If I understand well, when you select a keyword, you're saying it must match exactly, correct? I mean, if I choose "soccer", your ad will only appear on the search of "soccer", and not "soccer player" for example. Correct? In such case, how do I make it a wildcard? so that "soccer player", "soccer field", and every search with the word "soccer" shows my ad? is this possible? i'm such a newbie with adwords..
Yes it is just enter soccer alone without the " " or [ ] doesn't mean your ad will show up for several other reasons though.
Read up on all the matching options as well. Not using them correctly is one of the biggest mistakes new Adwords users make.
try to use " " or [ ] or else you are going to waste a lot of money on useless non related clicks like dirty soccer shirt, red soccer cap....
I just wanted to say I really appreciate your input. I am pretty new to adwords and have a lot to learn. Luckly, I am having fantastic results even with my method, which is probably best described as "blind & blundering". Is there any data on what positioning spot (obviously the higher the better) you want to try to attain? I realize it depends on many factors, but is there a rule of thumb you start with and then start adjusting? The sites I am currently targeting are not likely to have return visitors so building a vistor/customer base is not relevant.
I'm in the same boat, mjewel. Here's what I do to obtain some moderate success. I typically do my own KW research using DPs tools, and I make my list on what I think users would buy products from and use the [ ] for exact matching. For positioning, the top 5 is usually my goal. 1 would be the best, but that'll obviously cost more and reduce overall profits.
Glad to help. I've found that the ideal postion really varies from market to market, and you need to take the CPC and subsequent conversion #'s into account. I've managed keywords where having, and paying, to get them in the top spot was not worth it. Those same keywords/ads performed great in postions 3 - 5. CTR was a bit lower but conversion was up slightly and due to the reduced cost of the clicks the campaign was a winner. Sometimes the top spots, depending on your business model and profit potential, are not the best spots to be in.
Works like this Soccer - will show up whenever soccer is in the search "Soccer" - will show up whenever soccer is in the searh *there is a reson it is called phrase match [Soccer] - will show up only when soccer is searched for and other else with it