Top ranked ads appear above the search results, often with the headline followed by one line that joins Description Line 1 and Description Line 2 and then the display URL. In some cases, if Description Line 1 is a sentence (ending in appropriate country-specific punctuation), that line can be added to your ad’s headline, separated by a dash.

How Does Adwords Longer Ad Headline/Title Appear?

When Adwords longer ad title appears, the original headline/title is immediately followed by description line 1 (in the same line), separated by a hyphen symbol.

An example with Booking.com which was ranked above Google’s organic search results:

Before Google applies Adwords longer ad title:
Hotels: Booking.com
No reservation fee.Pay at check-out Save up to 50% on your reservation.

After Google applies Adwords longer ad title:
Hotels: Booking.com - No reservation fee.Pay at check-out
Save up to 50% on your reservation.

The display URL of your site may also appear within the ad headline/title:

When there’s enough space, we may also add your domain (taken from your ad’s display URL) to the first line of the creative. The domain will be separated from the text by a vertical pipe (“|”). So, if your display URL is www.example.com, your ad might look something like this:

Airfare sale - Low rates from SF | example.com

Test Results on Adwords Longer Ad Headline/Title

RKG Blog tested Google Adwords longer ad headline/title and shared the results:

• The longer ad headline/title format makes the ads look more like organic search results which makes searchers less likely to click on another Adwords ad that contains mostly promotion ad copy.
• Brand/Trademark keywords: CTR has improved from 3% to 25%.
• Non-brand/Non-trademark keywords: CTR has improved 7%.

Eligibility to Adwords Longer Ad Headline/Title

The longer title/headline can only be applied to the top 3 ranked Adwords ads. To ensure your ad appears within the top 3 positions, improve Google Adwords Quality Score.

Issues with Broad Match Keywords, Negative Keywords

Google offers Adwords broad match keywords and Adwords negative keywords which have issues narrowing down irrelevant keywords:

• Broad match in Adwords has capabilities equal to expanded broad match that allows ads to appear on extremely vast number of related and unrelated user search queries.
• When serving ads, Google’s matching algorithm for broad match keywords combines search queries from two successive searches. When a user searches and then uses the search box on the first search’s results pages again, the first query and the second query are both used to determine what ad to display.
• Filtering all unrelated keywords with negative matching is impossible due to infinite number of combinations of unrelated keywords.

Adwords Broad Match Modifier, Phrase Match, Broad Match

Keywords using Google Adwords broad match modifier have:

• Less reach to search queries than broad match keywords, with more control
• Greater reach to search queries than phrase match keywords

Using Adwords Broad Match Modifier

Guidelines and benefits when using Google Adwords broad match modifier:

• To test the effects of Adwords broad match modifier, keep your existing broad match keywords unchanged and add new keywords with Adwords broad match modifier.
• Pay attention to “+” symbol and spaces when creating new broad match keywords with broad match modifier.
• If you have the same keyword with one in broad match and the other with broad match modifier in one ad group, then a search query for the exact term will trigger the broad match keyword with modifier.
• Using Adwords broad match modifier does not directly affect your keywords’ Google Adwords quality score.
• You can add the “+” sign to one, many, or all words in a broad match keyword, but the “+” sign does not work for exact, phrase or negative keywords.
• Track Adwords PPC conversions in Google Analytics and/or Adwords conversion tracking.
• Analyze Adwords search query report before expanding and/or narrowing down your keyword lists.
• RKG provides 3 examples of how Adwords broad match modifier can be used.

Adwords Broad Match Modifier for Chinese Keywords

Adwords Broad Match Modifier now supports keywords in Chinese language, research and expand your Chinese keywords with:

• Chinese keyword research tools
• SEM keyword research tools

Adwords advertisers with large number of products can use dynamic keyword insertion to manage:

• General ad groups with generic ads for closely related products
• Specific individual ad groups and ads for each of those products

Using Google Adwords Dynamic Keyword Insertion

Normally, you want to show your keyword within the first line of your ad text. To use keyword insertion, place the following piece of code into your ad text:

{keyword:default text}

The keyword that triggers the ad will replace the code each time the ad appears. Dynamic keyword insertion works for ads that are triggered by Adwords broad match keywords or phrase match keywords that are different to the actual search queries.

Advanced Use of Adwords Dynamic Keyword Insertion

The use of Adwords dynamic keyword insertion code is not limited to one convention. For example, the keyword that triggers your ad is “cheap blue widget”. Use different formats of dynamic keyword insertion code to show your ad text in different capitalization:

{keyword:default text} = cheap blue widget
{Keyword:default text} = Cheap blue widget
{KeyWord:default text} = Cheap Blue Widget
{KEYWORD:default text} = CHEAP BLUE WIDGET
{KEYWord:default text} = CHEAP Blue Widget
{KeyWORD:default text} = Cheap Blue WIDGET

When Not to Use Adwords Dynamic Keyword Insertion

You should not use dynamic keyword insertion in ads that may be triggered by:

• Keywords that are misspelled or ungrammatical phrases
• Keywords that have non-standard abbreviations or unusual spacing

Avoid pitfalls and common mistakes when using Adwords dynamic keyword insertion, and apply professional PPC ad copy writing.

How Does Dynamic Keyword Insertion Affect Google Adwords Quality Score?

Using Adwords dynamic keyword insertion (DKI) does not directly improve your Google Adwords Quality Score. However if used properly, dynamic keyword insertion can help to improve your text ads’ click-through-rate (CTR) by making your ads more specific to users’ search queries. When CTR improves, your quality score also improves.

Negative keywords can be applied to ad groups and/or campaigns of your Google Adwords account. You can add, edit, and delete negative keywords, and export your entire negative keyword list onto spreadsheets.

3 Types of Negative Keywords

Use negative phrase-matched keywords and negative exact-matched keywords if you want your broad match keywords to be triggered by more search queries. For example:

Negative Keywords: -free trial

Adding this negative keyword to your account would prevent your ads from showing on any search queries containing the terms free and trial. It wouldn’t prevent your ads from showing on variations of these terms, however. It also wouldn’t prevent your ads from showing on search queries that only contain one of the terms. The search queries one-day trial and free test could trigger your ads, while free one-day trial could not.

Negative Phrase-Matched Keywords: -"free trial"

If you were to add this keyword to your account, the system wouldn’t let any search query containing the phrase free trial trigger your ads. The search query free trial lesson would not trigger your ads, for instance. Your ads could possibly show on the search query trial or free one-day trial.

Negative Exact-Matched Keywords: -[free trial]

This negative keyword would only prevent your ads from showing on the search query free trial. Search queries such as free trials, free, and one-day free trial could still trigger your ads.

Negative Keywords for Adwords Content Network

The principle of negative Keywords for Adwords content network campaigns and ad groups work the same way as that of search network campaigns and ad groups. Adwords often broadens negative keywords to include the synonyms or variations for content network.

Create Negative Keywords

To create your negative keyword list, think of search queries that you do not want triggering your ads and specify the irrelevant terms as negative keywords by placing a negative sign (–) before the word. Find negative keywords also through:

• Adwords Search Query report
• Google Keyword Tool

• Google’s new keyword tool (requires logging onto Adwords account)

Use SEO Book’s negative keyword wrapper tool to add the negative sign (-) to each of your keywords in your negative keyword list (which will be ready to import into your Google Adwords campaigns and/or ad groups).

Google recently made it possible to import your Google Analytics goals to your Adwords account. This allows you to select optimizing based on the conversion data from either Adwords Conversion Tracking or Google Analytics goals, when running your campaigns on Adwords Conversion Optimizer.

Understand How Broad Match Works

If your ad group contains the keyword ‘tennis shoes’, your ad will appear for Google’s user search queries that contain either or both words (‘tennis’ and ‘shoes’) in any order, and that is of singular or plural forms, synonyms, and other variations including:

• Tennis
• Shoes
• Buy Tennis Shoes
• Tennis Shoe Photos
• Running Shoes
• Tennis Sneakers

Install Adwords Conversion Tracking

Activate Google Adwords Conversion Tracking, and insert the Javascript codes onto the “thank you” or “purchased confirmation” page on your website.

Start your campaigns and collect the conversion data alongside all the other Adwords data.

Review Search Query Performance Report

If you have Adwords Conversion Tracking correctly installed, your conversion data will be shown in most of the Adwords built-in reports. Run Adwords Search Query Performance Report on a regular basis.

Identify the search queries that have triggered your broad match keywords but have made no conversions. Review the group of keywords and decide if they should be added to your ad groups or campaigns as negative keywords.

Identify the search queries that have triggered your broad match keywords and have made conversions. Add these keywords to new ad groups or new campaigns as exact match keywords.

The non-converting clicks to your broad match keywords will gradually decrease.

Problems with Expanded Broad Match Keywords

Google’s broad match qualifies as Expanded Broad Match as it allows your ads to appear on extremely vast number of related user search queries and sometimes even on many unrelated search queries. The unrelated search queries are mostly some synonyms that are not entirely applicable to your business which reduce your keyword CTR and increase your non-converting clicks.

Google’s matching algorithm combines the search queries from two successive searches when serving up ads. When a Google visitor makes a search and then uses the search box on the first search’s results page again, the first query and the second query are both used to determine what ad to display.

To get the spending under control, Clix Marketing replaced all broad match keywords with the two phrase match variations of two-word-keywords.

To provide transparency, Google updated the Search Query Performance Report by identifying session-based broad match under the “Search Query Match Type” column. SEOptimise tested and revealed that session-based broad match keywords have lower conversion rates than broad match keywords.

If you still have big problems controlling your ROI because of receiving way to many non-converting clicks, you should discard the majority of your broad match keywords and only use phrase match and exact match keywords.

What Google Should Do

Google should allow all Adwords advertisers to either:

• Add Expanded Broad Match as a new match type
• Allow the ability to exclude from appearing on Expanded Broad Match search queries

Google’s Official Guides on Adwords Quality Score

Adwords Quality Score is calculated every time your keyword is eligible to trigger an ad and the Quality Score algorithm varies on whether it is affecting ads on Google and the Search Network or ads on the Content Network:

• What is Quality Score and how is it calculated?
• How are ads ranked?
• How is my keyword’s Quality Score used?

Improving your keywords’ Quality Score is the best way to get your ads to appear above Google’s organic search results:

• Can I make my ads appear above search results?

Quality Score is calculated for contextually-targeted and placement-targeted ads:

• Is a Quality Score calculated for my contextually-targeted ads?
• Is Quality Score calculated for ad groups with placements only?

Landing page quality and landing page load time both contribute towards the calculation of Adwords Quality Score:

• Landing page and site quality guidelines
• How does load time affect my landing page quality?
• How is landing page load time evaluated?
• How can I improve my landing page’s load time?

Click through rate (CTR) is one of the most important factors in determining your keywords’ Quality Score, but you still should not forget other factors:

• My keyword has a high CTR. Why does it have a low Quality Score?

Tips from Other Adwords Experts on Quality Score

• Google Quality Score Handbook: PPC Hero’s comprehensive Adwords Quality Score handbook which also includes topics from the history of Quality Score to how you should react to the ever evolving Quality Score.
• Google Adwords Quality Score Factors Demystified: BG Theory’s in-depth explanations of Adwords Quality Score
• Google Adwords Quality Score Factors Chart: Again, BG Theory put up a reference chart that shows how the major Quality Score factors affect the different Quality Score types.
• Adwords Quality Score FAQ: PPC Discussions’ experience and perspective on Adwords Quality Score
• Demystifying Google Quality Score & the Click Thru Rate Factor: This Search Engine Journal article examines how large quantity of keywords can negatively affect your Adwords Quality Score.
• The Google Quality Score Paradox: PPCblog.co.uk’s perspective on Google’s Quality Score
• Understanding Google Adwords Quality Score: An SEOmoz article that explains the factors being used to formulate Quality Score.
• Google Quality Score: What’s the True Measure of “Quality” Anyway?: Google Blogoscoped explains the elements of the Quality Score that you should focus on.
• The Impact of Quality Score: Click Equations explains how Quality Score impacts your Adwords account and paid search success.
• New Google Adwords Quality Score Change – And How It Affects You: ROI revolution examines how determining keyword quality in real-time can affect you.
• Google Adwords Search Ad Auction System: PPC Blog explains Adwords PPC auction system ranks ads.
• Google Adwords PPC Optimization Tips: Again, PPC Blog offers tips to optimize Adwords campaigns that includes Quality Score, account structure, ad copy optimization, keyword research, keyword bidding, location and language targeting, reports, conversion tracking and landing page optimization.

Major Quality Score updates (via the Inside Adwords Blog)

• A New Addition to the Quality Score: (December 2005) Landing page quality was first incorporated into Adwords Quality Score for Google’s Search Network in which low quality landing page will cause an increase in your minimum bids of your keywords.
• Landing Page Quality Update: (November 2006) Google extended landing page quality to Google’s Content Network.
• Quality Score Updates: (February 2007) Google would set a lower Minimum Bid to keywords with limited historical data and improve the Quality Score algorithm to make it more accurate in predicting the quality of all ads.
• Landing Page Load Time Now Affects Keywords’ Quality Scores: (June 2008) The landing page load time of your site would start to affect Adwords Quality Score.
• Quality Score Improvements to Go Live in Coming Days: (September 2008) Adwords Quality Score would be re-calculated at the time of each search query, The “Inactive for Search” keyword status would be phased out and your keywords’ Minimum Bids would be replaced by First Page Bids.
• Improvements to Ads Quality: (October 2008) Google announced an improvement to normalize CTR regarding different ad positions and a formula update to promote an ad from the right side of the page to the top spot above organic search results.

Ad Rank = CPC Bid x Quality Score

CPC Bid is the Maximum Cost-per-click (Max. CPC) you are willing to pay for a single click when your keyword triggers your ad.

Quality Score for Google and the search network is a dynamic metric assigned to each of your keywords. The Quality Score for Ad Rank on Google and the search network is determined by:

• The historical clickthrough rate (CTR) of the keyword and the matched ad on Google; if the ad is appearing on a search network page, its CTR on that search network partner is also considered
  Your account history, which is measured by the CTR of all the ads and keywords in your account
• The historical CTR of the display URLs in the ad group
• The relevance of the keyword to the ads in its ad group
• The relevance of the keyword and the matched ad to the search query
• Your account’s performance in the geographical region where the ad will be shown
• Other relevance factors

In the example above with 4 different advertisers, the Ad Rank of advertiser B’s ad is determined by:

Ad Rank (of B) = Max. CPC (of B) x Quality Score (of B)

In the example above with 3 ads, the Actual CPC of advertiser A’s ad is calculated as:

Actual CPC (of A) x Quality Score (of A) = Max. CPC (of B) x Quality Score (of B)

where

Actual CPC (of A) = Ad Rank (of B) / Quality Score (of A)

Relevant keywords and ad copy, a high CTR on Google, and a high Maximum CPC (CPC Bid) will improve the ranking of your ad.

You can even take your ad ranking one step further. Once your ad exceeds a certain Quality Score and CPC Bid threshold, it is eligible to appear above Google’s organic search results as opposed to on the right hand side. At any given time, up to a total of 3 ads are eligible for ranking above the organic search results.

The CPC bid threshold is determined by the matched keyword’s Quality Score; the higher Quality Score, the lower the CPC threshold. This ensures that quality plays an even more important role in determining the ads that show above search results.

Inside Adwords Blog has included a video to explain Adwords ad auction system.

Inside Adwords previously mentioned improvements to Google Adwords Quality Score:

• Quality Score Improvements to Go Live in Coming Days
• Quality Score Improvements

Increase your ad inventories with your trademark

A search with your brand name as keyword on Google, your web site will usually come up at the top spot of the SERP. With a top spot on the SERP, you have already maximized your chances of receiving the most traffic from your brand. However, you can further maximize the traffic volume from your brand as keyword, and increase your brand’s exposure when you buy your brand name through Adwords.

Google Adwords usually rewards users who buy their brand name as keywords. Your brand name usually receives Quality Score that is high enough, and your ad will move across to slot above all the organic search results. This creates an additional ad inventory that is at the most prominent spot (on the SERP) – which is better than simply having 1 or 2 top organic search rankings. This also effectively pushes your competitors further down the SERP.

Note that ranking within the organic search side (the left hand side) allows your website to receive higher search engine user attention (so as many more clicks).

Prevent your competitors to take advantage from your trademark

Sometimes your competitors can get creative and buy your brand names as keywords through Adwords. Besides ensuring you have bought your own brand name as keywords on Adwords (to hold on to your top rank), you can also restrict your competitors from using your trademark by going through the trademark complaint procedure.

Trademark rights in US, UK, Ireland and Canada

When we receive a complaint from a trademark owner, we only investigate the use of the trademark in ad text. If the advertiser is using the trademark in ad text, we will require the advertiser to remove the trademark and prevent them from using it in ad text in the future.

Trademark rights outside US, UK, Ireland and Canada

When we receive a complaint from a trademark owner, our review is limited to ensuring that the advertisements at issue are not using a term corresponding to the trademarked term in the ad text or as a keyword trigger. If they are, we will require the advertiser to remove the trademarked term from the ad text or keyword list and will prevent the advertiser from using the trademarked term in the future.

Please note that any such investigation will only affect ads served on or by Google.

The Google Site Stats logo was previously compulsory for Adwords users who have enabled the use of Adwords’ built-in Conversion Tracking. The logo would appear once a visitor who came through your Adwords ads and completed a pre-defined action on your site. An example where the logo could appear is the conversion confirmation page after a visitor has completed a success purchase.

Previously, a small but visible text block that read “Google Site Stats” automatically appeared on the page where the conversion tracking code was placed on your web site. The logo would appear only after a conversion occurred via your AdWords ad, and it provided converting visitors links to information about AdWords conversion tracking and instructions on how to block the tracking.

For some websites, the logo from time to time could delay the loading of the conversion confirmation page which caused bad experience for visitors.

If you have been using Adwords Conversion Tracking and do not want to display the Google Site Stats logo, you can regenerate a new conversion tracking script from your Adwords account and re-paste it to your conversion confirmation page.

PageRank

PageRank is rather a famous quality of Google on the organic search engine optimization. Although it is not absolutely certain, web pages or websites with higher PageRank values are often ranked higher in Google’s search engine result pages (SERP).

When choosing your destination URL (or your landing page), you have a choice between 2 web pages that are somewhat similar but are of different PageRank, you will want to pick the one that has a higher PageRank value.

Domain Age

SEO experts all know that domain age (or age of website) affect its ranking in the SERP. Usually the older the domain, the more trust Google rates that domain. Google’s trust to a domain is also known as TrustRank.

Web Page Content

The content on your landing page is an obvious one that affects your Adwords campaign’s Quality Score. I have explained Adwords Landing Page Quality Score with one of my previous blog post. In the Google Adwords guidelines it explained the way to create high quality landing page by providing relevant and substantial content.

Link to the page on your site that provides the most useful and accurate information about the product or service in your ad.

• If your site displays advertising, distinguish sponsored links from the rest of your site content.
• Try to provide information without requiring users to register.
• Build pages that provide substantial and useful information to the end-user.
• You should have unique content.