Update: Microsoft is finally fixing this. See comments below.
This post explains how the engines understand keyword match types in PPC campaigns and why you have to use all three match types in AdCenter.
Both AdCenter and Google have three major keyword match types: broad, phrase and exact. Each match type typically performs differently. Based on their performance you may run only some types and pause the other. For example, quite often the broad match brings less relevant impressions, has higher CPC and lower quality score; therefore it usually gets paused first. Generally, is a straight forward process: find the bad keyword and pause it.
However, there is a key difference in the way search engines see these match types. In Google each keyword-match type pair has a unique ID (number):
In AdWords, when you pause a match type, you are only pausing a keyword ID associated with that match type. Other match types will continue to run unaffected.
In adCenter, on the other hand, all match types are associated with one Keyword ID:
In adCenter, when you pause a keyword type, you are pausing a keyword ID that associated with all other match types, and you are telling the system to pause all the keyword match types. Be careful with how you manage your keywords in adCenter! Before you pause a low performing keyword type, be aware that you will be pausing other match types of the same keyword and maybe loosing performance there. Basically, it is everything or nothing for a keyword.
Obviously, this is a flaw in the system and adCenter is aware and working on it. The solution should be coming sometime in 6-8 months.
Lisa Sanner
Interesting. Thanks for spelling it out with a visual Serge. So I guess the workaround here is that if you want to “pause” one match type on adCenter but not the others, bid 5 cents.
Serge Bondar
Exactly, you may still get some traffic with a minimum bid (depending on the keyword competition), but this should minimize the spend/impression volume.
tc
nice post but i want to mention:
Microsoft is changing the keyword match types now in the way google does it (the first picture above)
in germany the migration starts in june 2012
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh967559.aspx
http://community.microsoftadvertising.com/en/developer/adcenterapi/b/msdnapi/archive/2012/05/03/mandatory-code-changes-required-by-adcenter-api-users-in-preparation-for-url-by-match-type-updates.aspx
Serge Bondar
Great News! Have been waiting for this long time! Thanks Tc!