What I mean is, I see all the search query keywords I received clicks on and the cpc prices I paid for them. Would the prices be CHEAPER if I added them into the ad group at exact match or even in at broad match? Currently the broad match query prices seem pretty close to the cpc price I am paying for the 1 main keyword I have in the ad group. Thoughts? Is Google charging me more because these clicks are really broad matched off a highly competitive keyword?
if you change from broad to broad and exact, the exacts will likely have a higher ctr (depends on many factors though) so you've taken the higher CTR clicks out away from the broad keyword... it's aggregate CTR will go down... and your costs for those peripheral words will likely go up then. the exacts will likely be lower costs, because if they align with your ad and website well, they'll have higher relevance and high performance (CTR), so the costs of that traffic will likely be lower than before.
don't think of it as G charging you more... think about yourself participating in an auction. generally, in an auction, its best to not bid medium or high for "cars" and instead, save your highest bids for the specific things you value the most, like "shelby cobra".
if your main interest is to buy tons and tons of cars and to not be very specific about what kind of car you buy from the auction, go with broad only.
if your main interest is max profit, be very picky and specific about exactly what you bid on.
if your business relies on profit and volume, be picky with some things you knwo are high value to you, then below that, sweep up volume with lower bids on broader terms.
so you see, we can't specifically answer the question you asked... it's a complex auction process and is also VERY reliant on your business and its goals.
the spoils of this auction's outcome don't go to the highest bidder (your bid is a combination of price and quality) nor to the person at the top of the ranking (more than one ad shows)...
so don't obsess over winning the auction... focus rather on optimizing your participation. check your ego at the door, and bring your pocket protector and your calculator if you want to "win" here.
"Has anyone tested the cpc prices when you add in all the search query versions?"
Yes, and depending on how you change your bidding, your segmentation, your relevance, how your competition is behaving and more, there will be a mix of outcomes. as i said before, generally speaking, your prices will go down if you increase your relevancy and performance by being more specific and more segmented, but volume will be sacrificed, and it all depends on too many factors for a carte blanche answer to apply to every situation.
I took 112 keywords that I was getting search query clicks on from broad match and entered them into the same ad groups as exact match. 64 resulted in lower cpc prices when added in as actual keywords, 48 saw higher cpc prices in 7 days worth of data. Not surprisingly, those that saw higher prices were mostly brand related and those cpc prices will probably lower after the Google "new term" surcharge expires. That "surcharge" usually only exists for uber expensive/competive keywords. Conclusion, for me, is that there are ad groups it's definitely worth add search query versions in as actual keywords, but others mayb not be worth the time.
