Does Google broad match work for everyone?

Jonathan Bowers, October 8th 2007, 10:06AM

Google offers marketers a number of keyword matching options through its PPC AdWords centre. Broad match is the default option and it allows you to appear in results when any single word from your keyword phrase appears, but does it work for everyone?

Recently I saw a good example of positive broad matching when searching for ‘Manchester digital.’ Appearing top in the sponsored links was Jet2. As many of its services operate out of Manchester airport it is likely to have chosen to broad match with a possible key phrase of ‘Manchester Flights’.

You might point out that people searching for Manchester Digital are not looking for flights. But we know that searching for a city nearly always indicates proximity. We also know that people love to fly and love to fly cheaply – so Jet2 are reminding us that they fly from Manchester and by placing the text ‘Flights start at £19.99’ in the ad it offers at the very least a mental note for the next time we need a cheap flight.

Because of the lack of relevance to the full search term the likelihood of people clicking on the link without the intention to find flights is negligible. So those who click are interested and those who don’t are contributing to brand awareness and cost nothing. And because they are appearing in another subject arena there is no competition for the click so it’s cost effective too.

But does this work because Jet2 offers a service that every consumer wants? Would companies with more niche products find success with broad match. Google claims that broad match can work for anyone but I’d like to hear your stories on this topic. In my mind it is quite tailored to those with a large consumer base which counts out a vast number of businesses.

Tags: adwords, google, marketing
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Microsoft and Facebook - the demographics challenge

Jonathan Bowers, October 5th 2007, 11:05AM

In the search arena, there is one advantage Microsoft has over the market leader and this is the ability to target ads demographically.

I attended a seminar yesterday organised by Don't Panic and Manchester Digital which included speakers from Google, Hitwise and Microsoft. The most exciting presentation of the day came from Mel Carson of Microsoft who talked us through the new Adcentre and the demographic developments that give them an edge.

With 25 million Instant Messenger and Hotmail/Live email accounts in the UK, they have gender and age details on many of us that can help marketers to get closer to their target audience.

Microsoft has made some interesting acquisitions over the last few years that help to shape this area of the business that still represents only 5% of turnover. Inspiring developments in both image and video search are on the radar but one recent partnership which does ring some alarm bells on the demographics front is the purchase of 5% of Facebook.

Privacy was mentioned more than once yesterday. If Microsoft starts to offer targeted ads on Facebook the move will certainly fuel the personal information debate. That is, unless Facebook creates a privacy setting to block targeted ads on profile pages.

I can't think of many richer sources of personal information available online and the question is, does Microsoft have the right to resource it? Some would argue that it is better to receive an advert for a product or service that you want than one that you don't.

One thing Mel made clear was that Microsoft is keen to listen to businesses, work with them and deliver ad relevance, so morality aside, Microsoft's allegiance with Facebook is a step forward for businesses and their online reach.

Tags: advertising, facebook, microsoft
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