Broad or exact? Search Ad matching decisions with keyword specificity and position

摘要

In paid search advertising firms need to make decisions on a matching strategy between broad match and exact match to target their current and prospective customers. Broad match broadens the scope of targeting while exact match provides more accurate targeting. This paper investigates the relative effectiveness of matching decisions using both secondary data and a field experiment data. Both studies show that compared to exact match, broad match leads to lower advertising performance. Moreover, the negative effect of broad match on CTR is more prominent for more specific or lower (better)-position keywords, and the effects of broad match on CR, revenue and profits are less negative for higher (worse)-position keywords. These results suggest that managers of paid search advertising campaigns should take into account keyword specificity and position in making optimal matching strategy decisions for their keyword portfolios.