Attention PPC Campaign Creators: What Google’s Query Matching Update Means

This month, Google Ads released a feature update enabling broad match by default when you create a new search campaign. This was previously not done by default, but now can be done automatically to help campaigns reach a larger audience. 

But what exactly has Google updated in the last couple of months, and how does it impact PPC campaigns? Let’s take a closer look.

What Is Broad Match?

A keyword match type allows your ad to show on searches related to your keyword’s meaning, which can include searches that don’t contain the actual keyword terms. This allows you to reach more searches than with exact and phrase matches — ads that show searches that either include the meaning of your keyword or are the same meaning as your keyword. 

For example, if your keyword is “furniture store,” broad match ads could include searches that relate to “home decor” and “leather sectional.” For the same keyword, a phrase match would show on searches like “cheap furniture stores,” “living room furniture deals” or “what store is the best place to find a bedroom dresser.” Lastly, an exact match would show on searches like “furniture store” and “home furnishing shop.” With broad match now being the automatic option for new search campaigns, your keyword can cast a much wider net. 

Query Matching Updates You Should Be Aware Of

Curious how these latest Google Ads updates will affect your next campaign? Here’s what you need to know: 

Brand Exclusions and Inclusions

Brand inclusions in broad match enable your PPC campaigns to get the benefits of broad match while still limiting traffic to the brands you want. With this update, it’s easier to identify and take action on those opportunities through brand inclusion recommendations found on your Recommendations page. On the flip side, brand exclusions let you choose which brands to leave out across all match types. This can help you maximize your reach while blocking traffic from brand misspellings and other variants. 

Better Search Term Aggregation and Reporting

Even the best writers misspell words, which means the average person is probably going to type words into Google incorrectly from time to time. Google Ads already matches misspelled queries to their correctly spelled keyword. The problem is, search terms must meet privacy thresholds to appear in the search terms report — a report that analyzes and groups the search terms where your ads have appeared in the user-selected date range — and many misspelled queries don’t meet that threshold. Now, those misspelled searches can be reported with the correct spelled search query, giving you more visibility into their performance. 

Improved Coverage for Negative Keywords

There are many different ways to misspell your keywords. Before this update, you’d have to add all misspellings of each keyword if you wanted to exclude them. However, now you can exclude all variations with just one negative keyword. This can save you time and energy without losing out on SEO value. 

Thinking of the Future

Google isn’t the same company it was 10 years ago. It’s moving from focusing on analytics to more of an informational exchange platform, making it vital for marketers to start thinking about their audience’s preferences and search behavior rather than just clicks and conversions. 

Want to learn more about past Google updates? Check out our regularly updated blog post.