Gain More Control & Reach with Broad Match Modifier for Google Pay-Per-Click

September 29 / Mark Kelly / filed under Pay-Per-Click

Last year, Google Adwords (Google’s pay-per-click advertising network) welcomed a new sibling into the keyword matching family. Up until then, there were only three distinct matching types available: exact, phrase, and broad match.

So what does this relatively new match type mean for pay-per-click advertising, and how can you reap the most rewards from its most recent addition?

What is Broad Match Modifier?

In short, a broad match modifier (BMM) allows you to be more targeted than broad match keywords, but have greater reach than with phrase or exact match. To reach your target audience you may find that using only broad match may produce irrelevant search queries and costly ad clicks, which can quickly add up. Using broad match may therefore require more time and resources spent adding negative keywords to your campaigns in order to reduce the amount of low quality ad clicks. Using phrase or exact match, on the other hand, may decrease your ad visibility to relevant search queries. Adding broad match modifiers can be a huge asset in refining your keyword targeting.

Adding BMM’s to Your Campaigns

To add a modifier to an existing broad match keyword, simply add a plus symbol (+) in front of each word that you want required to be present in the search query in order for your ad to show.

Examples:

+exercise +class

  • This will show your ads for queries such as “exercise fitness class” and “local exercising classes”.

exercise +class

  • This will show your ads for queries such as “classes for better fitness” and “workout class”.

Broad match modifier can help to keep costs low while improving conversion rates. It works well alongside of existing broad match keywords, or in replacement of them if you currently experience a number of irrelevant search queries.

When properly implemented, successful BMM’s offer more precise and refined targeting while keeping your scope wide enough to capture relevant clicks and drive high quality leads. Test these for yourself to see how broad match modifier can improve your campaign results!

QUICK TIP ~ Adding Broad Match Modifier Keywords in Adwords Editor

If you’d like to add broad match modifier keywords to existing broad match keywords, here are some quick tips for using the Adwords Editor.

To add a Broad Match Modifier to the beginning word in a keyword phrase:

1) Open Adwords Editor. Under the Keyword tab, highlight existing broad match keywords.

2) Click “Append Text” on the bottom left.

3) In the “Add” drop-down menu, enter “+”

4) Select “Before existing text.”

5) Check the box “Duplicate selected rows and append text to duplicates.”

To add a Broad Match Modifier to subsequent words in a keyword phrase:

1) Highlight existing broad match keywords.

2) Click “Replace Text” on the bottom left.

3) Replace the blank spaces ” ” in the selected keywords with a blank space and plus sign ” +”.

4) Check the box “Duplicate selected rows and append text to duplicates.”