Deprecation of Broad Match Modifier

It doesn’t seem like the industry is talking enough about changes to keyword match types. Google has loosened match types in the past but those changes have never required paid search professionals to entirely change their match type strategy. It’s not even about broad match modified going away since phrase match would take its place. It’s about how Google is changing match types from query focus to user intent and how they are now doing so on phrase and exact match not just pure broad.

Everyone seems to be hyper focused on FLoC (Federated Learning of Cohorts). Rightfully so but there’s really not much happening with first party data. Brands can still serve ads and track conversions as long as it is from their own site even without user data. This is how it’s always been. What’s changing is how important audience targeting is becoming in expanding and curtailing Google’s liberal use of keyword match types.

Google has long intended for match types to be used as a method of matching with user intent. Broad match targeting is available to allow marketers to minimize the effort required in conducting keyword research. Until now, Google hasn’t been sophisticated enough to be able to target on intent so it’s been targeting queries. Digital marketers all around have quickly learned that it is an expensive way to serve ads but there weren’t many options other than deploying a mix of keyword match types and negative keywords to reduce CPCs.

With Google’s proficiency in capturing the spirit behind the user’s search, marketers now need to rethink what this means for keyword research and campaign structure. Two of the most important questions still prevail - (1) How do I deploy keywords to target the full funnel and (2) How do I minimize my cost per click?

Clunky paid search programs are very quickly losing its luster. If you’re still preaching granularity at scale, you should go back to the drawing board. Think more along the lines of intelligent campaigns. When Google automated campaigns and slapped on the name “smart” to everything, everyone just assumed that the search giant was just taking away the ability to make manual changes. They were but, more importantly, they began the shift from serving ads based on the user’s current search to incorporating all the signals it has in its arsenal. 

Keyword targeting across the funnel - This one is easy. Think of at least five steps in any typical user journey and deploy keywords at every stage. Say you are selling ‘super automatic espresso machines’, you would likely want keywords that describe the type of product, features, specifications and unique proposition of the seller. You will no longer want keywords that itemize different colors and similar attributes.

Minimizing cost per click - Now that Google will match your keyword with just about everything under that sun, you will begin to pay for everything it matches with and that can sum up to a lot more than you are anticipating. You need to stop thinking how much you are willing to pay for each query and instead how much you are willing to pay for each level in the funnel. 

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