All You Need to Know About Keyword Match Types in Google Ads
For the first time after 2019, Google has rolled a new update on keyword match types and this seems to be a significant one. Marketers will no longer have Broad Match Modifier as a keyword match type and instead will have to make do with Phrase Match. If you are a beginner in PPC and all this seems like Greek or Latin to you then this blog is for you.
Here we help you understand the concept of keyword match types to help you make sense of the update. If you are a beginner looking to understand keyword match types then you may continue with this blog. But if you are looking for information on the update alone, then skip the basics and directly jump to our blog about Google update on keyword match types.
So let us get into basic keyword match types and their importance without further ado:
Exact Match Keyword:
When you classify your keyword as an exact match type, your ad may be triggered only when the search query exactly matches the respective keyword.
For example, if you choose ‘Best PPC Advertising Company in Hyderabad’ and classify it as an exact match keyword, then your ad will trigger only if a user searches with a query Best PPC Advertising Company in Hyderabad, provided you beat your competitors with good AD rank.
But not every user knows his exact requirement and every user’s way of a search varies and to accommodate them Google lets marketers make us of phrase match, broad match and now-defunct broad match modifier.
Phrase Match:
With a phrase match keyword, an ad can trigger even when the search query contains the exact phrase that a marketer provides. However, phrase match keywords will trigger the ad even if there are a couple of words before or after the phrase match keyword until the phrase in its exact form is in the query.
For example, if the phrase match keyword happens to be ‘PPC Companies in Hyderabad’ then this keyword type will trigger the ad even if the search query is Best PPC Companies in Hyderabad or Expert PPC Services in Hyderabad, as the phrase in its exact form is present in the search queries.
However few users may not use an exact phrase with words in the same order, this is where Broad Match Modifier (now discontinued) used to help.
Broad Match Modifier:
When a keyword is classified as BMM, then the order of the words need not be the same. For example, if the BMM Keyword is ‘Digital Marketing Companies in Hyderabad’, the ad can trigger when if the search query is ‘Companies for Digital Marketing in Hyderabad’. As long as given keywords are present in the query, the ad will be triggered no matter the order or inclusion of other words.
Broad Match:
Broad match as the name suggests is the most liberal of all the keyword match types. Ad is triggered if any of the keywords are present in the search query, even the synonyms, singular/plural, misspelling, will also trigger the ad in addition to similar themes.
For example, if the broad match keyword is ‘Café in Secunderabad’ then search queries like Café in Hyderabad, Secunderabad Café may also trigger the ad which may not be relevant. Similarly, if Digital Marketing Services is your broad match keyword the ad may trigger even if the PPC Services in Hyderabad is your search query as PPC is a sub-theme of Digital Marketing. But PPC Services in Hyderabad may not be what the user needs at that point in time.
Exact match. Phrase Match, Broad Match Modifier and Broad Match are four types of keyword match types that are available for marketers to target their users. But as said Google has decided to pull the plug on Broad Match Modifier and include it in Phrase Match to increase the control and expand its scope. Want to know how this update works and how does it make with current campaigns?
Then go this way: Broad Match Modifier Will No Longer Be Available on Google Ads