adCenter Miffed about Matching Series - Part 2: Understanding Negative Keywords for Paid Search Success

Welcome back to the second instalment in this three part series dedicated to correcting the common misunderstandings and highlighting the key functionality differences between Match Types, Negative Keywords & Engine Matching Methodologies on Microsoft Advertising adCenter, Yahoo! Search Marketing and Google AdWords paid search platforms.

A few weeks back we discussed Bidded Match Types, today's blog will focus specifically on the essential differences between negative match type methodologies across the three main search engines, and how when understood and used carefully, can hone traffic, improve relevancy and boost click-through-rates (CTR).

What are Excluded or Negative Keywords?

The negative keywords feature in Microsoft Advertising adCenter lets you specify the keywords or phrases that you do not want to trigger a display of your ad when a user types them in a search query. (Google also uses negative keywords, likewise does Yahoo!, but instead they refer to negatives as 'excluded keywords'.)

Negative keywords reduce your advertising costs by keeping your ad from appearing in searches that are not related to your business. For example, if you advertise "car gear" and you do not want to target customers who want car insurance, use "insurance" as a negative keyword.

How do Microsoft adCenter Negative Keywords Work?

With adCenter you can currently add negative keywords at Campaign and Ad Group-level only, (Keyword-level negatives were phased out in November 2011). Each negative keyword can contain up to 100 characters and thousands of negative keywords can be added at each of the aforementioned levels.

The most granular-level list that exists for a given keyword will be active at any time (adCenter negative match types don't currently work in unison). For example, if you have specified negative keywords at the Ad Group, the Campaign-level list is ignored. If there is no Ad Group-level list, then the Campaign-level list applies.

How to Avoid Negative Conflicts within Microsoft AdCenter

We understand that advertisers commonly import into adCenter their most recent account structures from other PPC programmes to save on time. Whilst we encourage this practice, it is important to understand the key differences between how adCenter and competitor negatives work.

For example with Google, negatives are not just designated at the Ad Group and Campaign-levels but advertisers can assign a Broad, Phrase or Exact match type to them so as to make that negative keyword perform in a specific way when paired with other keywords. Because adCenter distinguishes between keywords on an Exact and Phrase negative match type level only, it treats all Broad negative keywords the same. In simple terms; it's not uncommon to find that advertisers have unintentionally blocked their relevant adCenter bidded keywords with Broad match negatives. Whoops!

Negative keywords are considered to be 'in-conflict' if a negative keyword is contained within the bidded keyword word 'tokens' at the Ad Group or Campaign-levels. The net result of these conflicts is that an advertiser's bidded keyword will be prevented from serving in the adCenter auction by the conflicting negative.

Finding and Correcting Negative Keyword Conflicts in adCenter Desktop (ACD)

1. Resolve these conflicts through adCenter UI or adCenter Desktop for the Campaign and/or adGroup level conflicts.

2. Download the account in ACD

3. Look out for a 'Warnings' Notification

4. Click 'View Warnings'

5. Check Campaign tab for notifications

6. Once you locate all Negative Keyword conflicts, select all and Copy to Excel

7. Copy and paste the Campaign level negatives into the Campaign Negative Deletion template.

8. Resolve conflicts by importing the file back into ACD.

9. Repeat the above steps to look for all Ad Group notifications

10. Once you locate all Negative Keyword conflicts, select all and Copy to Excel

11. Copy and paste the Campaign level negatives into the ad group negative deletion template.

12. Resolve conflicts by importing the file back into ACD.

When creating negative keywords for Microsoft adCenter, keep the following 4 rules in mind:

· AdCenter negatives are designated at Ad group and Campaign level only, with the junior of the group overriding the parent if both are in use (negatives don't currently work in unison).

· AdCenter negative are Phrase and Exact match and do not distinguish between Broad match negatives, unlike Google.

· To apply negatives to an adCenter account you do not need to place a minus sign (-) before a negative keyword, (again, this is different to the Google experience).

· To specify a Phrase match negative within adCenter include the keyword you wish to block in quote marks "keyword". For Exact match negative you designate this by including the keyword you wish to block in square brackets [keyword].

Please join me again next time for the final part of the series where upon I'll summarise all the matching differences between Microsoft Advertising adCenter, Yahoo! Search Marketing & Google AdWords paid search programs.

Cheers,

Kate