Google Adwords recently launched a new matching tool for Beta Testing called Automatic Matching.  The basis for this new matching “opt-in” is to help advertisers with limited keyword lists, that struggle to spend their daily budgets, more effectively reach their daily spend caps.  The way it works is, Google will analyze your current keyword list over a period of time and determine keywords they believe are relevant and closely related to your current keyword theme to find additional traffic for your campaign.  In theory, it will work in a similar fashion to Google’s Content Network in which Google determines based on your keyword lists where you should have your ads placed within the Google Content Network.  The bidding will be determined based on your current bidding strategies and will not exceed your Ad Group Default Bid.  In the Ad Group interface, you will simply see a line item that shows you an overall number of clicks, spend, etc… that the Automatic Matching generated for your campaign, much like you would see if you opted into the content network for your keyword targeting campaigns.

In certain, very limited, scenarios this could be a viable option to expand your current campaign.  For instance, if your campaign lacks a true conversion goal and you’re simply looking to drive qualified traffic to your site.  In addition, if you lack the knowhow to build properly targeted keyword lists and to execute calculated optimizations on a keyword and portfolio level, this could be a temporary solution to expand your campaign.  In the long run, if you fall into this second category, I would highly recommend hiring your SEM management out to experts that can properly implement your Search Efforts. 

The reasons for my dislike of the new Automatic Matching go to the fundamentals of optimization and keyword generation.  Never would I suggest to a client that they should blindly spend their advertising dollars without being able to properly track and act on conversion data.   In this case, you would see only an overall number that this generated.  Yes, you can check the “search query” report to find out which query strings generated your traffic, but because you are unable to bid on these keywords individually while utilizing this matching this would not be actionable data.  If you have Google Conversion Tracking you could at least see sales attributed to each query, but if you’re using other outside tracking systems this data may be lost all together.  The ability to track conversions back to specific keywords and adjust your bids accordingly is at the fundamental core of SEM optimization.  Without these keyword bid “levers” for you to pull, you lose your ability to properly optimize the performance of your Search Campaign. 

In regard to keyword generation, you as the advertiser should be the most well equipped to generate an in depth list of keywords that are the most relevant to your campaign.  Google’s team and Automatic Matching technology will likely only have a cursory knowledge of your business and will determine additional keyword targeting options based purely on traffic considerations.  In the internet marketing world where results matter and advertising spend is held accountable for measurable results, conversions and not traffic should be at the top of your SEM priority list.

Automatic Matching is still in Beta so it may never reach the general public of AdWords Advertisers.  If it does get added to the arsenal of, mostly great, Google Adwords features I would highly recommend shying away from this option.  If you’re looking for pure traffic, go for it.  If you’re looking for conversion results than this would, simply put, be a lazy and irresponsible way to allocate your SEM advertising dollars.

So Says the Internet Gatekeeper!

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First things first, lets cover the Internet Marketing Basics.  One question that may come to mind might be “What is Search Engine Marketing?”  In this posting, I’m going to help you answer this question and discuss some industry “lingo” that is commonly used.  Whether you plan on running your own Search Engine Marketing efforts or if you’re going to get this service outsourced, you need to know how to “talk the talk”.  So lets get into in.

SEM - Search Engine Marketing:  This is a broad term for any marketing efforts undertaken to increase a website’s presence on a Search Engine Results Pages.

SERPs - Search Engine Results Pages:  These are the subsequent listings, either paid or unpaid, that show up after a user enters a keyword into search box of a Search Engine.

PPC - Pay Per Click:  This is a type of SEM in which an advertiser utilizes Paid Ad Listings (Sponsored Links) to drive traffic from another website to your website.  Advertisers bid on an auction basis for gain higher positioning on the SERPs. 

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