Adwords Keyword Research - Simplifying Process

[BobGW]

So far here's my algorithm:

I will make an excel spreadsheet with all of our currently optimized keywords (about 300 I believe) I will grab all the keywords possible out of the adwords keyword tool I will merge the adwords keyword tool keywords with the 300 on the excel spreadsheet and erase the duplicates. I'll drop what's left over in exact match into a google adwords campaign I'll then use the + modifier with brand names and with two word keywords such as +brand +keywords +here Will this algorithm find all of the keywords, or am I missing something?

[john4math]

You'll want to group the keywords into different campaigns, and within those campaigns, different ad groups.  It's important to group similar keywords into their own ad groups, so that you can have those keywords trigger relevant ad copy.  Similar ad groups then should be grouped into campaigns.

For example, your branded keywords you'll want to keep in their own campaign, so you can easily see at a glance how your branded campaign is doing.  For some of my branded terms, I like to have dynamic keyword insertion ads, so I have one ad group that covers that.  For searches that misspell my company name, I have another ad group.  For branded, I've found it works pretty well on mobile and tablets, even if you don't have a mobile optimized site.  Device targeting is a campaign level setting, so you could change that just for your branded campaign without any issues.

I'm not sure what you're describing with your brand names using  the "+" broad match modifier.  Your keyword in your example would be "+brand +kw1+kw2"?

Keywords are always coming and going, so no algorithm is going to find all the keywords.  What you have sounds like a good start though, and as you review reporting as time progresses, you'll find new opportunities, as well as new negative keywords.

[BobGW]

Just to make sure I understand what I've been reading right, if I want to cover all of the keywords with the brand name, for example, 'swiffer' in it, I would use phrase match:

"swiffer"

Correct?

[john4math]

If you put in the more common matches people use, like in your example if you included "swiffer sweeper", that keyword would likely get a higher quality score than just "swiffer", so you'll get a better ad position, cheaper clicks, and higher impression share when people search using that query.  So it still makes sense to build out a keyword list for a branded campaign, but including your brand term on its own as a phrase match like you gave above is still a good idea.

[KeriMorgret]

And consider using negative keywords, such as free, used, sucks, giveaway, refund, recall, etc. What type of people do you NOT want to show your ad to?

[BobGW]

such excellent responses from both of you, Thanks!