Use Plurals and Stemming

Sometimes the intent of a searcher changes dramatically between the singular and the plural form of a search. When evaluating the keywords to include in your campaign, you need to place yourself in the shoes of the searcher. This will somewhat simplify your campaign setup. Stemming (use of plurals and other forms of the word) is often automatically taken care of by the search engine. However, there are some important reasons to create a campaign structure that proactively includes whatever keyword versions you might have an interest in, with each covered separately within an Ad Group or in some cases in a separate Ad Group (when the ad creative for the root and keyword permutations must differ by more than just the keyword). Generally the closest match is considered most relevant, and only the exact match is bolded by the engine. As you know, bolded keywords in titles and descriptions increase visibility and CTR, which is becoming increasingly important in all engines.

Chapter 8 covers how to use Dynamic Keyword Insertion (DKI). This fairly advanced feature allows you to keep several permutations of a keyword in the same Ad Group and yet still benefit from the bolded text that Google and the other engines provide when the searched keywords(s) are present in the ad copy or URL.