Negative Keyword Optimizations
Welcome to the Efficiency Optimization Series. Over the next few weeks, we will be posting a series of articles dedicated to optimization techniques across different digital marketing platforms. The first article deals with the most neglected optimization technique in Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Yahoo Gemini. That technique is negative keyword optimizations.
According to Google, “Negative keywords let you exclude search terms from your campaigns and help you focus on only the keywords that matter to your customers. Better targeting can put your ad in front of interested users and increase your return on investment (ROI).”
The impact of negative keyword optimizations cannot be overstated. Negative keywords prevent your ads from showing up for user who are NOT interested in your product or service. So, you don’t waste budget on irrelevant clicks. That means that more budget, in theory, should be available for relevant searches. We have seen multiple cases where this optimization, alone, drove an increase in clickthrough rate and conversion rate while, in many cases, reducing overall campaign spend. Again, by eliminating irrelevant clicks, budget is made available for more relevant searches. This optimization should be part of an overall account strategy that pushes budget towards efficiency.
The overall impact of this optimization is improved lead quality and overall campaign efficiency. This technique allows one to tighten the net and, as much as possible, gets your advertising in front of your target consumer.
Recommendation: Digital marketers should make negative keyword additions to an account on a weekly basis. In some instances, based on the search query report, one might have to perform negative keyword optimizations on a daily basis. This should be temporary until efficiency and lead quality improve. You can then move towards weekly negative keyword optimizations.
Word of Advice: You can add negative keywords at the ad group and campaign level. Additionally, you can add broad match, phrase match, and exact match negative keywords. In most instances, we find that phrase match negative keywords fit the bill. The goal is to tighten the net without becoming overly restrictive and missing relevant ad impressions.
Final thought: Negative keyword optimizations are equal parts art and science. The only way to learn to use them effectively is to start using them. This is, by no means, a step-by-step guide. This is just an attempt to put the technique on your radar.
If you have further questions, or you want assistance with negative keyword optimizations, feel free to reach out to us. We would love to work with you to make your campaigns more efficient.
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References
Google. (2018). Create and manage labels. Referred from https://support.google.com/adwords/editor/answer/6209868?hl=en on March 25th, 2018.