Last Updated on 2021-02-26 by ppcguybklyn
Google announced earlier in Februarythat Google Ads’ search ads will no longer support broad match modifiers in the future. This could be one of the biggest recent changes in search advertising. As advertisers, how should we view this update and be prepared for it? In this article, I will briefly summarize this update, its possible impact, and plausible ways of dealing with it.
What is the broad match modifier
Before discussing this update, we have to review the definition of the broad match modifier and its function. Broad match modifier is one of the keyword matching options. The purpose is to complement the shortcomings of broad match. Add a plus sign in front of broad keywords, and Google ads will only match search terms that contain keyword search string after the plus sign to ensure that the ad can be delivered to a more relevant advertising audience.(For the respective functions of each keyword matching option, please see to my previous article)
Since broad match keywords will be matched with any similar search terms, if the keywords are only using regular broad match, a lot of advertising budget will usually be spent on unnecessary search traffic. Broad match modifier has the characteristics of broad match, but the matching method is more precise, which can effectively eliminate some unnecessary advertising costs. Therefore, most advertisers will choose to use broad match modifiers over regular broad matches.
Content and reason of Google’s update
The main content of this update is that Google Ads will no longer support broad match modifiers after July 2021, and the original match function will be replaced by phrase match. The broad match modifier keywords that have been set in the account can still work normally, but after the update is online, Google Ads users will no longer be able to add broad match modifier keywords. After mid-February, the keyword matching function of phrase matching will gradually move closer to the direction of this update. The following is an example of keyword matching officially provided by Google:
Google’s official statement on the reason for this update is that because the keyword matching mechanism of Google Ads has been advanced to make more correct matching based on the searcher’s intentions. The results of the current phrase matching and broad matching modifiers have small differences, causing the keywords and matching content to overlap. That’s why Google wants to integrate broad match modifiers into the phrase match through this update.
What is the impact on PPC advertising
I think the main impact of this update on PPC advertising is at the level of keyword management. After mid-February, keywords with broad match modifiers will overlap with phrase matches, so the next step is to deal with these keywords. There are only two ways: one is to disable them all and switch to phrase matching, the other is to change these keywords to general broad matching and continue to use these keywords to advertise. How to decide whether to keep these keywords will be one of the most important issues for advertisers recently.
Another impact is that, due to the change of keyword matching, we still need to wait and see how effective the broad match and phrase match keyword will be. In the short term, advertisers may need to spend more on broad and phrase matches to find the most efficient new keyword combination.
How should we deal with this update
So, how should we respond to this update? I think we can start from the following points:
- Keep an eye on changes in keyword efficiency
After the update, we should be able to expect changes in the efficiency of phrase match and broad match keywords. We should carefully observe the click-through rate of the phrase matching keywords after receiving the broad matching modifier pairing as well as changes in conversion costs. If there is a way to find the most efficient phrase matching keywords after the update, it will be very helpful for advertising campaigns. Similarly, if you choose to change the broad match modifier keywords back to the general broad match, because they can match a wider range, they are likely to start to bring some irrelevant advertising traffic, so when choosing keywords It is also necessary to be more cautious. Unless the purpose of the advertising campaign is to attract more exposure, otherwise, in general, only leave the keywords with the highest click-through rate and the highest conversion rate.
- Focus on the optimization of phrase matching keywords
After this update, the matching method of phrase matching with search terms will be different, so in addition to changing the original broad matching modifier keywords to phrase matching, we should also consider whether the existing keyword list matches the new keyword matching logic, and find the most suitable keyword combination through continuous optimization of the keyword list for phrase comparison.
In addition, for conversion-oriented advertising accounts, it should be expected that more advertising budgets will be allocated to phrase matching campaigns in the future, because after this update the conversion cost of broad match keywords is very likely to increase a lot. And because the phrase comparison will be able to more accurately reach a wider audience of advertising, the space that advertising campaigns can operate will be much larger than broad and exact match keywords.There will be more likely to bring more advertising benefits to the account by allocating more time and money to phrase match keywords..
- Check matched search terms and negative keywords
After this matching update, in addition to observing the changes in keyword performance, we should also reconfirm what search terms the existing advertising keywords will be matched to after the update. When we find that the matched search terms are much different from what we expected, we should improve the search traffic we attract by changing keywords and negative keywords to ensure that advertising budgets are not wasted.
- Make good use of smart bidding
The update of keyword matching means that the competition situation and bidding of the keywords will fluctuate. The keywords that are not in competition will most likely be matched to similar search terms after the update. Therefore, in the next few months, the CPC of a specific keyword is likely to rise or fall. In order to prevent these fluctuations from affecting the performance of the keyword, we can make good use of smart bidding and use Google’s own algorithm to make sure we are bidding according to our goal, so that no matter how the CPC fluctuates, the impact on advertising can be minimized.
This update, I personally think it’s a very important thing for Google advertising, because it clearly defines the broad and phrase match keywords boundaries, so after the advertising account is adjusted according to this update, advertisers can more systematically select and add keywords that meet our needs. In the long run, this will be a change that has more advantages than disadvantages for both experienced veterans and novices who are just getting started.
