“Broad match is far too broad. These search terms don’t even relate to my keyword.”
If you work in the world of PPC, I’m sure you’ve had this thought. In Google Ads, broad match has typically been a double-edged sword; it can be great for visibility, but it often captures irrelevant traffic, resulting in wasted ad spend. Recognizing the need for more control, Google is launching four updates to query matching and brand controls in order to keep results as relevant as possible.
Update #1: New Recommendation for Brand Inclusions in Broad Match
Brand inclusions help you to get the benefits of broad match, while restricting traffic to the brands you choose. You can now find, and take action on, this feature under the “Recommendations” page. Your ads will only serve on searches that include the brands you specify, or products related to those brands. Here is Google’s example:
*Important Note: Brand inclusions are only available for broad match campaigns. If you apply this recommendation to campaigns with multiple match types, it will automatically switch ALL match types to broad.
Update #2: Brand Exclusions Across All Match Types & DSA
Unlike brand inclusions, brand exclusions allow you to exclude brands across ALL match types and dynamic search ads (DSA). If you do not want to use broad match exclusively in your campaigns, this feature is a good alternative to brand inclusions. With brand exclusions, the brands you specify, and products related to those brands, will not show. Brand misspellings and variants will also be blocked. Here is Google’s example:
Update #3: More Visibility in the Search Terms Report
While Google Ads has always matched misspelled queries to their correct keywords, these queries often didn’t appear in the search terms report due to privacy thresholds. With this new update, misspelled search queries are now reported with the correctly spelled query. This means that a number of search terms that were previously hidden under “Other,” are now visible in the search terms report.
Update #4: Block Misspelled Search More Easily
In order to block misspelled search queries in the past, you had to manually add each misspelled version of a keyword to exclude it efficiently. Now, with just one negative keyword, you can block all cases of misspellings for that term. Here is Google’s example:
These new updates are exciting steps towards greater control and precision in your ad campaigns. By refining brand traffic with either inclusions or exclusions, getting a better view into search terms, and handling misspellings, you will be better equipped to ensure your ads reach the right audience at the right time.
