PPC | Google Updates Keyword Matching Processes for Phrase & Broad Match

Article by Amy Bishop

Google Ads has announced updates to the way that queries are matched to keywords. Here's what advertisers need to know!

Google has announced changes to keyword matching, including a change that prefers the phrase and broad keywords which are identical to the query string. Google is also updating the matching process for queries that don’t have an identical keyword match.

The Basis For This Change

Earlier this year, Google announced that an exact match keyword that is identical to the query string will be preferred whenever that keyword is eligible to match, in order to help reduce account complexity.

Now, Google is announcing the same for phrase and broad match.

For example, if the query string buy a dog bowl is eligible to match multiple broad match keywords in your account (like dog bowl, purchase a dog bowl, and buy a dog bowl), Google will give preference to the identical keyword.

This Change is now applicable to both broad and phrase match.

What About Exact Match?

Exact match keywords will still be given preference over phrase and broad match terms.

What if No Keywords are Identical to the Query?

Previously if you had multiple relevant keywords that were eligible to match, the search engine would use Ad Rank to determine which keyword to deliver. Google is now taking relevance signals into account, by looking at the meaning of all the keywords and the landing pages in the ad group, in addition to Ad Rank.

Google shared this table, which outlines how keywords will be matched: