About the broad match keywords campaign setting

Note: Broad match keywords setting feature availability is actively being launched and not yet available for all users.

The broad match campaign setting enables Search campaigns to exclusively use broad match as the keyword match type. Enabling this setting will convert all existing phrase and exact match keywords into broad match and ensure all keywords added also use broad match.

This setting is only available if the campaign is using conversion based smart bidding.

Impact on keyword prioritization logic within a Google Ads account

		Priority	Match characteristics	Explanation
		1	Exact match keywords that are identical to the search term*	For the search term "skydiving license", the identical exact keyword [skydiving license] in the Search campaign is prioritized over any other broad or phrase keyword or a Performance Max campaign.
		2	Phrase and broad match keywords or search themes that are identical to the search term*	For the search term "skydiving license", the identical Performance Max search theme “skydiving license” is prioritized over the phrase keyword “skydiving”. In this case, the phrase keyword isn't identical to the query.
		3	Relevance: AI (artificial intelligence) based keyword prioritization	The search term "skydiving certifications near me" could match to keywords in several ad groups, some of which may be more relevant, such as “skydiving license,” and others may be less relevant, such as “skydiving courses for beginners”. In this case, only the most relevant keywords from the most relevant ad groups are considered. Learn more about how AI keyword prioritization works.
		4	Ad Rank	If you have several Search keywords or Performance Max search themes that share equal priority based on the criteria above, the ad or asset group that generates the ad with the highest Ad Rank will be prioritized.

_{*Keywords in campaigns with the broad match setting enabled will be prioritized as if they are both exact and broad match.}

Enabling the broad match campaign setting will affect existing keyword prioritization rules within an account.

• All keywords will be converted to broad match. Keywords in a campaign with this setting will be prioritized, from a keyword prioritization perspective, as if both a broad match and an exact match version of the keyword was present.
• If you have the same keyword in exact match in a separate campaign, the keyword with the highest Ad Rank will be sent to the auction.

Enabling the broad match campaign setting can also help simplify upgrading campaigns to broad match.

Note: Only searches that are identical to a keyword are affected by this logic. Other searches aren’t affected.

Instructions

Note: The instructions below are part of the new design for the Google Ads user experience. To use the previous design, click the "Appearance" icon, and select Use previous design. If you're using the previous version of Google Ads, review the Quick reference map or use the Search bar in the top navigation panel of Google Ads to find the page you’re searching for.

Enable broad match setting for a new campaign

1. In your Google Ads account, click the Campaigns icon .
2. Click the Campaigns drop down in the section menu.
3. Click Campaigns.
4. Click the plus button to create a new Search campaign.
5. In the “Campaign settings” section, turn the broad match keywords setting on.
6. Complete the remaining campaign creation steps.

Enable broad match setting to an existing campaign

1. In your Google Ads account, click the Campaigns icon .
2. Click the Campaigns drop down in the section menu.
3. Click Campaigns.
4. Select the campaign you want to apply the broad match setting to.
5. Click Settings.
6. Scroll down to click Broad match keywords, and turn the broad match keywords setting on.
7. Click Save.

FAQs

Why do the keyword prioritization rules change when enabling the broad match setting?

We made this change based on user feedback that it was difficult to measure the impact of upgrading a campaign to broad match, as the traffic would match to other parts of the account, thereby skewing the results.

For example, let’s say you had the exact match keyword [Pixel 7] in one of your campaigns, and you upgraded it as a broad match keyword in a different campaign. The performance impact of the broad match campaign would be hard to assess. If a user searched for “Pixel 7” exactly, the identical exact match keyword would be strictly preferred and your upgraded broad match campaign would be ineligible. With the new broad match campaign settings’ keyword prioritization rules, you can more accurately measure the true performance impact from broad match. Pixel 7 will be prioritized like an exact match keyword, even though it shows up as a broad match keyword.

Campaigns with all broad match keywords that don't have this setting enabled won't be impacted.

How will other campaigns be impacted?

If you have the same keyword in exact match in a separate campaign (for example, Pixel 7 in the campaign with the broad match setting enabled, and an exact match [Pixel 7] in a separate campaign), the keyword with the highest Ad Rank will be sent to the auction.

What are the most common use cases for enabling this setting?

In cases where advertisers have a specific need to separate branded from non-branded traffic in their campaigns, it's a common practice to have branded campaigns include only exact match keywords with the goal of not matching to queries that don't include the brand and also to meet traffic prioritization expectations for brand vs. non-branded campaigns.

With this setting, advertisers can benefit from expanding the reach of their branded campaigns powered by broad match technology while:

1. Ensuring the traffic only matches to queries with the defined brands included in brand restrictions.
2. Consolidate to broad match only campaigns while maintaining the preferred prioritization of traffic between brand and non-branded campaigns.
3. Clearly notice the impact of upgrading the branded campaign from exact match to broad match.

How is this setting different from a campaign with all broad match keywords?

Enabling this setting will unlock 3 behaviors:

• Access to brand restrictions
• Keyword prioritization behavior changes as listed above
• All newly added keywords will use the broad match type

After I enable this setting, will I be able to view historical data for my keywords?

Yes, you will be able to view all data. In the “Search keywords” page, select “All” in the Keyword Status filter. Your non-broad keywords will have the status “Removed” and all their historical stats will be visible.

After I enable this setting, will I be able to view stats by match type?

Yes, you will be able to break down your broad match keywords’ stats by the narrowest match type keyword that would’ve reached the traffic. In the “Search keywords” page, above the table, select “Segment > Search terms match type”.

How can I revert the changes back to the original settings?

If you decide you don’t want to use the setting, you can easily turn it off. Use the following steps to revert your changes in your Google Ads account:

If all keywords were broad match:

1. Go to your campaign’s settings.
2. Scroll down to click Broad match keywords, turn the broad match setting off.
3. Click Save.

If all keywords were either exact match or phrase match:

1. Go to your campaign’s settings.
2. Scroll down to click Broad match keywords, turn the broad match setting off.
3. Click Save.
4. In the “Search keywords” page, select all keywords, and click Edit.
5. Click Change match types, and then Change all match types.
6. Select the original match type.
7. Click Apply.

If keywords were a mix of different match types, access your historical keywords. In the “Search keywords” page, change the Keyword Status filter from “Enabled” or “Enabled, Paused” to “All.” You can then filter by match type.

1. Go to your campaign’s settings.
2. Scroll down to click Broad match keywords, turn the broad match setting off.
3. Click Save.
4. Decide on the best match type for the majority of keywords in your campaign.
5. If all keywords should be present in one match type, follow the steps above to get the copy of the keyword in that match type.
6. If you want a mix of match types in your campaign, select each individual keyword and change its match type.

Related links

• About keyword matching options
• Broad match: definition
• About brand settings in Search and Performance Max campaigns