Today, Google announced from the 18th February 2021 Broad Match Modifier (BMM) keywords will start to incorporate the behaviour of Phrase match keywords and come July 2021 you will no longer be able to create new BMM keywords.

When I read the announcement this morning, I did what I usually do, have a mini tantrum over Google making changes that make me feel like I have less control over the search terms my ads appear for.

Given that Google now match to “the meaning of a search” and with close match variance being applied to both Exact and Phrase match keywords, could removing BMM make sense?

My accounts are always optimised for Exact match wins, the goal is to have Exact match keywords win as many ad auctions as possible.  They are the most relevant, highly targeted and often have lower CPC’s as they are rewarded with higher quality scores.

I use BMM for a broader reach to obtain higher search volumes.  They result in new search terms from which I can identify new keywords to target and negative keywords to reduce wastage.

Phrase match for me has always been the in-between. The quality of searches is highly relevant to the service/product offered.  It’s a great way to find search terms closely related to my Exact match keywords.

When close match variance was first introduced, I could not get my head around Exact match no longer being Exact, then Phrase match no longer behaved like Phrase.  Accepting irrelevant search terms is easier when they are matched to BMM keywords, it bothers me when they are matched to Exact and Phrase.

Many of us are bidding multiple times for the same ad auction, particularly when cross match negatives are not in place.  If my account contains +izam +ppc +services and “izam ppc services” they can both bid against “ppc services by izam”.  Given that Phrase match is now going to behave like BMM, no longer using BMM starts to make sense.

Below are some examples supplied by Google to show how these new changes will effect BMM and Phrase.