How do you adjust bids differently for long-tail keywords compared to broad keywords?

When managing bids for long-tail keywords versus broad keywords, the strategies differ significantly due to the nature of these two types of keywords. Long-tail keywords tend to be more specific, have lower search volume, and may attract highly relevant traffic, while broad keywords are more general, often have higher search volume, and can attract a broader range of search intent. Here's how you can adjust bids for each:

1. Bids for Long-Tail Keywords
Long-tail keywords typically consist of three or more words and tend to be highly specific. These keywords often have a lower cost per click (CPC) because they have lower competition and are more focused on niche topics or very specific search intent.

Why Long-Tail Keywords Need Special Consideration:
Lower Search Volume: While the competition may be lower, the search volume for long-tail keywords is usually much smaller, meaning they may not generate as much traffic.

Higher Conversion Potential: Because these keywords are more specific, they often have a higher intent to convert (i.e., a user who searches for "buy red leather shoes for men size 10" may be closer to making a purchase than someone searching for "shoes").

Lower Cost-Per-Click (CPC): Due to less competition, long-tail keywords often have lower CPCs, meaning you can bid more aggressively while keeping costs under control.

How to Adjust Bids for Long-Tail Keywords:
Lower Base Bids: Since long-tail keywords typically have lower CPCs, you can start by setting lower base bids compared to broad keywords. This is because the lower competition for long-tail terms often means you don't need to bid as high to achieve good placement.

Focus on ROI and Conversion Rates: Given their high conversion potential, you can adjust bids upwards if these long-tail keywords are generating conversions at a lower cost. If a long-tail keyword has a low CPC but high conversion rate, you may want to increase the bid to capture more relevant traffic while maintaining profitability.

Use Negative Keywords to Refine Targeting: Since long-tail keywords tend to be more niche, you might want to use negative keywords to filter out irrelevant search terms and improve the efficiency of your bids.

Example: If you're advertising for "handmade leather shoes" and a long-tail keyword like "buy handmade red leather shoes size 10" is converting well, you may increase the bid slightly to ensure higher visibility during key purchasing periods (like holiday sales), while still maintaining a focus on conversion efficiency.

2. Bids for Broad Keywords
Broad keywords are typically shorter and more general terms, capturing a wider audience with less specific intent. While broad keywords generally drive more traffic, the challenge lies in the higher competition and more diluted search intent.

Why Broad Keywords Need Special Consideration:
Higher Search Volume: Broad keywords tend to have much higher search volume and can capture a large number of impressions.

Lower Conversion Rates: These keywords often attract a wider range of search intent, meaning the people clicking on these ads might not be ready to convert. This often leads to lower conversion rates compared to more specific long-tail terms.

Higher CPC: Broad keywords face more competition due to their wider reach, which usually leads to higher CPCs. This means you'll need to be more strategic with your budget allocation.

How to Adjust Bids for Broad Keywords:
Higher Base Bids (if competitive): For broad keywords, especially if they are competitive and you want to maintain visibility, you may need to set higher base bids to ensure your ads are shown to the large volume of searchers.

Monitor Search Query Data: Broad keywords can often lead to irrelevant clicks. Use search query reports to identify when broad keywords trigger unrelated search terms. By adding negative keywords, you can help ensure your broad keywords aren't wasting your budget on irrelevant clicks.

Focus on Quality Score: Broad keywords may have a lower Quality Score if they are not tightly aligned with your ads or landing pages. Improving ad relevance and landing page experience can help reduce costs and improve your position for broad keywords.

Adjust for Intent: Use match types and audience targeting to refine broad keywords. Broad match modifiers or phrase match can help bring more relevant traffic to your campaigns. For example, bidding on the broad keyword "shoes" might attract irrelevant traffic, but bidding on "buy shoes online" will attract more purchase-ready individuals.

Example: For a broad keyword like "shoes," you might set a higher bid to ensure visibility on a highly competitive and broad term. But you'd also need to be cautious about conversion rates and ROI. If you're seeing a high volume of clicks but low conversions, you may want to lower the bid or refocus targeting.

3. Adjusting Bids Based on Performance Metrics
Regardless of whether you're working with long-tail or broad keywords, performance data should drive bid adjustments. Both keyword types will require regular monitoring and optimization based on key performance metrics like:

Click-Through Rate (CTR): If a keyword, whether long-tail or broad, has a high CTR, it's a signal that it's resonating well with your audience. Consider increasing the bid to take advantage of the high relevance.

Conversion Rate and Cost Per Conversion (CPA): Long-tail keywords often have a higher conversion rate, while broad keywords tend to have lower conversion rates. Focus on improving CPA for both keyword types by adjusting bids based on ROI goals.

Return on Ad Spend (ROAS): For both keyword types, continuously evaluate how much revenue is generated compared to the ad spend. If long-tail keywords are delivering strong ROAS, you can afford to increase your bid, but if broad keywords are underperforming, you may want to scale back.

4. Bid Strategies for Each Keyword Type
For Long-Tail Keywords:

Consider using manual bidding or enhanced CPC to fine-tune bids and take advantage of high conversion rates.

If using automated bidding, focus on Target CPA or Target ROAS strategies to ensure you're capturing traffic efficiently while maintaining profitability.

For Broad Keywords:

Automated bidding strategies like Maximize Clicks or Target Impression Share can help ensure broad keywords continue to generate traffic. However, you should closely monitor and adjust for performance.

Consider using Bid Adjustments by Device to optimize based on performance by mobile vs. desktop or location targeting.

5. Budget Allocation
Long-Tail Keywords: Given their lower cost and higher conversion potential, you can allocate a higher proportion of your budget to these keywords, especially if they are highly relevant to your products or services.

Broad Keywords: While they tend to be more competitive, broad keywords may require more budget to achieve the same impact as long-tail terms, especially when aiming for visibility in highly competitive industries.

6. Experiment and Test
Both long-tail and broad keywords benefit from A/B testing. Regularly test different bids, ad copy variations, and targeting strategies to identify what works best for each type of keyword.

In Summary:
Long-tail keywords should typically have lower base bids because they face less competition but often have higher conversion potential.

Broad keywords require higher bids due to their large search volume and higher competition, but you should always monitor for relevancy and conversion performance to avoid overspending.

Adjust your bids based on performance metrics like CTR, conversion rate, and ROI, and consider using manual bidding for long-tail keywords and automated bidding for broad keywords for better optimization.