Keyword Match Type | Broad Match

Broad match keywords are not enclosed in any notation. There are no quotes (“”) or square brackets ([]). An example is ‘low-carb diet plan’ without any quotes. 

Broad match, as the name implies, triggers your ad for broadly related topics. When a searcher inputs that keyword phrase, similar phrases, close variations of that keyword, related searches, and other variations that Google considers relevant, your ad will show. Broad match loose matching helps your ad reach the broadest audience and becomes the default keyword match type if you don't specify a particular matching option.

This keyword match type allows your ad to show when someone searches for that keyword, various variations, and related topics. For example, the broad match keyword ‘car camera’ can trigger your ad if someone searches for variations and related searches like ‘car accessories’, ‘vehicle blackbox dvr’ and ‘camera reviews for vehicles’. 

Previously, there used to be Broad Match Modifier (BMM) type of keyword matching which is now discontinued. In the past, BMM keywords were considered broad matching and the difference between Broad Match and BMM was that search queries that included synonyms were not triggered by BMM keywords, whereas Broad Match keywords acted like a “catch all” and could be triggered by synonyms.

For example: if an advertiser bids on ‘women shoes’ as Broad Match and BMM match type, and the searcher input ‘ladies running socks and shoes’, the ad will not be triggered by the BMM keyword but instead it will be triggered by the Broad Match version of the ‘women shoes’ keyword because the search query contained ‘ladies’ which is a synonym of ‘women’. This used to be applicable in the past but today BMM keywords are now redundant and treated the same as phrase match.

 

Keyword matching example – ‘low-carb diet plan’ Broad Match:

Your ad will show for the query ‘carb-free foods’. Foods may not be the same as a diet plan but in broad match, your ad will show because they are related.

Your ad will show for the query ‘low-carb diets’. This query has no ‘plan’ in it but in phrase match, it can trigger your ad because they are related.

Your ad will show for the query ‘low calorie recipes’. You did not include ‘recipes’ in your keyword but in broad match, this is considered close enough to trigger your ad.

Your ad will show for ‘Mediterranean diet books’. There is no mention of ‘Mediterranean’ in your keyword, but broad match is loose matching and this is a good example where Google decides the searcher input is related to your keyword. Therefore, it will trigger your ad. 

Your ad will show for ‘low-carbohydrate dietary programme’ which is reasonable because of the same context as your keyword.

 

In conclusion, broad match keywords will trigger your ads for search terms that can be far away from what you really mean. Therefore, you need to be extra careful when using broad match and include all negative keywords that you can identify so you don’t pay more than necessary. 

 

Is broad match good?

Test it out! Broad match opens ideas and lets you reach out to a wider audience. Be open to new ideas and if it is statistically proven that you are not getting conversions, you can always remove it.