Search & Analytics

Four Top Tips For Search Query Reports In Google AdWords

 

Search Query reports were introduced in May 2009 and they're a really great addition for search marketers. Google loves sending high quality, relevant content to their users and with the help of search query reports, advertisers can find additional keywords that they might have missed out on which can in turn be used to get a higher quality score, a lower CPC and result in more relevant ads being displayed to the user. Below are four top tips to ensure you get the most bang for your buck in Google AdWords 1) Filter Out Irrelevant Negative Keywords With search query reports, you can find irrelevant keywords that you are accidentally bidding on which are driving users to your landing page. By removing these unwanted negative keywords, you can improve your quality score, lower your CPC and increase your click through rates. You'll also decrease your landing page bounce rate as you're no longer sending people to your site that don't want to be on your site in the first place...win win ! 2) New Ad Groups The search query report can also be an excellent way to unearth new ideas for ad groups in your campaign. You may find additional relevant keywords to use in your account. The best thing to do here is to create a new tightly knit ad group, with focused keywords and then some optimised ad copy and before you know it, you've once again increased your quality score and your click through rate. 3) Capture Ancillary Terms You can unearth additional acronyms and abbreviations that your customers are typing into Google. You may wonder what the point of this is if your keywords are already on broad match. If you're only using broad match then you're wasting money and your quality score is not as high as it could be. I personally prefer to use the broad match modifier followed by "phrase" and [exact] match types only. Users also typically enter URLs and domain names into search engines - this is a great way to really get a grip on the account and ensure that it's as integrated and relevant as possible. 4) Increase Return On Investment One of the main benefits of advertising online is the fact that you can measure absolutely everything. The search query report can help you find keywords that don't ever convert and that are just useless for your account. The best thing to do with poor performing keywords that don't convert or give you the results you expected is to just delete them! By removing keywords that don't convert, you're increasing your return on investment. In conclusion, before making drastic changes to any AdWords account, be sure you've tested for a long enough time frame. I'd normally recommend testing for a week to see how an account performs before making any hasty decision. Then after the week, you'll be equipped with enough data to know what's working and what's not from a keyword and budget perspective. Feel free to leave your comments below and any search query report tips I may have missed out on. Aindreas Phelan works in the Search and Analytics team in metrocafe311 and is a Google AdWords Professional and Google Analytics Qualified.