adCenter to Add Broad Match Modifier

The adCenter product team is set to deliver an important improvements that will bring adCenter even closer to Google AdWords parity and improve your PPC results: broad match modifier. Here's how to make the most out of it immediately.

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Date published
April 13, 2012 Categories

Yahoo Search Bing PPCAs they promised they would, the adCenter product team continues to deliver important improvements at an impressive pace. People are beginning to be given the heads up on the imminent release for the U.S. market of another feature that brings adCenter even closer to Google AdWords parity: Broad Match Modifier.

Not only does this feature provide advertisers with much better control over the sometimes erratic behavior of the broad matching algorithms, but if this works anything like AdWords Modified Broad Match (and it should), then we should expect significant improvements on both Average Positions but also CTR, which translates into more clicks and conversions.

What is Broad Match Modifier (BMM)?

BMM allows advertisers to specify which terms within any given keyword must be present within the search query for the ad to qualify for auction. This is achieved by putting a PLUS symbol in front of the terms we want to qualify explicitly as “modified”.

For example, let’s imagine an advertiser bids on the broad match keyword Blue Acme Widgets, but our advertiser realizes loads of traffic is for the search query Blue BigCo Widgets. The trouble is, our advertiser doesn’t sell BigCo widgets, so this traffic is wasted. Using modified broad match, our advertiser could make sure the competing brands Acme and BigCo will not be considered interchangeable by the adCenter broad match algorithms by simply adding the PLUS sign in front of ACME.

Blue +Acme Widgets

And if our advertiser only sells them in blue, then she could also limit the broad matching on Blue, like so:

+Blue +Acme Widgets

How To Make the Most of BMM?

1. Go Beyond Phrase & Exact

Savvy advertisers typically start campaigns with exact match keywords, slowly adding phrase match once they feel the exact match strategy is working. But many never move on to adding very many broad match keywords because broad match is inherently an unpredictable black box which of course carries a lot of risk.

The introduction of BMM by adCenter means advertisers gain a lot more control over how the matching algorithm will work with their broad match keywords. If you’re one of those advertisers who has been scared of the seemingly random behavior of broad match, this is a new opportunity to move the needle on your existing campaigns.

2. Build Out Keyword Lists & Improve Bidding strategy

Since simply using Broad Match can be quite risky, many advertisers have not had the chance (or the budget!) to use it as a means to uncover search queries that work and to add them as new phrase and exact match keywords. But with the introduction of BMM, it is now much easier to try this very effective strategy in a controlled environment.

For example, if you sell Blue Widgets by many different brands, but only blue (no other colour), and only widgets (it’s your specialty!), then you don’t want to broad match blue widgets for fear of matching for irrelevant queries. But with BMM+Blue +Widgets will probably uncover opportunities like Discount Blue Acme Widgets – add Discount Blue Widgets as Broad Match with BMM (+Discount +Blue +Widgets) BigCo Widgets in Blue – add this search query as phrase match and exact match Where can I find fake blue widgets – add “fake” as negative

3. Protect Brand Terms

One important use of BMM is for those advertisers who need to be concerned with the matching of brand terms.

Release: Any Day Now

At the time of writing this article the BMM was on the verge of being released to the general public in the U.S. This is an immediate opportunity to improve your results this month. Using a combination of negative keywords and BMM, most of you can make a real improvement to your overall results starting this month (if you make your move now!).

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