As always, something in marketing is changing. For the past few years, most of the change has come from Facebook – with iOS14 updates, privacy changes, special ad categories, limited targeting, and more. This time, the change is from Google ads. So grab a cup of coffee, La Croix or, whatever you need to focus on because this change is very nuanced.

The keyword match type Broad Match Modified is set to retire and be partially absorbed by Phrase Match. 

What does this mean?

Take a look at the graphic below. Before is on the left, after is on the right. As you can see, Phrase Match will absorb most of the search queries that Broad Match Modified keywords would have previously triggered your ad to be displayed for, but not all of them.

Quick reminder:

• Search queries or search terms are what someone types into Google.
• Keywords are what we add to our Google Ad Campaigns.
• The match type connects the search query to your keyword and is essentially a predefined set of rules for how different the keyword and the search query can be from each other.
• When a search term and keyword are matched, this triggers your ad to be eligible to be displayed on the search results page. Your bid, budget, and ad performance influence where on the search results page your ad is displayed.

 What will be the effects of this change?

How much this affects your Google Campaigns depends on if you are using Broad Match Modified keywords or not. If you are using Broad Match Modified, then you might see a slight drop in traffic from losing impressions from search queries that do not match the exact order of the words that create the entire keyword.

For those not using Broad Match Modified, but mostly Phrase match, you might see an increase in traffic from the new Phrase Match absorbing most of the Broad Match Modified search terms.

What Should You Do?

Start using only Phrase, Exact, or Broad Match Keywords. Each of these types has different behavior and therefore requires slightly different uses. For example, if you use Broad Match (not Broad Match Modified) keywords, you need to start with a strong list of negative keywords as well as monitor the Search Query Report. Otherwise, your ads might start showing up for Home Depot, Tiny Home, or Free Home searches.

For campaigns that are already running and using Broad Match Modified Keywords, you will need to convert those over to Phrase Match. This is most efficiently done in Google Ads Editor, where you can select all your keywords at a single time and make the adjustments needed. I would also advise adding more variations around the order of the keywords. Google is not 100% clear on if Phrase Match Keywords will strictly behave as Phrase Match or if this new version of Phrase Match has less restraint on the order of the search phrase the Google User types in.

Change Timeline:

1. Sometime in July 2021 – you will no longer be able to create Broad Match Modified keywords.

2. After July 2021, previously created Broad Match Modified keywords will behave like Phrase Match. You may be prompted to convert Broad Match Modified keywords to Phrase Match if you edit them.

Questions? We’ve got answers. Send your questions in or comment on any of the social posts for this blog post. We are more than happy to help.