Broad Match Keywords: When to Use...and When to Avoid

Okay, when to use Broad Match keywords and when not to. I get asked this all the time. I've also done a lot of audits where companies are doing this incorrectly and they are blowing lots of money on Broad Match keywords on a bunch of junk making Google richer and not themselves. So when it starts with Broad Match keywords, you first have to understand how Broad Match keywords works. So if I go into Google's keyword match type explanations, FYI, I have an entire video breakdown on match types that are is way more in depth than what I'm going to provide here. That video will be in the description below. But quickly, here is Google's keyword match types. You see Exact phrase in broad. Those are the three match types, right? Exact Match is going to be tight matching. Phrase Match is going to be moderate matching. Broad Match is going to be comprehensive matching. What does that even mean? Well, Google, and this is straight from Google's mouth, reach the right customers with Broad Match. Broad Match uses the power of Google AI sounds very smart to extend its reach beyond Exact and Phrase Match by identifying related queries to reach more customers and drive better performance. Okay, what the heck does that mean? What does that even mean? So basically Google is saying Broad Match taps into Google's AI has more signals. Google AI signals that are attached with Broad Match versus Phrase and Exact Match. Now why is that important to know the definition? Because if you are running manual CPC or max clicks and not using any form of smart bidding, then Broad Match by definition does not fit well with those bid strategies. Because those bid strategies technically aren't using Google's AI. Smart bidding is so first, when not to use Broad Match. Well, number one, if you're not currently using smart bidding, do not use Broad Match. It's very simple. I've seen way too many campaign builds where they listen to a Google rep that says use Broad Match right away or during the campaign build process. It forces you into Broad Match or you think it's forcing you into Broad Match. So you end up you've got a campaign bunch of Broad Match keywords and then they flick it to like max clicks or manual CPC bid strategies and they end up just burning a credit card resulting in absolutely no sales or leads for their business. So if you're not using smart bidding, do not use Broad Match keywords. Also, if you are using smart bidding but you're already struggling, it's not an optimized campaign. I tend to not use Broad Match in that scenario. I usually like to get a campaign dialed in And I use Broad Match as an amplifier. Okay, so this is kind of an optimal path, this perfect scenario. And I did this for a video called the first 90 days of a Search Campaign that will be in the description below if you want to check that video out. However, this is sort of the optimal path to actually bring in yourself to be able to use Broad Match successfully. So what we see, and this is for a brand new campaign. But you can, you can use this same thought process. If you have a campaign that's not currently dialed in but month one, what you're, what you're really trying to do is get clicks, right? Because you just need to start getting volume. You need to start collecting data. I always use the term investing in data. And then you're going to see, all right, what's working, what's not. You're not, you don't even worry about efficiency or profitability at this point. You're just trying to get some volume coming in. Then ideally start optimizing towards getting 30 plus conversions in a month. That seems to be the sweet spot that smart bidding works consistently. If you have low volume, smart bidding can struggle or something called suffocate, or I call it Suffocate, where the campaign doesn't have enough conversion volume. You're on smart bidding, it starts to putter out. So ideally you're working your campaign to getting clicks, you're working your campaign to getting conversions. And normally I'm utilizing phrase and exact match keywords during that process. I'm also normally utilizing manual CPC bidding, or if I want to be super aggressive, I'm using max clicks bid strategy, right? So Broad match is not being used yet because broad match does not fit well at this stage. However, once I have enough volume of the conversions, I can now start moving into smart bidding. Now, I normally like to still not use broad match. Let's say I flick over to a max conversions bid strategy with no cap or max conversion value with no cap. I still, a lot of times, even on that bid strategy, don't like to bake in Broad match just yet. It opens the floodgates up to Google on spending on that broad match keyword. And so I prefer if I have a cap on my bid strategy. So let's say I'm using maximize conversions, but now I have a TCPA cap, right, A CPA cap there. And let's say I'm going after $100 cost per acquisition. Now I'm more comfortable baking in a broad match keyword there because I'm telling and signaling To Google, I still need to get $100 CPA. So it governs that that broad match keyword bit versus if I'm very aggressive. Now some of you might be watching this and you're going to comment below. I run max conversions, no cap, and I'm using Broad Match and I'm. And I'm killing it. Good for you. I just think based off of the amount we've tested it in our portfolio of millions and millions of dollars and I think we have about a hundred and some clients now that it doesn't seem to always work. Now if you, your risk tolerance is there and you can be more aggressive, fine, test it. However, ideally the optimal path to utilizing Broad Match is you've got a campaign that you've dialed in, you've got nice consistent volume of conversions. You're now utilizing smart bidding with a cap of some sort, whether it's TROAS or cpa. Then you're baking in broad to get that comprehensive reach that Google claims you get. And you're tapping in to Google's AI with that Broad Match keyword that amplifies. Now your reach that amplifies and leans in further into Google's AI and it works wonderfully with smart bidding. But you've got to get your campaign there first. So you don't want to just jumpstart with Broad Match. Broad Match that is there to amplify a campaign that you've already got dialed in. Okay, a tip when it comes to Broad Match though, and I already mentioned this earlier, but you have to be very diligent with the search term report. You will get still irrelevant traffic. Now Google seems to have gotten better over the last year, but there will be junk that still comes in and it makes Google more money, but it doesn't make you more money. So be diligent with your negative keyword additions. I have full videos by the way on how to add negative keywords. I have full videos on the, you know, 90 day or first three months of a campaign process and I have full videos on bidding strategies. So if everything I just said in this optimal sort of path, being able to use Broad Match successfully, you still have questions or a bit confused. I have all of that those resources for you in videos that you can dive in further. All of that will be in the description below. Okay, I want to show you something real case study what we have found here at Grow my ads and through audits I've done and I've done a thousand plus audits now. So I've seen Billion dollar companies and what they're doing to small mom and pops. Right. What we have started to find is if you are a big spender with lots of volume of data, broad match becomes very important and in fact it becomes most of the account at this point. Not fully but you start to see in the search terms that broad match becomes more and more important. It starts performing very well and it actually exceeds exact and phrase match. Now if you've watched any of my videos on how to set up like search campaigns, how to optimize, I still am a big believer in using exact match. So let's say you started successfully using broad match keywords. You still want to use exact match for many reasons but I run if you looked at any account that I was managing or someone from my team, especially a big, big spender talking 100k plus per month spenders, usually you'll find it's going to be a lot abroad but also a lot of exact match terms for our high volume, very important, high intent, high converting keywords. So it's a mixture. It's this hybrid method of broad match living with exact match. Phrase match at that point usually gets phased out. Now if you're a small spender, you normally won't have this happen for you. What you're going to find usually with small spenders exact and phrase still play a very vital role and, and then you'll have some broad that, that starts to bring in some decent volume on well optimized campaigns. But I want to show you what big, big spenders look like and how important. I mean this is Google's dream right now is to just get rid of match types eventually in the future. I think this is just my own thoughts and, and just get rid of the match types and solely rely on either broad match or maybe one day no keywords at all. Right. And it just be intent based. That's my thoughts. Don't, I don't want to go down rabbit holes there but this is a big spinner. I just want to show you and before you freak out. Actually I'm not. Yeah, before you freak out like on conversion rates and roas, just know this, this is the client's goals. This is a high, high ticket product and long sales cycle. So these numbers, trust me, this company is minting money. They're very, very happy with the results they're seeing. So again not typical of what you would find in usually smaller accounts but for them this is, this is very successful on what they're running. You'll notice nine and this is January 1st through August of 2024. 90% of our conversions are actually coming from Broad Match. Now this would not look like this for a small spender normally, but for big spenders this is what we're starting to see. The pattern of how important Broad Match plays a role when, when you have a massive amount of volume like this company does now, exact still plays a good role here. Obviously the conversion rate is higher there, click through rates higher, et cetera. And then phrase is almost pretty much nothing at this point. And so usually on these big accounts what we find once Broad Match is dialed in and once Google starts spinning most of the clicks impressions there at our goal right and, and it's, it's working then you we start to see how Phrase Match pretty much becomes useless. So we stop doing phrase and then we're just always testing adding in the exact match of high converting terms. If it works, it works. If it doesn't, it doesn't. Then we pause it out. But that is how successful Broad Match can actually be. Now as I'm going to say this again, I know I've said it too many times. If you're a small spinner 10k or under, you're probably not going to have these results. So don't worry if this is not what your campaigns look like. Like Broad Match doesn't make up that much for me. It won't on small spenders. This seems to only be the case with really big spenders. I just wanted to show you a real case study though of a big spender that has this. So for small spenders you're going to see usually Phrase and Exact are still going to play a very vital role and do a lot for you. And Broad will be there to help amplify your campaigns. Just a few key takeaways from what I've mentioned because I know I've talked about a lot with Broad Match keywords, but Broad Match is there to amplify well performing campaigns that are already using smart bidding, usually with some form of a goal. Okay. Do not use Broad Match with manual cpc. Do not use Broad Match with a max clicks bid strategy. Results may vary based off of your account size. If you're a big spender 100k plus per month in Google Ad spend, Broad Match is going to play a more vital role to your account. If you're a small spender 10k or under per month in ad spend, Broad Match will play a role, but it might not make up as big of a role as it would for 100k plus per month spender, and so you might not see 90% of your conversions coming from Broad Match. If you're a small spender, you'll still see how exact and phrase plays a decent role there. Big spenders phrase is pretty much useless, and then you'll have a lot coming from broad and you'll still have Exact match playing a good role for you in your account. You must absolutely I don't care if you're a big spender, small spender, you must absolutely keep an eye out on the search term report and continue to add negative keywords. Google will fleece you with irrelevant traffic. They always will. So be diligent on adding negative keywords. Okay, there you go. Hopefully you have a better understanding of when to use Broad Match and when not to use Broad match. I hope you got great value from this. I'll see you on the next video.