If your company advertises on Google Ads, watch out for this news! Google has rolled out an important update on keyword match types. You might need to take some action.
Google has announced another big update for Google Ads. This time changes have come to the “phrase match” and “broad match modifier” keywords. These keywords are now starting to also match "same meaning" keywords.
Let´s try to understand it better with the example that Google provided.
Imagine that you have in your account the broad match modifier keyword: “+lawn+mowing+service”.
Before the update, this keyword would be triggered on the queries such as “services to mow my lawn” or “lawn mowing and edging services”.
After the update, this keyword would be also triggered on queries like “grass cutting and gardening services” or “rates for services that cut your grass”.
For the phrase match keyword “lawn mowing service” the example will be as follows:
- Before the update: “lawn mowing services near me” / “seasonal lawn mowing service rates”.
- After the update: “grass cutting service near me” / “local lawn cutting service”.
So, to sum it up, from now on your keywords will match much more search queries. In fact, they will match just about anything that Google will consider as having the “same meaning”.
Is this good?
Google claims that 15% of the search terms used in Google search are completely new, so advertisers who are “closing” their accounts by selecting very specific keywords with restricted keyword match types are potentially missing out on some opportunities. Google believes that this update will bring some boost in clicks to all the accounts.
Is there a risk?
Yes, in our opinion, there is, as Google system has become very smart, but it is still an algorithm, that cannot understand some small nuances that might be very important to your business. So, your ads might start to show on less relevant queries causing the costs to grow without bringing the correspondent results. In no matter what situation, a "boost in clicks" will cause a boost in cost that might be a problem for companies on a restricted budget and who are not following these news.
What should you do?
The most important thing is to monitor your account and to go through all the search queries that your keywords are matching. If you find some irrelevant terms, block them immediately by adding them to your negative keywords. If, on the other hand, you find a new term that makes perfect sense to your business, but for some reason has been forgotten, go ahead and add it to your keywords.
Another important thing to bear in mind is that if you are using the “Manual CPC” strategy, you might need to consider changing to some other automated strategy; because with this update, you are no longer in full control of where your ads appear and whether they appear on relevant term or less relevant ones, you will have the same bid, which will make the less-relevant traffic unnecessarily expensive. If you are using automated bidding strategy, Google will adjust your bid to each case specifically, which will lower your overall costs.
So, what are your thoughts on this update? Helpful or frightening?
For more information, bespoke strategies and efficient digital marketing solutions, just contact the Clarity’s girls through info@yourdigitalclarity.com or visit our website at www.yourdigitalclarity.com.
