Google Ads Same-Meaning Close Variants Now Applied to All Match Types

By: Chris Everett August 13, 2019

Google Ads is already a perplexing platform as it stands. But in the coming weeks, it’s about to become even more lax with respect to keyword match types.

Piggybacking on changes to exact match last fall, Google is now extending same-meaning close variants to both phrase match and broad match modifier.

Essentially what this means is that Google will match a query if it determines the query has the same intent as the keyword. A couple examples are “lawn” and “grass,” “couch” and “sofa,” or “company” and “agency.”

So while you might be bidding on a phrase like “landscaping services near me,” it’s possible Google will show your ad for a query like “lawn care services in my area.” That’s modest example, as the outcome may not be as desirable as it’s made out to seem.

Why Google? Why?

Google emphasizes this change as a means to help advertisers “reach more of the right customers with phrase match and broad match modifiers.” According to Google, user queries are continuously evolving and its machine learning has progressed to the point where it can bridge the gap for advertisers. Largely driven by voice search and long-tail queries, Google claims 15% of daily searches are entirely new — and advertisers can miss out on these queries if keyword matching is too tightly focused.

However, for some advertisers who live and breathe diligent keyword research, precision targeting, and strategic use of match types, the idea of extending same-meaning close variants to all match types is more of a disruptive annoyance than a helpful hand. Why? Let’s put it into context.

Putting Context to Same-Meaning Close Variants Into Context

So what exactly can advertisers expect with the new changes ahead? Essentially, phrase match and broad match modifier will soon match to same meaning queries. Here’s some context behind each of those match types and what this all means.

Broad Match Modifier

Broad Match Modifier – which is an efficient means to cast a wider net on relevant search users – can match to queries in any word order. In the past, close variants of this match type have included misspellings, singular-plural differences, abbreviations, accents, and stemmings. With the new changes ahead, it will also include same meaning queries.

The following example from Google provides context of the new close variants matching mechanism. Notice how +mowing is extended to match with “grass cutting” and “cut your grass.”

same meaning close variants broad match modifier google ads

Learn more about how to set up broad match modifier, such iterations of this match type to extend phrase and exact match bidding.

Phrase Match

With Phrase Match, word order will still be respected, however queries can trigger ads based on same-meaning words. Another lawn care example from Google aligns queries like “lawn mowing” to match with “lawn cutting” and “grass cutting.”

same meaning close variants phrase match google ads

Google claims advertisers using phrase and broad match modifier can expect to see 3-4% more clicks and conversions from those keywords, and 85% of those clicks stemming from queries not currently being covered.

How to Adapt and Thrive

Although Google plays-up the foreseeable changes as a positive thing with fruitful benefits, any good PPC advertiser will anticipate an influx of unwanted impressions and clicks.

One of the best ways to mitigate that is using negative keywords. These are queries that can be included in any given campaign or ad group to prevent your ads from showing.

At Captivate, we find negative keyword research to be just an integral as conventional keyword research. And the processes can be done simultaneously. For instance, when doing keyword research for a chiropractor, we can often pinpoint several of unwanted variations to include as negatives, like jobs, careers, training, colleges, internships, salary, etc. – all the potential queries that don’t match the type of users we’re after.

Between relentless negative keywords and continuing to use match types in a precise, strategic manner, we can buffer the breadth of same-meaning close variants.

How do you feel about these changes? We’d love to hear your thoughts and ideas surrounding same-meaning close variants and the changes ahead.

Chris Everett
Founder-In-Chief
A 15-year veteran in the digital marketing field, Chris Everett founded Captivate in 2009. Since then, he's used his deep SEO knowledge and understanding of multi-channel digital campaigns to develop Captivate's award-winning Search First® approach.

Read More

Leave a Reply

Share this

Related Articles

Agencies for Reproductive Rights
Captivate Becomes a Charter Member of Agencies for Reproductive Rights
Atlanta's Captivate joins Agencies for Reproductive Rights, a coalition of 30+ marketing agencies that stand up for a woman's right to choose.
Read More
How To Optimize Images To Improve Product Page SEO
How To Optimize Images To Improve Product Page SEO
For any e-commerce business competing in organic search results, optimizing images correctly is essential to generating unique, ready-to-buy, in-market traffic.
Read More
Ten-Step Technical SEO Checklist
Ten-Step Technical SEO Checklist
As Google continues to improve its search algorithm, technical SEO has seen the greatest change over the shortest period of time. Make sure your site is up to date.
Read More
Link Building 101: How to Evaluate the Quality of Backlinks
Backlinks 101: Differentiating Between “Good” and “Bad” Links
Backlinks are one of the most important aspects of SEO and determining content rank, yet are often one of SEO's most overlooked and misunderstood components.
Read More
How Medical Practices Can Stay Compliant with Google Ads
How Medical Practices Can Stay Compliant with Google Ads
If you're using Google Ads for a medical practice, you may have seen your ads disapproved or your account banned due to a lack of awareness towards Google’s policies.
Read More
SEO Content Strategy: 5 Steps to Growing Traffic & Links Organically
SEO Content Strategy: 5 Steps to Growing Traffic & Links Organically
Whether for local businesses, online brands, business consultants or service providers, it’s no secret that content marketing is an extremely powerful tool for SEO.
Read More
How to Optimize PDFs for SEO
How to Optimize PDFs for SEO
In this process of optimizing PDFs for SEO, the core of our "optimization” ensures each document is keyword relevant and consistently aligned in all the right places.
Read More
Local SEO: Citations & Backlinks (And Why Your Business Needs Them)
Local SEO: Citations & Backlinks (And Why Your Business Needs Them)
Local SEO presents a unique challenge to even the most savvy marketers, considering several off-site factors to determine organic, local, and Google Maps rankings.
Read More
How to Get Products to Appear in Google Image Search
How to Get Products to Appear in Google Image Search
Related product images have started appearing in Google Image Search results, and they're not really ads. Discover how to effectively position your products.
Read More
Local SEO Near Me Optimization
How to Leverage “Near Me” Optimization for Local SEO
Origins of “Near Me” Searches for Local SEO In early January of 2017, Dan Leibson of Local SEO Guide put together a paradigm-shifting piece called “Near Me” Local SEO Ranking Factors. In his article, Leibson highlighted the upward trend in “near me” search queries. He pointed out specific examples of this profound trend like “restaurants near me,” “banks […]
Read More
SEO-Driven Online Reputation Management Strategies
SEO-Driven Online Reputation Management Strategies
From landlords investigating potential tenants to businesses evaluating prospective vendors, Google search engine results can define an entity’s online reputation.
Read More
Leverage Barnacle SEO to Bolster Your Local SEO Strategy
Leverage Barnacle SEO to Bolster Your Local SEO Strategy
Many local SEO strategies are available to the common search marketer, including barnacle SEO. Leverage this strategy to put your business in front of nearby clients.
Read More
Outbound Links: Why Using Them Benefits Your SEO Efforts
Outbound Links: Why Using Them Benefits Your SEO Efforts
Many SEO companies focus solely on building inbound links for clients to help them develop higher natural search rankings; outbound links can be just as effective.
Read More
Outbound Links: Why Using Them Benefits Your SEO Efforts
Logical Internal Link Building for SEO Benefits
Internal linking or cross linking of pages within your own website presents an excellent SEO strategy, keeping visitors on-site and connecting them to additional content.
Read More