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Earlier this month, Google announced a new AdWords keyword targeting option in UK and Canada: Broad Match Modifier. Let us first review the existing keyword match types in AdWords:

Broad Match

Triggers the ad when individual words in your keyword appear, in any order, in a user’s search query. Your ads could also show for singular/plural forms, synonyms, and other relevant variations.

Phrase Match

Triggers the ad if the word or words in your keyword appear in a user’s search query with the words in the exact order, even if other words are present in the search query.

Exact Match

Triggers the ad only when the exact word or words in your keyword, in exactly the same order, and without any other terms, appear in a user’s search query.

Negative Match

Adding a negative keyword to your ad group, campaign, or account means that your ads won’t show for search queries containing that term.

Broad Match Modifier is like the middle ground between broad match and phrase match, and can be treated as a workaround to disable Extend Broad Match (we all know how this feature can be a pain in the rear end). In general, Broad Match Modifier allows the keywords to have the versatility of broad match (match search queries in any order, misspellings, singular/plural form, abbreviations and acronyms, and stemmings (like “floor” and “flooring”) but keeps them fairly confined, meaning Synonyms (like “quick” and “fast”) and related searches (like “flowers” and “tulips”) won’t be triggering ads when using Broad Match Modifier.

The feature is activated by adding a + sign in front of the broad match keywords you want to modify.

For example:

The keyword tennis shoes in broad match can be triggered by search queries as far off as sport equipment (thanks to Extended Broad Match). This can be fixed by adding the Broad Match Modifier: +tennis +shoes

Now the keyword phrase can only be triggered by search queries such as:

• tennis shoe
• tenis shoes
• tennis women shoes

Note that the modifier doesn`t need to be applied to all words in a keyword phrase. Back to our example, the modifier can be used like: +tennis shoes. In this way, the word tennis will be restricted, but shoes are free to trigger whatever Google consider relevant.

Now, I am just hoping further down the road Google will expand this function further and allow advertisers to mix different match types in the same keyword phrase.

Pitstop Media offers ROI based internet marketing services. If you need help with PPC management or PPC optimization please contact us for a free, no obligation quote. We’ve helped companies reduce their paid advertising cost by as much as 48% and increase AdWords conversion rates by as much as 410%. See our internet marketing case studies.