Before, broad match was a great way to find new keywords. Over time, Google AdWords’ has stretched broad match terms to the point where it is sometimes difficult to see any logical link between the user’s search query, your keyword and the ad shown. So more often than we’d like, our ads are showing for terms that are not relevant.
We’ve been keen for Google to introduce better controls over broad match for a very long time. Well, it has finally happened and we are pretty excited about it!
AdWords Broad Match Modifier
Google has introduced the AdWords Broad Match Modifier. The Broad Match Modifier will give you more reach then you get with phrase match keywords, and more control than you get with broad match.
The idea is pretty simple. Broad Match Modifier works by putting a plus sign (+) in front of a word or words in a broad match keyword phrase. Any word preceeded by the “+” must appear in the user’s search before your ad is shown. It will also pick up closely related variants, including misspellings, plurals and abbreviations.
For example…
Before, thanks to extended broad match, the broad match keyword cricket bats could be triggered by search queries as unrelated as sports equipment.
If you add the modifier +cricket +bats, the keyword phrase could only be triggered by search queries like:
cricket bats,
cricet bats
cricket balls and bats
The modifier doesn’t have to be applied to all the words in the keyword phrase. It could be +cricket bats. In this instance, the word cricket would be controlled, but bats could trigger anything that Google deemed relevant.
Tips for using the AdWords broad match modifier:
- You can attach the modifier (+) to one, lots, or all words in a broad match keyword
- Be careful – putting a modifier before every word in a broad match keyword will significantly limit the potential range of searches that will trigger your keyword
- Don’t modify minor words like a, and, if, in, for etc. Attaching the “+” will require those words to be in the user’s search for your ad to show, so you would be limiting traffic
- When using the modifier, be sure there are no spaces between the plus sign (+) and the word you want to modify
- Make sure you are still bidding appropriately so your keyword is eligible to show
- Make sure your negative keywords aren’t accidentally blocking your modified broad match keywords from appearing
- Don’t switch your existing broad match keywords to modified broad match – it will probably have a seriously negative impact on clicks and conversions. Add new modified broad match keywords to your campaigns and adjust bids to achieve your target ROI
Summary
The benefits of Broad Match Modifier are obvious – by eliminating the huge number of users looking for something completely different to what you’re offering, you could really boost your click-through rates.
