and define which ones will be most productive for you. What terms best describe your activity, and above all, what would someone type into Google if they were trying to find your business?

Now that you have a few ideas in mind, and since you know your field well, you need to take into account the length of your search terms. There are 3 types, and here is how we might classify them:

To illustrate our points, we will use the example of a car dealer throughout our explanations.

Single-word generic

Imagine you are a car dealer — you might be interested in defining car as one of your keywords. Logical at first glance, yet this is not a good strategy at all.

By focusing on a term as generic as car, you risk bidding in auctions for very few, if any, conversions. In short, targeting a single generic term is very costly because the competition is fierce, and despite a high search volume, conversions will be almost non-existent because the term is insufficiently specific.

This is because it is almost impossible to gain traction from car alone. Google does not have enough information to identify the user's intent and understand what they actually want to find. For the search engine, this lack of precision prevents it from displaying your ad, since it ultimately cannot tell whether your offer matches what the user is looking for.

If you still want to try it, you will also find that even if you eventually appear in the top search results, you will attract a lot of traffic… BUT this traffic is not qualified and is often very far from any purchase decision. For most users, that single term will not match their intent, so there will be very little conversion.

When someone types car, are they looking to buy a vehicle, sell one, find car parts, find out about a particular model…? And even if they do intend to buy, are they looking for second-hand, new? Perhaps a rental? What colour? And so on and so forth. So many variables will mean that your ad will not suit everyone, and most people drawn to your site will leave within seconds.

Two or three-word generic

After these explanations, you can probably see what this implies. But be careful — are these extra words really more relevant? Nothing is less certain.

By staying with generic keywords, you are once again exposing yourself to traffic leakage, with searches that are not targeted enough. You may intend to bid on the keywords new car because that is what you sell, but it is still insufficient. The same questions as in the previous section apply (purchase, sale, colours, etc.).

Costs and competition will be lower than with a single term. You are closing a few doors, certainly, but not enough. You risk once again being too far removed from the user's actual intent, and therefore failing to convert them. If they arrive on your page, there is no guarantee they will proceed to purchase.

Targeted phrase

As its definition suggests, a "phrase" is a succession of words, and can even be a full sentence. And it is on these combinations that you have the greatest chance of ranking, appearing in "top searches", and converting visitors.

What you need to understand is that the more targeted the phrase, the fewer people will perform that search. But those who do will represent highly qualified traffic and will be much more likely to take purchasing action, since you represent exactly what they are looking for.

Yes, the search volume may be a little limited, which could worry you. But on the one hand you will save money because bids will be lower — competition being minimal — and you stand a very good chance of achieving an excellent investment-to-conversion ratio.

One minor caveat, though not an insurmountable one: if the phrase you choose to target does not represent sufficient search volume, Google will refuse to "sell" it to you at auction. It would be as if you became its "owner" by default, due to the lack of competition.

What keyword match types should you use?

The keyword match type is a parameter that determines whether or not your ad is triggered based on the search terms used by the user.

Google Ads offers 4 match types, each with its advantages and disadvantages.

To illustrate our points, we will use the example of a ready-to-wear retailer wishing to run an ad for their range of women's trousers throughout our explanations.

Broad match

Symbol: none

This is the default match type because, as its name suggests, it is the broadest and therefore allows the most matches. But after everything we have just covered, you can well imagine that this is not necessarily the best solution — and may even be the one that generates the most expenditure for the least qualified results.

Your ad will reach a wider audience, since it will be displayed whenever someone searches for a term from your phrase or its synonym. Misspellings, variants, related searches, and so on are also taken into account. So if your targeted phrase is slim women's trousers, people typing men's trousers or wide-leg women's trousers may also come across your ad.

However, what your ad offers will be too far removed from their original intent, and there is little chance of achieving a conversion (a purchase). Even if traffic is high with this method, it will not be relevant to achieving your objectives and your return on investment will also be harder to achieve.

You risk spending a large portion of your budget on searches that lead nowhere. Your site's bounce rate will also likely be very high.

If you nonetheless decide to stay with broad match, you can try to limit the damage by adding as many negative keywords as possible.

Modified broad match

Symbol: +keyword
+slim +women's +trousers

Modified broad match can be an excellent way to broaden the scope of your searches while retaining the specificity of the keywords you have defined.

Still using slim women's trousers — if you set this phrase to modified broad match, Google will consider your ad relevant only when all 3 terms (or their synonyms) are mentioned, regardless of the order or what follows the keyword.

For example, men's trousers or wide-leg women's trousers will not appear, but khaki slim women's trousers or slim jeans for women will. Ultimately, you are not closing all the doors, but you are reducing the risk of wastage by choosing this match type.

Phrase match

Symbol: "keyword"
"slim women's trousers"

With phrase match, only prefixes and suffixes around the phrase are permitted. If words appear between the keywords in the search terms, your ad will not be served. Your keywords must therefore be exact (or very close variants) and in the correct order. This match type allows you to better manage and control your campaign, particularly in terms of results and expenditure.

If you use slim women's trousers, your ad could be shown for searches such as size 42 slim women's trousers or buy a red slim women's trouser, but still not for slim men's trousers, nor for slim suit trousers for women, for instance.

Exact match

Symbol: [keyword]
[slim women's trousers]

This is the most restrictive method, which may seem more limiting but is sometimes more effective for certain strategies. As you might expect, only the exact words within the keyword set will trigger your ad.

If you have defined slim women's trousers, only people typing slim women's trousers will see your name at the top of the results. No words before, after, or in between the keywords.

Fortunately, and to allow for a little more flexibility, close variants are also accepted — slim feminine trousers could therefore be accepted.

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Through this introductory article, you have discovered the foundations of a good Google Ads campaign: keywords and their match types.

Take the time to think carefully about your keywords beforehand. What will they bring me? Are they specific enough? Will people be able to find me through them? Do not forget that these ads must correspond as closely as possible to the pages they link to, in order for the ads to be displayed in the best possible light.

Finally, one last piece of advice: your campaigns will evolve, nothing is set in stone. Launching a good Google Ads campaign is not enough to guarantee a strong return on investment. Analyse the initial results, adjust your ads and keywords — all with the aim of optimising your spend over time.