Content Match

"Content Match" is a term being used more and more by pay- per-click search engines to offer options on types of searches you'll be listed under.

Content match as overture and google defines it means that when a user types a phrase or set of keywords, your listing will show up even if it's not relevant. For instance if an internet shopper types in the term sports car because he/she is looking to buy a small sporty car, he might type the term "Sports Car" into a search engine.

If I were selling sports cars and was paying for the term "Sports Car" I wouldn't mind paying as long as someone actually typed in the term "Sports Car." But content match makes it so that even if the shopper types in "Car Sports", your listing will come up. That's horrible because now you're pay for the click of that person that just typed in the term "Car Sports." This guy is obviously looking for something different than a sports car so you just wasted your money.

Another example of how content match can fail is if I'm bidding on the keyword "internet business" and shoppers start typing in the term "Business Internet." Well, the people who are typing in the term "Business Internet" are looking for internet services for their business. I'm only interested in paying for the people who are looking to start an internet business. So once again, I'm wasting money.

One last example is if I'm selling an item called a "Star Rock" that is a kids toy that is a plastic replica of a rock with lights inside it that make it glow, I want people to be able to find me when they do a search for "Star Rock." But what about all those thousands of people that type in "Rock Star" each day? If I was paying for content match, I'd have to pay for all those people looking for info on rock stars. What a waste. I only want to pay when shoppers type in the term "Star Rock." And the words must be in that order. The only way to be sure that happens is to turn off the content match feature.

To be sure you don't waste your marketing dollars as described in the above examples, just be sure to turn of the "Content Match" feature.

It will be some where in your control panel in what ever pay per click search engine you happen to use.