• BBgmoro

        See all notifications

        Skip to content
        Moz logo Menu open Menu close
        • Products
          • Moz Pro
          • Moz Pro Home
          • Moz Local
          • Moz Local Home
          • STAT
          • Moz API
          • Moz API Home
          • Compare SEO Products
          • Moz Data
        • Free SEO Tools
          • Domain Analysis
          • Keyword Explorer
          • Link Explorer
          • Competitive Research
          • MozBar
          • More Free SEO Tools
        • Learn SEO
          • Beginner's Guide to SEO
          • SEO Learning Center
          • Moz Academy
          • MozCon
          • Webinars, Whitepapers, & Guides
        • Blog
        • Why Moz
          • Digital Marketers
          • Agency Solutions
          • Enterprise Solutions
          • Small Business Solutions
          • The Moz Story
          • New Releases
        • Log in
        • Log out
        • Products
          • Moz Pro

            Your all-in-one suite of SEO essentials.

          • Moz Local

            Raise your local SEO visibility with complete local SEO management.

          • STAT

            SERP tracking and analytics for enterprise SEO experts.

          • Moz API

            Power your SEO with our index of over 44 trillion links.

          • Compare SEO Products

            See which Moz SEO solution best meets your business needs.

          • Moz Data

            Power your SEO strategy & AI models with custom data solutions.

          Turn SEO data into actionable content briefs

          Turn SEO data into actionable content briefs

          Learn more
        • Free SEO Tools
          • Domain Analysis

            Get top competitive SEO metrics like DA, top pages and more.

          • Keyword Explorer

            Find traffic-driving keywords with our 1.25 billion+ keyword index.

          • Link Explorer

            Explore over 40 trillion links for powerful backlink data.

          • Competitive Research

            Uncover valuable insights on your organic search competitors.

          • MozBar

            See top SEO metrics for free as you browse the web.

          • More Free SEO Tools

            Explore all the free SEO tools Moz has to offer.

          Let your business shine with Listings AI

          Let your business shine with Listings AI

          Get found
        • Learn SEO
          • Beginner's Guide to SEO

            The #1 most popular introduction to SEO, trusted by millions.

          • SEO Learning Center

            Broaden your knowledge with SEO resources for all skill levels.

          • On-Demand Webinars

            Learn modern SEO best practices from industry experts.

          • How-To Guides

            Step-by-step guides to search success from the authority on SEO.

          • Moz Academy

            Upskill and get certified with on-demand courses & certifications.

          • MozCon

            Save on Early Bird tickets and join us in London or New York City

          Access 20 years of data with flexible pricing
          Moz API

          Access 20 years of data with flexible pricing

          Find your plan
        • Blog
        • Why Moz
          • Digital Marketers

            Simplify SEO tasks to save time and grow your traffic.

          • Small Business Solutions

            Uncover insights to make smarter marketing decisions in less time.

          • Agency Solutions

            Earn & keep valuable clients with unparalleled data & insights.

          • Enterprise Solutions

            Gain a competitive edge in the ever-changing world of search.

          • The Moz Story

            Moz was the first & remains the most trusted SEO company.

          • New Releases

            Get the scoop on the latest and greatest from Moz.

          Surface actionable competitive intel
          New Feature

          Surface actionable competitive intel

          Learn More
        • Log in
          • Moz Pro
          • Moz Local
          • Moz Local Dashboard
          • Moz API
          • Moz API Dashboard
          • Moz Academy
        • Avatar
          • Moz Home
          • Notifications
          • Account & Billing
          • Manage Users
          • Community Profile
          • My Q&A
          • My Videos
          • Log Out

        The Moz Q&A Forum

        • Forum
        • Questions
        • My Q&A
        • Users
        • Ask the Community

        Welcome to the Q&A Forum

        Browse the forum for helpful insights and fresh discussions about all things SEO.

        1. Home
        2. Digital Marketing
        3. Paid Search Marketing
        4. Adwords Duplicate Keywords with Different Match Types - Good or Bad?

        Moz Q&A is closed.

        After more than 13 years, and tens of thousands of questions, Moz Q&A closed on 12th December 2024. Whilst we’re not completely removing the content - many posts will still be possible to view - we have locked both new posts and new replies. More details here.

        Adwords Duplicate Keywords with Different Match Types - Good or Bad?

        Paid Search Marketing
        4
        6
        9198
        Loading More Posts
        • Watching

          Notify me of new replies.
          Show question in unread.

        • Not Watching

          Do not notify me of new replies.
          Show question in unread if category is not ignored.

        • Ignoring

          Do not notify me of new replies.
          Do not show question in unread.

        • Oldest to Newest
        • Newest to Oldest
        • Most Votes
        Reply
        • Reply as question
        Locked
        This topic has been deleted. Only users with question management privileges can see it.
        • JCCMoz
          JCCMoz last edited by

          If you have the following keywords in an Ad Group advertising for a product, let's for example call it "target" product

          [target product]

          "target product"

          +target +product

          I've found that the exact match keyword has the highest conversion rate in almost all circumstances.  So it would make sense to have a higher max bid on the exact match then phrase or broad batch.  Even with lots of negative search terms to maximize conversion on the broader matches, if the bid is the same as exact match, the cost per conversion will be much higher (too high.)

          However in chatting with an Adwords Support Rep (on a different matter) they stated after looking through my account at the end of the chat:

          " duplicate keywords will impact on quality score. your all keywords will compete with each other"

          However many of the ad groups in question these duplicate keywords have quality score of 9 and 10.  So obviously if there is an effect it seems it may be minimal.

          I thought it was pretty common for people to bid higher on more exact match and lower on more broad match.  What's the real story here?  Was this support rep not seeing the big picture?

          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
          • SEO1805
            SEO1805 last edited by

            Do different match types really "compete against each other"  I would think not.  Are you really saying if theres:  [some keyword] and +some +keyword  that Adwords won't only send the closest match type to the auction and ignore others, or, if the bid for [some keyword] is $1.00 and for +some +keyword is $10.00 then you are effectively bidding $10.00 on some keyword.  However this is rare someone would make the broad match bid higher than a closer match type, so in reality I don't see a realistic scenario where a broad match is "competing" against an exact match  to effectively raise the CPC.    If the broad match bid was $0.99 and the exact match was $1.00 the exact match still goes to the auction with $1.00 max CPC.  You only send one keyword to the auction correct?

            1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
            • Hurf
              Hurf last edited by

              My apologies if I haven't presented this clearly. However, I'm not seeing anything contradictory here:

              "If  same keywords are used in different match types then they are not considered as duplicate keywords."

              Vs

              "As Alick300 has mentioned, keywords with different match types are not considered duplicates"

              As a matter of course, it would be a good exercise to run your campaign through Adwords Editor to check for duplicate keywords (as referenced above), in case any have slipped through the net.

              Good luck with your campaign!

              1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
              • JCCMoz
                JCCMoz @Hurf last edited by

                This contradicts what the previous poster before you posted which I believe is more accurate.

                1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                • Hurf
                  Hurf last edited by

                  If you are concerned about duplicate keywords, download the Adwords Editor and follow Google's guidelines on identifying and removing them, here: https://support.google.com/adwords/editor/answer/47633

                  QS aside, my concern with duplicate keywords would be the cost implication as you'll end up bidding against yourself in the auction. As Alick300 has mentioned, keywords with different match types are not considered duplicates. Be aware that broad match keywords with the same words in different order, etc would be considered duplicates.

                  I hope that helps you.

                  JCCMoz 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                  • Alick300
                    Alick300 last edited by

                    Hi,

                    You are on right track. If  same keywords are used in different match types then they are not considered as duplicate keywords. Just remember the keyword with the highest AdRank enters the general auction for placement.

                    Generally the advertisers tend to follow different strategies and stick with the one, which gives them higher Conversions, high Return on Investment (ROI) etc...

                    1. Launch different match type keywords within a single ad group and go with the ones, which gives you better results.

                    2. Launch different match type keywords in different ad groups OR different campaigns and then add embedded negative match type keywords to streamline the traffic. Now, once you accrue data, you can pause the match types which are not proving worth for you and optimize the rest of the keywords.

                    Bid higher on_ exact_, lower on phrase and the lowest on broad.

                    Using this strategy, when all match types could be matched to a query,  the most restrictive  type wins, your   ad-rank will be higher, and as a result, your  chances to win a higher position  (in the  auction) are higher.

                    Hope this helps

                    Thanks

                    1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 4
                    • 1 / 1
                    • First post
                      Last post

                    Browse Questions

                    Explore more categories

                    • Moz Tools

                      Chat with the community about the Moz tools.

                    • SEO Tactics

                      Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers

                    • Community

                      Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!

                    • Digital Marketing

                      Chat about tactics outside of SEO

                    • Research & Trends

                      Dive into research and trends in the search industry.

                    • Support

                      Connect on product support and feature requests.

                    • See all categories

                    Related Questions

                    • Fubra

                      PPC: how to get rid of an ad appearing on a keyword we don't want?

                      Hi, Our ad on Google Ads is appearing for a search we don't want. it isn't in our search keywords and when i try and ad it to our negative ones, we get the error " You cannot exclude keywords that are targeted " which i assume means that google thinks we are bidding on it? We have a selection of broad phrase matches so i can only think that this is where it's coming from? Do you have any tips on tracking down which keyword is generating this ad and how we can turn it off? (we don't want to pay for clicks on this search if possible!) Btw - i have turned off each keyword in turn to test it = nothing. have then paused the whole campaign = gets rid of the ad (but this is our most successful campaign so i can't just turn it off). Any advice super super welcome. thank you!

                      Paid Search Marketing | | Fubra
                      1
                    • SEODarren

                      Adwords Conversions - Trying to track button clicks that fire when Bootstrap modal contact form clicked/opened

                      Hi there, I'm trying to implement google adwords conversions on a particular client's website. They have used bootstrap as the framework for their site and mainly open up contact forms within a bootstrap modal, after a button is clicked. See here: http://www.gtwstorage.co.uk/ I thought I had successfully implemented the adwords conversion tracking however it has been a week now, and my conversions still say they are "unverified". I wonder if anyone else has encountered this before and knows what I might be doing wrong. Thank you in advance, Darren

                      Paid Search Marketing | | SEODarren
                      0
                    • catalystmdc

                      What is the best way to update Adwords final URLs if I'm moving to a new CMS?

                      Hi there - One of my clients is redeveloping its website. That means, the domain is remaining the same, but the whole site is being rebuilt in wordpress so all the adwords final URLs need to change OR be redirected. There are 550 live adgroups and 3400 ads. We haven't set up tracking. I can't find anywhere what the best thing to do is in this case. The key issues seem to be: 1. 301 redirects - given we have to do these anyway as part of migration, this seems to be the easiest path as Google is ok about redirects as long as they don't go to a different domain. From what I'm hearing, you don't get adversely impacted in terms of quality score etc. This has the huge advantage that you don't have to edit the ad therefore no loss of statistical history or risk of downtime whilst you wait for approval. HOWEVER, there is some concern that if you then redirected again IN THE FUTURE, the redirect might not work (in some browsers) or cause a loop. I'm also concerned that it's messy to leave it like that (ie: with the wrong URLs throughout). 2. Buik updating ads - I don't think this is an option as if you bulk download and then reupload, Google will see this as a new ad, and delete all the statistical history - I'm also concerned that that WOULD impact quality score as you'd be starting from scratch! 3. Changing each ad individually - as far as I understand you'd have to create copies of all the ads (so that you keep the history of the old ones) and effectively create new ones with the correct URL - one by one. You end up with a messy account (a lot of paused ads) but you keep the history? This is obviously the most time consuming and I can't see a way of avoiding ads having to go in for approval again, given the urls are all different, so you'd have to do this a an ad level, not an adgroup/campaign level etc. People redevelop their websites (without changing domains) all the time. It seems strange that no one is mentioning this problem! Any ideas?! Many thanks

                      Paid Search Marketing | | catalystmdc
                      0
                    • Whittie

                      Seeing lots of 0 seconds session duration from AdWords clicks

                      Does anyone have more information on one why this might be? Thanks in advance! GyuYc5F.png

                      Paid Search Marketing | | Whittie
                      0
                    • EcommerceSite

                      Is there any reason to add the word "buy" to our Adwords keywords?

                      Was having a discussion with someone so I am going to write this up as neutral as possible and let you guys decide. We have a large keyword list and they are all setup as phrase. Should we go back and add the word buy in front of all those keywords? Even though they are setup as phrase already. Example: "Widget" (as a phrase) Should we go back and add "Buy Widget" as a keyword?

                      Paid Search Marketing | | EcommerceSite
                      0
                    • digitalarts

                      Adwords Bulk Discount

                      Had a few calls recently from agencies offering bulk discount on Google Adwords spends if we pass management over to them and spend more than £5,000 ($7,500) a month, they claim they can offer a 5% discount over what we're currently paying... Can't find anything about this, does Google offer such a deal to agencies?

                      Paid Search Marketing | | digitalarts
                      0
                    • eli-hgm

                      Does anyone know of an excel template for creating keyword combinations?

                      I am looking for an Excel template with Macros that would allow me to drop a column of keywords next to a column of modifiers and it would build out thousands of keywords with a Macro. Can anyone drop their best SEO/SEM Excel template spreadsheet links in the comments?

                      Paid Search Marketing | | eli-hgm
                      0
                    • europeandomaincentre

                      How accurate is the Google´s keyword tool regarding monthly searches?

                      How correct is Google´s keyword tool regarding the estimated number of Global Monthly Searches? Judging from my adwords campaigns the real number of impressions is 1/3 compared to the estimated number for an exact match. What is your experience?

                      Paid Search Marketing | | europeandomaincentre
                      0

                    Get started with Moz Pro!

                    Unlock the power of advanced SEO tools and data-driven insights.

                    Start my free trial
                    Products
                    • Moz Pro
                    • Moz Local
                    • Moz API
                    • Moz Data
                    • STAT
                    • Product Updates
                    Moz Solutions
                    • SMB Solutions
                    • Agency Solutions
                    • Enterprise Solutions
                    • Digital Marketers
                    Free SEO Tools
                    • Domain Authority Checker
                    • Link Explorer
                    • Keyword Explorer
                    • Competitive Research
                    • Brand Authority Checker
                    • Local Citation Checker
                    • MozBar Extension
                    • MozCast
                    Resources
                    • Blog
                    • SEO Learning Center
                    • Help Hub
                    • Beginner's Guide to SEO
                    • How-to Guides
                    • Moz Academy
                    • API Docs
                    About Moz
                    • About
                    • Team
                    • Careers
                    • Contact
                    Why Moz
                    • Case Studies
                    • Testimonials
                    Get Involved
                    • Become an Affiliate
                    • MozCon
                    • Webinars
                    • Practical Marketer Series
                    • MozPod
                    Connect with us

                    Contact the Help team

                    Join our newsletter
                    Moz logo
                    © 2021 - 2026 SEOMoz, Inc., a Ziff Davis company. All rights reserved. Moz is a registered trademark of SEOMoz, Inc.
                    • Accessibility
                    • Terms of Use
                    • Privacy

                    Looks like your connection to Moz was lost, please wait while we try to reconnect.