Google announced that by the end of July 2021 it will be deprecating the broad match modifier (BMM) keywords. That means you will no longer be able to create new BMM keywords with the +keyword notation.
Google said this is being done because both phrase and BMM keywords have adopted expanded coverage and updated matching behavior and are now the same. This means that keywords using the +keyword and “keyword” notations are now identical in how they match.
Google did add that "however, existing BMM keywords will continue to serve using the updated phrase matching behavior. You’ll be able to edit attributes of your BMM keywords like bid or status, but if you want to edit the keyword text you’ll be prompted to change it to phrase match."
Ginny Marvin on Twitter explained "You won't be able to add new BMM keywords, but existing BMMs will continue to serve using the new phrase matching as behavior announced in February." Ginny added "Did you love BMM? Me too! But there's good reason to merge it w/ phrase match. There was overlap, and Phrase match now acts more like BMM while still offering more intent control. "Water bottle" won't trigger for "bottled water" in phrase match, for example. No action is required, but there are tools to help navigate the change in Google Ads and Editor."
Google added "we recommend that you consolidate duplicate keywords and convert your BMM keywords to a different match type to make it easier to manage your account going forward."
- Use the “Remove redundant keywords” recommendation on the Recommendations page to highlight redundant BMM keywords when that keyword is already present as phrase match in the same ad group.
- To make it easier for you to convert your BMM keywords into your desired match type, we’ve created two new bulk edit solutions within Google Ads and Google Ads Editor1. Learn more about these solutions in the FAQ section of the Google Ads Help Center, under “Should I convert my BMM keywords to phrase match?”.
You can learn more about this change over here.
Forum discussion at Twitter.
