Google AdWords - Plural versus Singular Keywords

By Beacon News | Published December 23, 2010 | Categories: Web Development

You're setting up your Google AdWords campaign and adding your keywords.  At some point you may ask yourself, "Does the singular form or plural form of the keyword matter?".

So you go to the Google AdWords traffic estimator and check to see which form gets the most traffic.

Let's check out the keywords "attorney" and  "attorneys".

In the table above, "attorney" gets more click traffic (1,920 - 2,404) and it has a cheaper cpc ($5.92 - $8.51).  "Attorney"  looks like the better choice between the two to add to your ad campaign.

But wait...

Doesn't a higher cpc (cost per click) mean that the keyword "attorneys" commands a higher bid price which is a reflection of higher demand?

"Attorneys" has a higher cpc because advertisers know that the plural is a lot more likely to be typed in by people who are looking to hire an attorney.  Therefore , the bids are driven up because of the higher  demand and you pay a higher cpc to use the plural form.

But why???

The reason is that the singular form is generic and it is likely  that someone who types in "attorney" wants to know something in general about what an attorney is and what the job entails .  A singular search doesn't always have a similar intent that a search for "attorneys" does.

Typing a search for "attorneys" is more likely to be a search looking to hire an attorney.

Now,  setting your keyword to broad match will cover both singular and plural matches. You've covered the potential click traffic, but you have to wonder,  how many of those keyword searches using the singular form in a broad match are costing you money?