Think Semantic Relationships, Versus Categorization
Most search campaigns are structured by categories of keywords. Like organizing file labels in a file system or file cabinet.
Wrong! In PPC, we want all the keywords within an ad group to mean the same thing. In other words. they have a strong semantic relationship. That’s how we group them, by factoring them semantically.
This search campaign structure is one of the secrets to developing search campaigns with high “quality scores” (QS).
When search campaigns are built around relevant groups of semantically related keywords, good quality scores inevitably follow. As long as the landing page is setup right; more on that elsewhere.
The ad group structure flows naturally from groups of words that are semantically related.
Keyword Factoring
A keyword base starts as a few hundred multi-word “keywords”. We begin by identifying the root word or pair of words. Then we identity the modifiers, and the synonyms.
Through this factoring process, we can organize the keyword base into ad groups around semantic relationships. This is the process for creating a structured campaign – one with just keywords that mean the same thing in each ad group.
We then apply a workflow to assign keyword match types in a strategic fashion, to fit your market based upon an assessment of search intent.
Match Type Assignment
With the keyword base identified and factored we are then in a position to provision “match types”: phrase, exact, and broad. This process is covered in other articles on this site. To use an analogy from photography, the effect is to provide each keyword with three “lenses” to match to search queries by – narrow-angle, wide-angle, and macro.
After factoring and match type provisioning, augmented by negative keyword lists, the keyword list has become a selective keyword base tailored to the campaign’s target market.
The combination of a high-quality keyword base, strategic match type application, and well structured ad groups together provide a strong foundation for a search campaign to reach higher levels of performance.