According to Google, 7% of search queries contain a misspelling. The company has long accounted for spelling errors in search by suggesting alternate versions of the search query (you probably recognize the box below), and starting in mid-May Google will roll out similar functions for AdWords.
Google points out that users want results that reflect their search intent, not what they actually (often erroneously) typed. With the updates, phrase and exact match keywords will match close variants.
The updated version of AdWords will recognize:
- misspellings
- singular/plural forms
- stemming (type vs. typing)
- accents or lack thereof
- abbreviations (Mr. vs. Mister)
- Acronyms (STL vs. St. Louis)
According to Google, these tweaks will benefit both users and advertisers. Early trials show that the new matching behavior increased AdWords search clicks by 3%. The updates will also save advertisers the time and hassle of including multiple versions of brand and product misspellings or variations in their keywords lists.
If you would rather maintain the current matching behavior, you can adjust this under keyword settings > keyword matching options, as seen below. Users will begin to see these changes mid-May.
