Posted by on August 13th, 2010 View Comments
Posted in SEO - Search Engine Optimization |
More tools are being doled out by Google for web developers and SEO practitioners to use. A new keyword targeting tool has just been released by Google and it is expected to make waves in the entire SEO landscape. The broad match modifier is now available for use globally. Though this new version is not as broad as the regular broad match, it is also not as contained and restricted as the phrase/exact match.
The broad match modifier is a feature that can be found in the Google AdWords tool for SEO. It enables users to create keywords that will have a greater impact in the search engine results pages. It helps SEO practitioners focus their strategies on specific keywords rather than on a broader phrase or group of words. Enabling the broad match modifier in your SEO campaign will result in more clicks and conversions for your targeted keywords. It will also come at an attractive ROI, better than the usual match modifier.
To enable this setting to function, users must put a plus (+) symbol in front of their targeted keyword/s in the broad match search. If you want two keywords to be modified then you can put plus symbols in front of all the words you are targeting. For example, if you are targeting the keywords home accessories, you should put plus symbols preceding these words (i.e. +home accessories, +home +accessories, home +accessories) to enable the broad modifier setting. The words should also appear in its correct form on the user’s searches, or as a close variant.
Close variants, as defined by Google, include misspelled words (i.e. hmoe), singular or plural form of the words, abbreviations, acronyms and even stemmings (words +
-ing). Synonyms and related words are not considered close variants. Web developers, though, advise SEO practitioners to proceed with caution as the broad match modifier can have positive and negative impacts to SEO campaigns if not properly used.
If exact match keywords are being used in a campaign, then the broad match modifier can be 100% helpful. However, if you mainly use broad match keywords/phrases in your campaign, then the broad match modifier can do the opposite and come up with negative impacts. Google advises developers to maintain two sets of keywords for their campaign to cater to both systems.
The broad match modifier setting is available to Google AdWords users all over the world, in most languages that Google is available in. Updates and further announcements will be posted by the Google team in the official AdWords blog.
