Update – Google began phasing out modified broad matches for Google Ads starting February 2021. Find out what match types Google Ads offers.
Keyword matching is crucial in setting up a successful Google Ads campaign. This ensures that your ads appear exactly where you want them.
Google offers many options for a keyword match. You can display ads for keywords close to your keyword but you have more control over the searches that your ad will appear in.
Learn more about Google Ads’ broad match modifiers and their importance. You will also learn how to set them all up.
What’s a broad match modifier?
Broad Match Modifiers allow advanced keyword matching with Google Ads. They are similar to the default wide matching type but provide more control.
Broad matches allow you to show ads for keywords other than your own. It also allows you to show related keywords and synonyms. Your ad will show close variants to keywords you have designated as essential.
Similar variants are:
- Misspellings
- Abbreviations
- Acronyms
- There are many grammatical options for the word
- Synonyms
- Paraphrases
A (+) sign can be added before a keyword to mark it as essential.
Broad match modifier examples
Let’s take a look at some examples of broad match modifiers. For example, let’s say your keyword phrase is “hiking shoes”. Your ads will appear for searches like “hiking shoes”, hiking boots, and “boots”. If you use broad match modifiers, your ads will not appear for searches such as “hiking shoes”, “hiking boots”, and so on.
- Wireless headphones
- Cheap wireless headphones
- Wireless earbuds
These searches may not include all keywords that are required to display the search results.
- Over-ear headphones
- Wireless speakers
- Headphones
Broad match modifiers do not need to be used.
You have more control over who sees your ads and where advertising dollars go. However, you still have the benefit of appearing in related searches so that you don’t have too many keyword variants.
Broad match modifiers can be a great middle ground, allowing you to reach a smaller audience than the exact and phrase match options. But, narrowing down your audience can be more effective than regular broad matches. This is because you are targeting a particular audience.
You will have higher visibility if you use the exact phrase and match matches.
Use broad match modifiers
You can use broad keywords in Google Ads to create broad match modifiers. You can use broad keywords in Google Ads to create broad match modifiers. However, a plus sign must be placed before any words you want to convert into broad modifiers.
- +dog +sweaters
There shouldn’t be any space between the plus sign and the word you want to modify. You can also modify the broad match by using the one with the plus sign.
- Holiday +dog +sweaters
Your ad must contain “dog” and “sweaters”. Even though you’re targeting “holiday”, the ad will display for “sweaters dogs” or similar searches that don’t include the word “holiday”. Broad match modifiers only work with broad keywords. These are two types of keyword matches.
Multiple match types can be used in one campaign. If you use phrases, and exact match keywords and want to increase your reach with broad modifier keywords, Make a broad version of your match modifier for your phrase.
Your match keyword for “travel coffee cup” will be “travel mug”, and your broad match modifier keyword would be “+travel +coffee mug”.
These steps will allow you to create broad match modifiers.
This step-by-step guide will give you more information on setting up broad match modifiers in Google Ads.
- Login to your Google Ads account
- Select “Keywords” from the menu at the top of
- Click on the plus sign in blue
- Choose the ad category in which you want to add your broad match modifiers
- You should enter your broad match modifier keywords. Be sure to include the plus sign before the keyword
- Click the “Save” button
Now your ads will display with broad match modifier keyword keywords.
- Login to your Google Ads account
- Select “Keywords” from the menu at the top of
- Hover over the keyword you want to edit and click on the pencil icon.
- To modify broad match modifiers, you can add a plus sign next to the words that you want to modify
- Click the “Save” button
Kobe Digital helps you optimize your Google Ads campaigns
Google Ads campaigns can only be as successful as the keywords that they match. Google Ads campaigns are only as successful as the keywords they match. Kobe Digital has extensive Google Premier Partner experience. We can help you create and implement a custom pay-per-click (PPC) advertising strategy that maximizes the success of your business.
