Definition
In search advertising, a keyword matching option that lets your ad serve when someone searches for the keyword, a variation of it, or a related topic.
Information
Broad match is the loosest of the keyword match types. Unlike phrase match and phrase match, which try to stay true to the meaning of the keyword, broad match can venture into related topics. It can even match to search queries that don’t include the original keywords.
In addition to bid keywords, broad match may also take into account:
- The user’s recent search activities
- The content of the landing page
- Other keywords in an ad group to better understand keyword intent
What are examples of broad match keywords?
Google gives the following examples for “low-card diet plan”
- carb-free foods
- low-carb diets
- low calorie recipes
- Mediterranean diet books
- low-carbohydrate dietary program
How can I specific broad match keywords in Google Ads?
For broad match, you don’t need to specify anything. Just type your keywords without any symbols. Broad match is the default match type.
What are the benefit of broad match keywords?
Using broad match can be a form of keyword research, where you can sift through a large variety of search queries and add the better ones to your bid keywords (perhaps as phrase or exact match).
When used with smart bidding, broad match may even be competitive in terms of ROI, while delivering more conversions.
Are there any disadvantages of broad match keywords?
Broad match can get it wrong, pushing the concept of “relatedness” past the breaking point.
Also, what is a related term in general might not be a related term for your business.
Broad match saves time in the beginning, as you don’t need to add as many keywords to get clicks, but you may need to spend more time on search query reports and adding negative keywords.
When to use broad match keywords?
The 1st rule of broad match… use smart bidding.
The 2nd rule of broad match… use smart bidding.
Google says it is critical to use smart bidding with broad match keywords.
Broad match is a trade-off. In order to gain greater reach, you will at times sacrifice a lot of intent. This can be okay if the system bids appropriately on the less-related keywords. However, not every advertiser will have enough conversions for the system to learn at a rapid rate. As with anything, the best advice often is to test several methods and monitor the results.
…
