The Dangers of Keyword Broad Match type Exposed.

What does Microsft Outlook and Glazing have in common?

Nothing - unless you're running AdWords ads and using keyword Broad Matching.

My PC trashed my Outlook pst file yesterday (it's been horrific trying to recover it - two  weeks of my email gone, and only just managed to get back my Contacts and Calendar entries from where they were synchronised to my mobile phone. Don't let it happen to you - make sure you have a safe backup!).

Outlook told me to run the Inbox Repair Tool so I looked for help on Google.

What's this I see? I'm typing in:

microsoft office inbox repair tool

and look at the ad showing up for Office Glazing Repairs.

Why is this?

Well, by Google's logic, they're related: Microsoft = Office = Windows = Glazing

Get it?

So by running broad match type keywords, you're giving them permission to use up your precious ad impressions for potentially unrelated searches, decreasing your CTR and lowering your ad position, causing your bid prices to rise.

Is this a bad thing?

Not always.

Broad match can indeed create some surprising ad impressions, but if your ad gets clicks for them, maybe they're useful after all.

And these keywords can then show up in the Search Query Reports (you're running those - right? If not, you should be!).

This gives you new possibilities for phrase and exact match keywords you may never have thought of, but your marketplace did.

That's free keyword research, courtesy of Google.

However, there's an obvious downside.

If you're advertising precise makes and models (of anything) - BEWARE!

In that situation, I advise cautious, watchful use of Broad match, kept in its own ad group - if at all.

Safer in that case just to use Phrase and Exact.

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