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AdWords Modified Broad Match Keywords Now Global

Back in May we reported about the limited test of Modified Broad-match keywords in AdWords. It seems this test went so well that Google has now announced that its rolling out this feature across the globe.

For those new to modified broad match keywords, they are basically a way to reign in those notoriously easy-going broad keyphrase matches without actually swapping to a phrase or exact match.

The 'Problem'

For example, a broad match for “smart shirt” could also trigger for “stylish shirt” or even “smart clothing” – if you are only selling shirts this isn't ideal, your ads will be showing for searches that don't actually relate to your products. The normal technique to get around this was to use phrase or exact matches to ensure that your ads were only showing for the intended keyphrases.

Modified Broad Match To The Rescue

Modified broad matches present a new way to deal with this situation, it allows you to 'anchor' a part of the broad keyword. To do this you just put a + symbol in front of the section of the keyword you want to guarantee is part of the triggering keyphrase. So for the above example – if we used the modified broad match keyphrase “smart +shirt” the ads will only show for keyphrases like “stylish shirt”, “elegant shirts” and “smart going out shirt”. It won't trigger for keyphrases like “smart clothing” as that doesn't have the word shirt in it.

I've been using this technique in AdWords campaigns for the past few months and have found it to be an effective tool to allow broad match principles while still guaranteeing it never drifts too far 'off message'.

..More information can be found on the Inside AdWords Blog.



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  • Hi Robert,

    Glad you found modified broad match useful in allowing you to still target a large number of potential customers while increasing the relevancy of visitors.

    In some analysis I carried out recently on modified broad match ( http://www.calculatemarketing.com/blog/techniques/modified-broad-match-adwords-analysis/ ), I found that modified broad match keywords exhibited signifiantly higher click through rates and lower cost per click prices than those without.

    In my opinion it’s fefinitely one all PPC advertisers should be implementing.

    Alan from Calculate Marketing

    Total Comments by Calculate Marketing Melbourne: 2

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