Having a + between keywords instead of a space

Does this mess things up?

[lethal0r]

For 3 months now i've had a really good keyword [cheap blue widgets] with excellent ROI, in about position 5.

This last week I added [cheap+blue+widgets], thinking it would show specifically when people put a + in their search and only then.

BUT it shows in preference over [cheap blue widgets]. And it also means [cheap blue widgets] now only shows on page 2 of the serps with a poor ROI.

I've just deleted all variants with a + in, and im hoping that my original keyword will go back to position 5!.

Does anyone have any thoughts on this? Am i right or is to do with something else?

Tom

[ronmcd]

do a search on google, look at the url - if you search for [keyword keyword] its actually seen by google as [keyword+keyword].

I think its the same thing. By seperating it out into 2 I would expect to see the + version getting most of the clicks, but its just the clicks the old keyword was getting.

Of course it doesnt have the history your origiinal version did, so it wont do as well initially.

Dont ask me why they BOTH get impressions and clicks though.

[graciouscaptain]

It may be that due to the fact that adding "+" between your keywords doesn't actually make any difference.

Google will have treated this new keyword as a replica of your original, and unfortunately duplicates aren't too effective within an Adwords account. I'd assume that your quality score has taken a knock or two for having two of the same keyword within the one account, which is why your original keyword is not doing so great.

So you've deleted the new keyword which probably will help, but you'll need to give it time before the original gains a better quality score again.

I think it is also worth noting that you can have several of the same keyword running in an account, getting clicks and impressions - but like I've mentioned this is bad for your Adwords campaigns and should be prevented at all costs.

[georgiek50]

Oddly enough, i have noticed the SAME exact thing happening when using dashes: [cheap-widget-sale] and [cheap widget sale]...everytime i add the dashes the original stops getting traffic and the new one goes into effect? Are dashes useless as well?

[Kings on steeds]

You even the get the same thing, that is impressions & clicks, on the same keyword with different capitalization even though they are considered by Google to the same keyword, my advice, remove them all, they are not needed.

weather your keyword is on broad, phrase or exact matching, Google will automatically search all variations e.g. blue widgets is also searched Blue WiDgeTs or Blue+Widgets, as for the - I am not to sure i know extended broad matching would include these as well as misspells, but if exact and phrase do....? You’ll have to test.

Alan