Switching from BMM to Broad Match Type Keywords
How to Increase Your Conversions By 54.88%
Using Broad Match + Smart Bidding in your strategy is a superb way to increase your conversions and decrease your Cost Per Lead (CPL). With the right maintenance, you can capture a wider audience of qualified users, some of whom may have been searching for your competitors!
Broad Match Modifier: Our standard Paid Search setup here at Digible has always included Broad Match Modifier (BMM), but since this match type is being phased out and replaced with Phrase Match we have a great opportunity to explore Broad Match without the modifier “+”.
BMM vs Broad Match: So, what exactly is the difference between the two? Broad Match will capture any search that is relevant to the keywords you bid on. BMM will only capture searches that are close variants of keywords you include the modifier on (+). Here’s an example search query to show the difference:
- BM – red purses | searches: maroon bags, colorful purse, small bright bag
- BMM – +red +purses | searches: reddish purse, read purses, red purse (misspellings and abbreviations are included in ‘close variants’)
Why Broad Match?: The effectiveness of broad match keywords is tied directly to the Bid Strategy you choose. Using a broader match type allows Google to optimize your campaigns with a broader reach than other match types, all while ensuring the people you reach are going to convert on your site. Learn more about this strategy here.
Findings
| Campaign | Clicks | Impressions | Cost | CTR | CPC | Total Conversions | Calls | ConvR | CPL |
| Broad Match Modifier | 7,302 | 89,500 | $11,826.95 | 8.16% | $1.62 | 984 | 311 | 13.48% | $12.02 |
| Broad Match + Smart Bidding | 8,131 | 105,209 | $12,608.02 | 7.73% | $1.55 | 1,524 | 557 | 18.74% | $8.27 |
| Percent Change | 11.35% | 17.55% | 6.60% | -5.27% | -4.26% | 54.88% | 79.10% | 39.09% | -31.17% |
Search Term Analysis
The top converting search term category this quarter was Competitors. This proves that the Broad Match + Smart Bidding strategy can successfully capture and convert an audience searching for competitor apartment communities.
Call Quality Analysis
The Broad Match + Smart Bidding strategy had a 13% Sales Opportunity Rate. When capturing competitor traffic, some callers might be wrong numbers or unqualified. It is difficult to completely analyze these calls because almost half were untranscribed. Expect to see the occasional wrong number when utilizing this strategy.
Conclusion
Launching a campaign using the Broad Match + Smart Bidding strategy is a great way to improve your conversion volume. Although CTR and CPC were not largely affected by this strategy, ConvR increased and CPL decreased significantly. Utilizing this strategy with the right set up and maintenance can improve your account’s performance.
Main Takeaways
- Conversions Sky-Rocketed
Compared to our standard Apartments | Rentals campaign, Broad Match + Smart Bidding drove 54.88% more conversions. CPL also dropped 31.17%, making this strategy the most efficient way to drive more conversions.
- Call Volume Increase
This strategy is guaranteed to drive more calls to your property. Calls increased by 79.10% compared to our standard campaign, with 13% of those calls leasing to a sales opportunity. One important consideration here is that the volume of wrong numbers using this strategy will likely increase.
- Capturing Competitor Traffic
From our search term analysis, we found that over 70% of our top converting search terms were searches for competitor apartment communities. This strategy replaces the need for competitor campaigns, while also casting a wider net of competitors that clients may not have considered.
Set Up & Maintenance Considerations
Casting a wide net with your keywords is always going to include some level of risk, but there are ways you can set up this strategy to limit capturing the wrong audience. Here are some recommendations you should include in your set up:
Frequent SQR’s
This strategy requires a close eye, especially in the first 30 days. Be sure to be consistently reviewing your search terms and negating any unfavorable searches. For example, if your ad shows for “affordable apartments under $300” but you are advertising a luxury penthouse, that’s a waste of your money! SQR’s will take less time the longer you run this strategy, since you will have weeded out most unqualified searches.
Negative Keywords:
When running this strategy, be sure to include your brand terms as well as any searches that are not relevant to your offering in your negative keyword list. The more built out this list is, the less unqualified traffic you will drive to your site.
