INTRODUCTION
According to Statista, Google Ads were the biggest provider of search advertising on the market in 2020. However, the platform is making some changes, specifically to its keyword section with phrase match and broad match modifier (BMM).
Here is how Google Ads is updating its search format and how it will affect future advertising.
DEFINING PHRASE MATCH VS. BROAD MATCH
When creating a Google Ad, choose the right keyword(s) to improve the performance of your ad and avoid higher ad spends. Start with phrase match, which includes the terms you’re bidding–uninterrupted and in order–but may include other terms before or after.
Here’s an example. If you typed in “pet supplies,” your ad may appear when people search for “discount pet supplies,” or “pet supplies wholesale,” but not for searches like “pet food.”
Broad match will show ads that match any generally related search, including synonyms. For example, if you use the term “luxury car,” your ad may be displayed if a user searches for “luxury cars,” or “fast cars.”
HOW TO PREPARE FOR THE UPDATE
In February, Google announced changes to its ads, stating that phrase match will begin to incorporate behaviors, or broad match modifiers (BMM), to simplify keywords and make it easier to reach relevant customers. In other words, phrase match will include broad match modifier traffic, as BMM will be phased out. This means that both selections will have the same matching behavior and may show ads on searches that include the meaning of your keywords.
Google gives this example: the phrase match keyword “moving services NYC to Boston” will continue to cover searches like “affordable moving services NYC to Boston.” It also will include searches that traditionally only matched under broad match modifier, like “NYC Corporate moving services to Boston.” Phrase match won’t show ads for searches in which the direction is flip-flopped, such as people looking to move from Boston to New York City.
When creating ads, stick to creating phrase match keywords from this point forward. Also, since there isn’t a specific action required, be sure to monitor your performance and update bids, budgets and targeting as needed. You may see traffic fluctuate as these changes roll out.
It’s important to note that the new behavior will be rolled out worldwide by July. Also, because the change is happening to both match types, you don’t need to migrate keywords and your performance data will stay.
Additional tools will be launching to help convert BMM keywords throughout 2021. Google’s FAQ can answer other questions regarding the switch.