Question

I'm having a problem with getting keywords explained to me by the people offshore. Language barrier? I've been over & over things and am still not understanding it. Say that I have the following keywords Hypothetical, so people don't click on my real stuff. I use exact matches only, because I've found that broad or vague matches just cost me more, and don't bring me more actual business. They benefit Google that way, but NOT me. I'm a part time home based business, without money to burn. What I'm doing is targeting customers across the United States ONLY, who are searching for someone to perform services for them IN Denver Colorado ONLY. [Denver computer servers] [Denver computer server] [computer server Denver] [computer server Denver co] [Denver co computer server] [computer server Denver Colorado] So what I'm wondering, is about the redundancy issues. I don't care if they're redundant, because I'd rather have that, than possibly lose business. But if there's redundancy, am I competing against my own keywords? Does it work that way? Or no harm at all?  

Answer 1

They are redundant. with changes in how Google looks at exact match the close variants would be covered anyways. Like the first three can be replaced by the best performing exact match, then the 4 and 5 can be replaced by best performing exact match and so. Google is anyways going to go with the keyword which performs best, rest will just sit there without spending money. May want to look at BMM keywords too and identify any other exact matches that may lead to conversion that are not covered in your list. Negatives will quickly stop any spend, your PPC guy has to just review the search term report frequently.  

Answer 2

Exact match isn't your only option here. You can choose phrase or modified broad, and usually get a lower CPC. You need a strong negative keyword list to offset the search variance, but in the long run it is a positive ROI move.  

Comments

I think the problem is that they won't stick to the meanings of these things. They play sloppy, to get more money, and it gives me less money.  

---

@outsail When you say they play sloppy, do you mean your marketing agency?  

---

No, when Google expands my exact matches into vague broad matches, to make more money on clicks that are useless to me. I've heard they're doing it. An example might be: [green and purple hats], and turning it into: green and purple hats.  

Answer 3

Advanced location setting in the campaign. Select Target: People IN my target area (Or you could select ‘People who show interest in your target area’) Exclude Audience: People NOT in your targeted area

Comments

What I've been doing for years, is targeting the whole U. S., and tailoring the keywords for people doing searches for the services I provide IN the Denver area. I cant get more into it here, without giving away specifics on what I do.  

Answer 4

You need real help. You won't find it here.