Hi guys,

Do we have to add both plural and singular keywords when advertising with Adwords, or does Google automatically match them both as the same keyword?

Google does not automatically add plurals and singulars. If you want both you have to add both.

Thanks FR

j_s,
If you do a broad search google will automatically add the plural and relevant words. If you use quotations or brackets it will not, you need a seperate keyword for each variation.

This is the way im reading it off Google's site at least.

"....Broad Match - This is the default option. If you include general keyword or keyword phrases-such as tennis shoes-in your keyword list, your ads will appear when a user's query contains tennis and shoes, in any order, and possibly along with other terms. Your ads will also automatically show for expanded matches, including plurals and relevant variations. ...."

Although that may be "officially" true your ads MAY appear and they may not or they may appear now but not later. Refer to the Google Expanded Match information and particularly this quote:

"The expanded matches will change over time as the AdWords system continually monitors system-wide keyword performance and other relevance factors. This helps determine which expanded matches and variations are the most relevant to user searches."

What this means to advertisers is that their broad match system MAY show your ad for words other than those specifically in your account; however, it may also may not due to their "relevance factors".

The way it is believed that works is that your ad is given a very limited number of impressions for any specific broad matched phrase. If it fails to garner a click it may stop showing up for that search no matter how relevant it actually is.

As far as I know Google has never publicly indicated how many "chances" any particular phrase gets; however, it is believed to be lower than statistically significant. This results in your ad appearing for fewer and fewer searches over time.

You can now see some of this by using the magnifying glass icon at the keyword level. You may find keywords that say they are "not performing well enough". I believe that means they failed to generate a click in the required number of impressions.