Saying Goodbye to Broad Match Modifier: Our Takeaways

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When Google announces anything new, it is an exciting time for those in the digital marketing sector. The majority of the time, however, the announcement will revolve around changes to their algorithms, such as introducing a new ranking factor. So, when Google announced just last week (4th of February) that they would be changing the structure of its keywordKeywords are the words and phrases that potential customers might search for to find your business. match types, this was big news.

The last time Google made any change surrounding this particular area was back in 2019. There isn’t just one change taking place, either. As of the 18^th of February, broad match modifier types will be just a distant memory, and we will see expansions on phrase match types to enable them to match more search queries.

We are officially saying goodbye to the broad match modifier, but why is this the case, how will it affect businesses investing in advertisements, and what can you do to prepare for this? Our guide will cover this, with thoughts from our PPC expert.

A Look Back at Match Types

Before we dive into understanding why broad match modifier is going away, a quick look back at the match types we have had up until now will benefit you. The match types we have been able to use up until now were:

Exact Match
Phrase Match
Broad Match
Broad Match Modifier (BMM)

The difference between the Match Types

There are slight differences in the match types, affecting who sees your ad.

Exact Match: An exact match involves selecting a specific phrase or word. However, to show up, your customers need to be typing in the same phrase, word for word, in that order.
Phrase Match: Phrase match offers a little bit more flexibility. It will show your ad for search queries no matter the order of words.
Broad Match: First bought to the world of digital marketing in 2010, the broad match option provided a way for businesses to show up and advertise their products or services if the keywords entered were contextually similar to those used.
Broad Match Modifier (BMM): The BMM option allowed us to use certain keywords with the addition of a plus sign, meaning that businesses could benefit from more people viewing their adverts. If the search query was similar to the keywords you included, your ad could show up. For example, the inclusion of a broad match modifier phrase such as +womens +handbag meant that if a customer typed handbag for ladies, your ad might show up.

When these changes come into play as of the 18^th of February, we will be left with just the three options: exact match, phrase match, and broad match.

match types

Why Are We Saying Goodbye?

The reason behind making these changes is because both phrase match and BMM serve the same purpose: getting more customers. However, Google wants to bring about more control and better reach, and streamline the process. Google is confident that making this change will be able to “bring the best qualities of a broad match modifier into the phrase match.”

What Changes Can We Expect from This?

According to Google, combining the two will make it even easier to reach new customers and easily manage your keywords. The update to phrase match enables you to reach the searches you want without concerns about showing up for the ones you don’t. The idea that we can reach more customers is music to many businesses ears, and thankfully, there isn’t any specific action that we need to take to deal with these changes.

Performance data will be unaffected, and you will not need to carry out keyword migration. However, one important thing to note is that while more traffic is a great thing, it will also mean you have more clicks. More clicks on your ads mean you will need to be aware of the increase to your PPC budget to accommodate for that.

Is this a Good Thing?

This is going to be a significant change, so the question is, is this a good thing? Our PPC expert believes it to be!

“Before, there were four keyword match types. Mathematically, this equates to a 25% probability for a user keyword search to hit your keyword’s match type. Now with the retirement of BMM, there will be three match types.”

“Therefore, this equates to a 33.33% probability for a user’s keyword search to hit your keyword’s match type! In other words, there is a greater likelihood that a new customer is likely to find your business.” – Gerardo Yllescas, Pay-Per-Click Manager.

So saying goodbye to BMM could positively affect everyone involved.

When will these Changes Take Place, and How Can You Prepare?

Although these changes officially take place on the 18^th of February, you can continue using broad match modifier keywords up until July. However, they won’t behave as you are used to, so we recommend implementing a phrase match over BMM as soon as possible. Our team can help you get this going, so get in touch with us today to find out more.