Microsoft Advertising has been planning to roll out changes to the phrase match and broad match modifier (BMM), in that way they have informed this process will begin in the next few weeks by incorporating phrase match to the behaviours of a broad match modifier.
By doing this, keywords will be more simplified and this will also improve the relevancy while reaching customers.
Microsoft Advertising has also mentioned this change will be similar to the changes brought in by Google back in February. Microsoft Advertising is making these changes for the benefit of its advertisers. They have also mentioned that both Google and Microsoft Advertising interface behaviours will be the same between these two platforms.
Let us dig a little deeper with some frequently asked question by the advertisers,
What the changes are and what are the strategies to be followed?
The changes to the phrase match will appear to the North American markets (the United States and Canada) within a few weeks. Like said earlier the phrase match will begin to incorporate behaviours of broad match modifier (BMM) to make keywords easier and relevant to what the customers search for. This will help advertisers reach more audience.
“The new phrase match will show ads on searches that include the meaning of your keyword, such as matching the query “winter vacation in Miami” to the keyword ,Miami vacation.”The new match type will also respect keyword order when it’s important—for example, it won’t match “milk chocolate” to the keyword ,chocolate milk.” – Microsoft Advertising
Will this change be available to our markets?
Microsoft Advertising has also mentioned that the change between the phrase match and broad match modifier (BMM) will be available in the month of June for the markets outside North America. They have also mentioned that this update will be rolled out to other countries as well.
Once this feature is up and running you might even think if you want to change the keywords for your phrase match and broad match modifier?
Microsoft Advertising has also informed that there is no need for advertisers to change or take any actions to change the keywords.
What are the changes to be seen in Microsoft Advertising broad match modifier?
Microsoft Advertising has mentioned a few upcoming changes in the phrase match and broad match modifier and they include,
- Phrase match and broad match modifier keywords will be the same which will come under new phrase match behaviour.
- Even though the phrase match and broad match modifier keywords serve the same behaviour, the advertisers can create broad match modifier keywords separately.
- The keywords with the partial usage of broad match modifier will be counted under phrase match. For instance; “(+landscape services)”
- Microsoft Advertising has also informed that from the upcoming August the advertisers will no longer be able to create new broad match modifier keywords.
- The existing keywords will serve under new phrase match behaviour.
- The old broad match modifier keywords will be still under the new phrase match behaviour so there is no need for the advertisers to take any actions.
“Your existing BMM keywords will continue to work, and there’s no particular advantage to converting your BMM keywords. If you do choose to convert your BMM keywords to phrase match, the BMM keywords performance history will not carry over to the phrase instances of these keywords.” – Microsoft Advertising
Will the new phrase match behaviour affect the traffic to phrase match and broad match modifier?
Yes, the new phrase match behaviour will increase the traffic volume to your phase keywords and it is required to keep a close watch on the search term report and the performance of your Ad account.
But for the broad match modifier, there will be a fall in traffic volume particularly for those who use modifiers for a few keywords but not for all.
What can advertisers do to avoid losing traffic volume in Microsoft Advertising?
As an advertiser, you can make some changes that will avoid your Ads from losing traffic volume,
- Add more keywords
- Check your recommendation more often
- Keep track of the performance of your keywords in the Ad account
- Use more negative keywords
Add more keywords
When advertisers add more keywords to phrase match and broad match with an automated bidding strategy, it will help advertisers reach more customers and also ensure coverage.
Check your Recommendation more often
The “add new keywords and remove redundant keywords” will help the advertiser to maintain coverage and secure from duplicate keywords.
Keep track of the performance of your keywords in the Ad account
Always keep track of the broad match modifier keywords that could change from time to time. If the traffic volume drops off add new phrase match keywords to bring the traffic volume back.
Use more negative keywords
Add negative keywords for the searches your Ad doesn’t want to show up. When you use more negative keywords it excludes matches related to it. The change of the new phrase match won’t affect the existing negative keywords.
But remember this change will not affect the keyword quality score for your Ad account.
Will there be any changes to the broad match modifier keywords that use modifiers for some word but not all of them?
As said earlier, the broad match modifier keywords will no longer able to be added from the month of August 2021.
“As mentioned, broad match modifiers will no longer operate on a word within the keyword. So, if you use a keyword such as +landscape services, the operator will now apply to both words, like +landscape +services or “landscape services.” To help offset the potential decrease in traffic, we recommend following the best practices we outlined above.” – Microsoft Advertising
Will Google Import work once the change is live?
Microsoft has informed that there will be no changes to the keywords that have been synced with Google Ads.
How to convert broad match modifier keywords to phrase match?
The advertiser’s broad match modifier keywords will be the same and will work the same way they did before. But still, if you want to convert the broad match modifier keywords to phrase match the performance statics will not be carried over to the phrase match.
When Microsoft Advertising launches the changes the advertisers will have to convert their broad match modifier keywords to phrase match and they have also mentioned that a tool will be introduced to make the job easy.
Coming to an end, this change in feature has not yet launched in any other countries other than the North American markets (the United States and Canada). So when the change appears in your account make sure to follow the above said and don’t get panic. This change in phrase match and broad match modifier can be successful if you keep track of your keywords and traffic volume.
