Targeting Options

Have you ever wondered why the concept of Search Engine Optimization or SEO seems so easy, yet a lot of companies pay thousands of dollars for it? Well, if you have been following our blog posts for the past few weeks, you’ll know that SEO is anything but easy.  It is a complex method and tactic that requires experience and skills to perfect. We have an entire series of articles dedicated to SEO tactics and strategies on our website. But today, we will continue our SEO series by discussing Targeting Options. Let’s get started.

What Does Targeting Adverts Mean?

The first thing we need to say is that search advertisements are targeted in a lot of different ways. We have discussed this briefly before. It all depends on how you want to reach your preferred audience. 

By targeting your options in advertisements, you have the peace of mind that the traffic your website is getting is relevant to your service or product. You know that those website visitors are the ones who are already interested in what you have to offer, and they are already deep within the customer’s buying cycle. 

That means that there is a higher chance for that website visitor to convert into a paying customer. This is why it is important to target your adverts instead of just doing it randomly across the board. 

Keywords and Match Types

Of course, just like with almost everything in digital marketing, targeting your options in adverts is not just about picking the right keywords. That won’t be enough, it’s more complex than that. 

You also need to know about the different ways in which a certain search engine interprets those said keywords and matches the search term to it. 

If you consider the massive amount of searches that are happening every single day, you already know that it is pretty much impossible to determine all the possible terms a potential customer might use to find you.

So, how do you deal with this specific problem? Fortunately, there are multiple ways to match your keywords for search advertising. Google has created Google Adwords to help create a solution for this. 

Here are the following match types that Google Adwords use: 

• Broad match modifier
• Broad match
• Phrase match
• Negative match
• Exact match

To understand each of these better, we will discuss them in detail. Take a look at them out below:

• Broad match – this means that your ads will show for the keywords that you have chosen. This can also be used on the search terms that contain your keywords. Or, it can also refer to any other keyword or phrase in any order and different alteration of the key phrases you chose. It can even match with misspelled words and synonyms.
• Broad match modifier – this is another great option for targeting. It is more distinct than a broad match as you can get tighter control over the targeting. With this, you can exclude synonyms, and at the same time include different versions of the keyword. You can also include versions of the word in plural.
• Phrase match – next, we have the phrase match. For instance, instead of (keyword phrase), you’ll put (‘keyword phrase’). It can be in the equivalent order. Although there are instances when synonyms may also be in the search term. 
• Exact match – there’s also the exact match which is indicated by square brackets. For instance, it says ([keyword phrase]). This means that your ads show for the search term that is only precisely the same as the keywords you chose. 
• Negative match – This means that your ads will not appear in searches using that key phrase or word.

Options to Assign Keywords

You have the option to assign as many keywords as you want to in any advert. However, it is important to keep in mind that only one ad for each URL will be published on each search engine. 

Now, you may wonder which advert will be shown for the same domain. The advert that will be shown is based on the bids that were placed, but search engines also consider the quality of the advertisement. But that’s another topic for another time. In the meantime, let’s continue to language and location targeting.

Language and Location Targeting

If you’re a local brand or service, naturally, you are not interested in targeting people from all over the world. So, search engines have different versions that are personalized for specific countries/district and languages. 

These are all based on the user’s settings and where they are on the world. Now, your role as a marketer is to select the language and the location of the search engine to target. This is often referred to as geo-targeting.

For instance, you are a worldwide brand based on the United States, and you want your search advert to show only to English searches in India. Or you may be a company from Asia looking to target Asian searches worldwide. 

Targeting your options in ads is a great way to narrow your target audience. People outside your target area won’t be able to see your advertisements, which means you won’t have to pay for traffic that won’t convert into customers.

Behavioural and Demographic Targeting

There’s also the option to target people based on their personal behavior. Google Adwords allows you to target those who already visited your website using an Adword advertisement based on the actions they made. 

For instance, if someone came to your website, but they did not go through the order completely, you can re-target them in the Search Engine Results Page or SERPs. You can also re-target them on other online ad channels that they often visit.

This is often referred to as re-marketing or re-targeting. It is a very effective way to remain on top of your potential customer’s mind until they are ready to convert into paying customers. 

However, it is also important not to overdo it as some customers may get annoyed by the constant ads. It is ideal to put a cap on the number of times you plan to show a re-marketing ad to an individual.

© Image credits to Harrison Candlin