Choosing the match type for keywords is one of the first decisions we all dealt with when we bought our first keywords in AdWords.
Yet despite being one of the most fundamental concepts in PPC — or maybe because of that — the topic of match types remains hotly debated. There’s always that nagging feeling that maybe we’re not doing it right but asking about such a fundamental topic may seem embarrassing.
Overview Of Match Types
Match types give advertisers a way to specify how closely queries should map to their keywords before Google enters their ad in the auction. They range from broad match (where ads can show for queries that could be remotely related to the keyword) to exact match (where ads only show in cases where the query is extremely close to the keyword). Here’s the table of match types from the AdWords help center:
Broad Match Modifier (BMM) Is Not A Match Type — But You Need To Use It
Even though the table from Google shows five match type options, technically there are only four match types: exact, phrase, broad, and negative. The fifth option, broad match modified (BMM), is a broad match keyword with a special notation. Despite not being a true match type, it’s one of the most powerful options; when used correctly, it provides a lot of control to advertisers. One downside of BMM not being a full fledged match type is that some new advertisers may not even know that it exists. It’s not shown anywhere in the UI, like here in the Editor:
BMM not being a match type also impacts our ability to do a few things easily, like filtering our keyword view to see just BMM keywords. Rather than using a match type filter, we have to to a search for keywords that include a “+” sign. Another thing that’s made more complicated is that in tools like the AdWords Editor (or in code written in AdWords Scripts or the API), there’s no way to change a keyword from broad to modified broad with the flip of a switch. Instead you have to add the special notation — the “+” symbol before the words you want to be more closely matched to the query — when specifying the keyword. In Editor, that means we have to do 2 steps: find and replace a space with a space followed by a “+”prepend a “+” to the start of the keywords
Should I Add A “+” To All Words For BMM?
BMM is a mix between exact and broad match in that it lets advertisers specify which words Google gets to change and which ones should definitely be in the query. I see many advertisers who simply put a “+” in front of every word and consider their jobs done, but that’s not taking full advantage of BMM’s power. Say you sell Xbox video games and consoles, but not any other types. Rather than using a keyword like +xbox +games, you could use a keyword like +xbox games to get more volume. By not putting a “+” in front of games, you’re telling Google that it’s okay to maybe show the ad for related words like “xbox discs,” “xbox consoles,” “xbox programs,” etc., so long as the word “xbox” is included. Once you see the query data in the search terms report, you should act on it by adding good queries as keywords and adding irrelevant queries as negatives.
Is Phrase Match Still Relevant?
Is there any point in using phrase match instead of modified broad? The answer is definitely yes. The difference between phrase and BMM is that phrase specifies the word order that the query must have. In most cases, the order of the words doesn’t change the intent of the query, but there are some instances where it does. Take two e-commerce companies: one selling hotel rooms and the other selling coffee table books. For the travel company, the keyword “book hotel” would be highly relevant, whereas “hotel book” might not be. For the seller of books, the opposite is true. The only way to tell the search engine the target word order is through a phrase match keyword.
Am I Throwing Money Away With Broad Match Keywords?
The reason this question comes up is that many advertisers are concerned that the search engines take too much liberty when matching a broad keyword to a query. You may have a very specific keyword, like “marilyn monroe posters,” but see your ad shown for a search for the generic query “art.” Or, with the keyword “xbox games,” you might see your ad shown for “nintendo games.” Even though it may lead to some low quality traffic, I believe broad match does have a place in PPC strategies. You just need to monitor it carefully so you don’t waste more money than needed while using broad match to learn something about how users are searching. Broad keywords are a great way to discover what users are typing into the search box, and by using the search terms report to discover these queries, you can add them as new negative or positive keywords in an account. Google’s VP of Ads Products, Jerry Dischler, said during the AdWords livestream on May 5th that 15% of daily searches on Google are unique.
This is, of course, a variation on the much older stat from Google that 20% of searches are unique over a 90-day period, but they both make the same point: Despite how Google is funneling users towards the same queries via autocomplete, users are still finding ways to express their individuality with some very unique queries. While you can capture many of these queries with BMM, broad match will give you the highest level of coverage.
Conclusion
As with everything in AdWords, it’s ultimately the data that will tell you what is the right thing to do. But it’s good to know the full capabilities of the system, the underlying architecture, and what others are doing to guide your own experimentation.
We are Creitive, a digital innovation company. If you need more info about Digital Strategy, feel free to reach us.