Here's the thing: broad match has evolved quite a bit since Google made it the default match type for all new search campaigns back in July. And today's broad match is not the wild card of a few years ago. It leverages sophisticated AI in serving as a bridge between reach and relevance, and is bound to be a powerful weapon in the arsenal of seasoned pros who know how to wield it. Today's broad match, combined with Smart Bidding strategies, can help you get 25–35% more conversions and is still something to manage closely.
Google has been investing a lot in machine learning and it shows, because the broad match is a different game entirely. For example, when you include a broad match keyword such as "digital marketing software," Google's too-smart-for-its-own-good algorithm considers more than just those three words. It also considers a bunch of other signals to determine when to show your ad.
Google's algorithm examines more than just the search query. The system takes into account the searcher's location, the device they are searching on, the time of day, their previous searches in the same session, even their behavior and browsing habits on Google's enormous network. This context understanding is what allows broad match to differentiate between someone searching for "marketing tools" who is likely searching for software solutions and someone hunting for physical marketing collateral.
It also employs semantic understanding to match synonyms, related concepts, and implicit context. For instance, your "digital marketing software" keyword could trigger ads related to searches like "online marketing platform," "what is marketing automation," or "CRM with email marketing features" because Google believes all of these searches are on the hunt for the same thing.
That the modern broad match pairs with Smart Bidding, it's even more sophisticated. And the system doesn't only decide whether or not to show your ad; it also determines what bid to place in every auction in accordance to the probability of a converter. This kind of bidding style means that you automatically bid more for searches that, according to the model, are likely to lead to a sale, and less (or not at all) for searches that are not likely to lead to a sale.
Let's face the numbers. Optmyzr's new analysis of over 2,600 Google Ads accounts has unveiled some surprising details about the efficacy of broad match. Then there is the story of cost efficiency, where things become more complex. For instance, 76% of accounts saw better ROAS with exact match than with broad match, while only 23% of accounts saw better ROAS with broad match.
i"This is really built for the people who are not PPC experts, this is, in Google's eyes, how they democratize PPC. For the PPC experts, this is something we're going to have to watch out for because we've been able to do quite well by doing all this manual stuff."
— Frederick Vallaeys, CEO of Optmyzr and Former Google Employee
His view that a strategic change is required is based on his perspective, broad match is at its best when you trust Google's automation with a watchful eye on your strategy.
Despite converting at a lower rate, broad match had the lowest cost per conversion. This is contrary to popular expectations about match type hierarchies. The data from recent studies shows 277% ROAS and 8.5% CTR for broad match, and 415% ROAS and 21.66% CTR for exact match. But broad match tends to have a much lower cost per click, so overall cost per acquisition is better.
The tale behind the volume is equally engaging. Data from Google demonstrates that advertisers who move from phrase to broad match in 5 or more keywords receive approximately 25% more conversions in Target CPA campaigns and 12% more conversion value in Target ROAS campaigns, while maintaining their efficiency goals. Broad match keywords tend to have 2-3x the impressions of the same exact match keywords.
According to multiple industry studies, broad match accounts for 49% of total clicks while exact match accounts for 38% of total clicks in recent analyses. But still, the conversion rates are "very aligned." That's a sign that Google's algorithm is now very good at filtering for commercial intent, even as broad match casts an even wider net.
It's not merely the improved keyword matching that makes modern broad match a game-changer, it is the combined success it must deliver along with Smart Bidding strategies. According to Google's own help center, broad match should only be applied with conversion-based Smart Bidding, and there is a very good reason for this.
Target CPA, Target ROAS, and Maximize Conversions are Smart Bidding strategies that considers hundreds of signals at auction time using machine learning. Some of these signals are the device type, the location, the time of day, the demographics and the most important of all, the specific search query and data about whether the performance of the search query in the past. With broad match's expansiveness, Smart Bidding can identify valuable opportunities it would otherwise miss with manual bidding.
Performance has been significantly impacted, there's no doubt about that. According to several industry studies, accounts with automated bidding on broad match receive 20% more ROI versus manual bidding. According to Google's own numbers, 62% of advertisers using Smart Bidding are now using broad match as their primary match type. That's a major change from just a few years ago.
Purna Virji, PPC expert, and Principal Consultant at LinkedIn, advocates what she terms "Broadience," a combination of broad match and audience targeting.
i"Don't friend-zone Broad Match; there's a lot of love in the room here … We wanna keep a little fence on it so it doesn't go running wild."
— Purna Virji, PPC Expert and Principal Consultant at LinkedIn
So where her approach has centered on broad match for discovery but with audience controls for precision.
The key thing to understand is that Smart Bidding learns per query and not per keyword. That is to say, every search that you run containing your broad match keyword is teaching you how to make better bidding decisions down the line for the entirety of your account, leading you to an advantage that compounds over time.
Knowing when to use broad match can be the difference between a campaign that lights the world on fire and one that torches your budget. If you have enough conversions (read: at least 15 per month per campaign), are tracking conversions correctly and have reasonable performance targets, you're in the sweet spot.
Broad match is great when you want to scale following a proven fit with your product/market, like you've shown that your product fits the market with exact match campaigns. Once you've identified your highest converting keywords and are consistently seeing strong performance, broad match helps you uncover high-intent queries you never thought could deliver for you. There are many other great performant advertisers that use a more tiered approach where they use exact match for terms that have worked and phrase match for terms that are sort of proven and broad match for discovering new terms and scaling.
i"Broad match had the lowest cost per conversion, I'm anxious to dig into all the data and see where there are potential performance leaps."
— Jason Tabeling, Head of Solutions at Further
His analysis demonstrated that although broad match typically has lower conversion rates, the significantly lower cost per click often results in superior net unit economics.
Where people live and their age, similarly, the effectiveness of broad match depends on where people live and their age. The same campaigns might perform better or worse, depending on the market. For instance, one study discovered that broad match CPA was +91% higher in the US but -38% lower in the UK for similar B2B campaigns. This means how people search and how competitive it is has a big impact on how well broad match works.
Secondly it is important to consider the budget for success. Professionals in the field say that, to be effective, broad match calls for a minimum of $15,000 a month in spending. Below this level, the algorithm simply doesn't have enough data to perform well, which results in noise and wasted money.
When you utilize broad match alongside negative keywords, you can build your strategy and expand your algorithm. Using negative keywords to manage well isn't a matter of retarding broad match, so much as it is about teaching Google's algorithm what's good traffic, by telling them very specifically what you don't want.
Before you launch, begin with negative keywords at the category level. For B2B SaaS businesses, such words might be "free," "open source," "jobs," and the names of their competitors. If an e-commerce brand isn't selling product to consumers in the finished state, they probably aren't using words like "careers," "investor relations" or those related to DIY solutions. The idea is to block traffic that obviously isn't helpful, while not being overly picky.
You will need to make sure to do weekly search term analysis for your broad match campaigns. Search for patterns among such queries that do not translate into a sale. Is there a search intent while you are attempting to sell them something? Are geographical qualifiers appearing for the areas outside of your service regions? Are there any words that bad traffic is always bad traffic?
i"Google has dramatically expanded what is the same meaning…Part of the issue here is when they make some bad semantics calls."
— Brad Geddes, Co-founder of Adalysis and Google Ads Expert since 1998
His is a point in favor of why human oversight is still necessary: Google's algorithm is sophisticated, but it still makes errors that must be corrected manually.
The best approach is to utilize a blend of negative keyword match types. Broad match negatives negate entire ideas (e.g. "free" does "free trial", "get free" etc), phrase match negatives negate specific phrases that are causing problems and exact match negatives negate specific queries that are throwing money down the drain.
An effective broad match strategy is a strategic deployment approached with the proper balance of rapid expansion and vigilant testing. The foundation is: good conversion tracking. You must have the ability to properly track every meaningful action that happens on your site, like phone calls, form fills and conversions that occur offline.
The way a campaign is structured matters a lot in how it does. You needn't lump various match types into the same ad group; create separate broad match campaigns, each with a budget and bidding strategy of their own. This distinct division makes the performance data cleaner and prevents diverse types of matches from bidding against each other in the auctions.
Ease yourself into your budget: while you are testing broad match, please allocate 20% to 30% of your total search budget only. Once Google's algorithm sees buying intent it can spend up to 2x your daily budget. So, you'll want to make sure you have an extra amount in your account.
Selecting keywords is strategic and you have to think about it. Employ 3–4 word phrases that give clear evidence of what you are going after, rather than pushing single word broad match types that do not have any context. "Marketing software for small business" provides Google's machine learning with much more context about your audience and what they need than simply "marketing."
Time spent in learning is very much time well spent in success. Before we see significant changes, you should expect the algorithm to take 2 to 4 weeks to improve. Just focus instead on watching, not doing. Introducing change prematurely can re-set the learning and inhibit gains in performance.
Advanced broad match tactics go far beyond simple application, and also incorporate other advanced features and tactics. What is one of the most effective methods for running layered match type campaigns? One effective strategy is to utilize the same keywords across exact, phrase, and broad match with separate bid strategies and budgets.
Most often, it's highest top bids on exact match (proven converters), middle bids on phrase match (semi-proven terms), and lowest bids on broad match (discovery and scaling). Cross-campaign negative keywords stop cannibalization. The exact match campaigns should also not have the converting search terms of a broad match campaign so that we can maintain clean attribution.
Dynamic keyword insertion (DKI) becomes even more powerful for you when you employ broad match. Including {KeyWord:default text} in ad titles makes them relevant to the broad selection of search queries that broad match will pick up. So when you test variations of capitalization, such as {Keyword}, {Keyword}, or {keyword}, you can often see the effect these have on performance for different types of queries.
Layering audiences allows you to be even more prescriptive about who exactly gets to see your ads. Broad match with demographic targeting and custom audiences and remarketing lists help you reach more people, without veering off course. So, by bidding different amounts based on how good your audience is going to perform, you can pay more for high-value segments, and less for lower-quality traffic.
When they check out how well they're doing in different regions, a lot of advertisers miss opportunities to enhance their ads. And similar options are available in other states, cities or even zip codes that could have varied performance for the same broad match keywords. By regularly checking in on the performance of your locations and strategically adjusting your bids, you can make your campaign a lot more efficient.
If you approach broad match as exact match with extra reach, you'll commit the most costly errors. The main shift in strategy that needs to occur is from precision control to pattern recognition. Rather than managing each search query by hand, you are teaching Google's algorithm what good performance is.
The biggest disaster-point one, not doing enough conversion tracking. To be successful, broad match campaigns need 100% clean performance data. If you're not tracking these parameters for conversions, for both offline and online sales, and use throughout the day, the algorithm is optimizing based on incomplete data, which makes the traffic quality bad and the money will be wasted.
So many campaigns that may have eventually worked out fail because people are way too impatient during the learning process. Google's machine learning relies on a constant feed of data to find patterns and become more effective. Every time a new keyword (adding, changing bids or changing targeting) is added to the account (or something is changed/added in ad text) the learning process restarts which prevents the model reaching its full potential.
Another common error is overly negating. Negative keywords are the linchpin of controlling broad match, but if you overrestrict, you make it hard for the system to discover new search patterns that are useful. The aim is to drive the algorithm, not to truss it up. Rather than trying to control for every conceivable search variation, you might choose to instead concentrate on categories you can clearly identify as irrelevant.
If advertisers fail to account for varying spending patterns in broad match, they will miss-budget. With exact match campaigns, the costs are fairly predictable, but with broad match campaigns the variation from day to day can be huge as Google's algorithm finds new methods of converting. A remaining 20–30% buffer in your budget to prevent you from having campaigns interrupted when great opportunities arise.
Google's announcement that it will make broad match the default for new campaigns as of July is a statement of confidence in its machine learning and it amounts to a core change in the way search advertising operates.
As Google's algorithm becomes more sophisticated and figures out what people are seeking, traditional match types may be less useful, say experts in the field. The company is also drifting from matching particular keywords and toward "search themes." Rather than targeting specific search terms right off the bat, they are targeting clusters of user intent.
Performance Max campaigns already function like this, with automated keyword matching, audience targeting and bid optimization that don't require keyword lists. Success like Performance Max shows that broad match is a step closer to fully automated search advertising, a place where advertisers set goals and audiences and Google will take care of the rest.
The digital marketer must begin to embrace new skills that shift away from tactical keyword management to strategic oversight as this shift occurs. And it's better to be able to read data patterns, increase your conversion, and put a campaign strategy together than it is to run keyword research and juggle match types the old way around.
To make sure broad match functions properly, campaigns also need to have a monthly budget of at least $15,000, experts in the field say. Below this level, Google's algorithm cannot optimize. If the conversion data is lower than this level, Google's algorithm cannot optimize. Small-budgets can pay off, but expect to wait longer and have fewer expectations. The key here is you need at least 15 conversions a month. Broad match bidding can still have its place with limited budgets if your conversion rate and average order value are high enough.
According to Google's official documentation you should not use broad match with manual bidding strategies. Don't use broad match Without Smart Bidding, you're losing all the value of broad match, which is the fact that your bids can be factored on the likeliness of someone converting. And because you can't modify your bids for the many different search queries that trigger your ads, your ads don't perform well when you're using broad match and bidding manually. The reason recent broad match is smart is because it takes the wide coverage of broad match and then it adds smart bidding for accuracy.
In order to manage your budget effectively, you have to do three things: create solid negative keyword lists, set up Smart Bidding properly, and think strategically about how to allocate and utilize your budget. While you're about to go, implement category-level negative keywords, Smart Bidding strategies intended to help you reach conversion goals, and allocate 20–30% of your total search budget to broad match to start. By increasing the negative keywords and reviewing search terms on a weekly basis, may help to increase the quality of traffic over time.
Phrase match now incorporates the behaviors of modified broad match, which was sunset in recent years. Today's broad match is not like that. Instead of relying on particular words to be present, it applies sophisticated machine learning to discern what people are seeking. The new broad match looks at contextual signals, or user behavior and patterns, and semantic meaning to determine relevance. This makes it more sophisticated, but also requires different management than the old modified broad match.
Exact match and phrase match are stronger options for brand campaigns because they offer more control over brand-related searches. But broad match can be the thing that helps people discover your brand by appearing in searches where people discuss your product category or solution even if they don't know your brand name. So as not to compete with your own exact match brand campaigns, use diverse structures and lower bids for brand broad match.
The initial learning for the algorithm should be 2 to 4 weeks and continue to improve for 6 to 8 weeks. Performance can be unpredictable the first month as Google's machine learning tries to find patterns in your conversion data. Whether or not it's realistic for you depends, in part, on how much money you have to apply to marketing, how much competition you face in your industry, and how quickly your online or brick-and-mortar sales grow after you start, not to mention how the market changes and the season in which you begin. The more money and the more conversion data you have, the faster the system will learn.
Local businesses can do well with broad match but need to be mindful of where they are targeting and use negative keywording based on location. The trick is to find a happy medium between broadening your local reach and keeping an eye on your pocketbook. Broad match assists in finding those low-volume local searches that you would not otherwise match with exact match, but you also need to be sure you have a solid list of negatives to be able to exclude the areas you don't serve. For instance, consider using geographic bid adjustments applied for each location, and ads with local specific ad copy to make your ads as relevant as possible to local searchers.
In order to understand broad match you need to be familiar with other concepts related to PPC that impact how successful a campaign is. Phrase match, uses quotation marks ("keyword phrase"), to show your search ad for a search query containing your keyword phrase in the exact order you entered it, with words before or after. This type is the middle ground between broad match with thousands of impressions and exact match with only a handful of them.
Exact match uses brackets [keyword phrase] to display them for only searches that exactly match your keyword, including close variants such as plurals and misspellings. Exact match is evolving to include other implied meanings and intent variations, causing a bit of a confusion when it comes to match types.
Regardless of the match type, Quality Score is still paramount. It's how it tells you the relevance of your keywords, ads, and landing pages, on a scale of 1 to 10. Higher Quality Scores lead to ads appearing higher and lower costs for all match types. But they're particularly valuable for broad match, because relevance can shift around significantly between the searches you're triggering.
Search Query Reports provide you with key insights into which searches triggered your ads, enabling you to uncover successful queries for your exact match campaigns and terms that should be added to negative keyword lists. This report is necessary when trying to optimize broad match, as it indicates the opportunities and challenges that automatic matching provides.
Smart Bidding is the premier of our automatic bidding choices for broad match. Target CPA optimizes for cost per acquisition, Target ROAS optimizes for return on ad spend, and Maximize Conversions maximizes conversions within budget, while Maximize Conversion Value optimizes for total conversion value.
But seasoned PPC experts will tell you, when you are running broad match campaigns, it's all about patience and strategy. The best way to use broad match is as a tool to reach new customers and build your business, not as a primary form of targeting customers. Leverage what you learn to scale your exact match campaigns.
To maintain clear performance attributable and eliminate internal competition, campaign tiering, broad match storage and any other type of tiering storage, should be kept distinct. Dedicated broad match campaigns that had their own budgets and Smart Bidding strategies help by simplifying performance analysis and providing clearer optimization signals.
I can't emphasize enough how important proper conversion tracking is. This could be phone calls, form submissions, email signups and in-store transactions. More conversions and offline conversion imports mean algorithms have more data to do optimization with.
If nobody is actively managing your SEM account today, EM consultants should be analyzing the search term report on a weekly basis (or at least monthly)... not going in to adjust your bids on a daily basis. Look for successful queries you can exact match keywords on, and for troubled spots for which you can add negative keywords. The aim is to steer algorithmic learning rather than to steer it by hand.
The current definition of broad match is a significant change in search advertising. It is the shift from manually owning keywords to algorithmic collaboration. Broad match can help you get 25–35% more conversions and potentially decrease your cost per acquisition when used properly, with Smart Bidding and maintaining oversight. And most importantly, recognize that you have to be strategic about what you're trying to achieve and what you're not, rather than attempt to control every search.
This push for automation is not only something Google wants, but is the result of the complexity and variation in search behavior that people now have, which is too much to handle manually at the magnitude at which Google operates at. Natural language, voice search, and contextual queries are being used by users that you cannot predict through traditional keyword research. Broad match, plus machine learning, allows you to remain agile in this evolving search landscape.
If you are willing to adapt how you work, broad match can help digital marketers to increase their reach, efficiency and scaling. As search advertising gets smarter and more automated, advertisers who are able to make this transition, robot trust and strategic oversight in perfect balance, are going to continue to do fine.
In other words, broad match isn't quite the budget-busting monster that it once was. If you use it properly, and set reasonable goals and continue to optimize it, it can really help be a great tool to grow successful search campaigns and discover new growth opportunities that manual keyword managing would overlook.
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