Keyword & Query Matching

Broad Match vs Broad Match Modifier: What Replaced BMM

In short: Broad Match Modifier no longer exists as a match type. Its plus-sign syntax was folded into phrase match, so inherited +keywords now behave as phrase match, not broad. If you are choosing between the two today, the live choice is broad versus phrase, and the real job is auditing what those old keywords now buy.

By the AdFlint research team · Fact-checked against current Google and Meta platform behavior · Last reviewed July 2026

Broad Match

Matches a query to anything Google judges related to the keyword's meaning, including synonyms, misspellings, and adjacent topics the keyword never named.

Google reads the keyword as a topic hint rather than a literal string, then uses the landing page, the other keywords in the ad group, and account history to decide which queries qualify. Advertisers reach for it to feed automated bidding more volume once conversion tracking is solid. The usual mistake is running it on manual bids with a thin negative list, which buys wide irrelevant traffic quickly.

Full definition

Broad Match Modifier

Retired Google Ads match type, written with plus signs, that required every marked term to appear somewhere in the query in any order.

It was folded into phrase match in 2021: existing BMM keywords now behave as phrase match, and new ones cannot be created. Old account documentation and agency templates still carry the plus syntax, which is why the term keeps surfacing. If you inherit an account full of +keywords, audit them as phrase match and expect their traffic profile to have drifted well away from the original setup.

Full definition

Side by side.

The differences that actually change what happens in your account.

 Broad MatchBroad Match Modifier
Status todayLive match type, the widest availableRetired; behavior folded into phrase match
What it matches nowRelated meanings, synonyms, adjacent topicsWhatever phrase match matches: meaning plus implied order
Can you create itYesNo; plus signs are legacy text, not a match type
Original ruleNo word-presence rule at allEvery marked term had to appear, in any order
Word orderIrrelevantNow enforced as implied order, which it never was before
Practical actionPair with automated bidding and maintained negativesRe-audit inherited keywords as phrase match

What actually separates them.

01

Broad Match Modifier is not a live setting: existing plus-sign keywords serve on phrase match rules and new ones cannot be created.

02

The original BMM rule required each marked term to be present in any order, whereas phrase match requires the keyword's meaning in its implied order.

03

That swap means an inherited +keyword lost reordered matches it used to win and gained same-meaning paraphrases it never used to touch.

04

Broad match still reaches beyond the query using landing page and account context, which BMM never did and phrase match does not do either.

05

Anyone comparing these two from an old agency template is comparing a current setting against a discontinued one, so the honest comparison is broad versus phrase.

Which one should you use?

Use Broad Match when

  • Conversion tracking is reliable and the campaign runs on automated bidding that can price query quality.
  • You need volume beyond the terms your keyword list already names.
  • There is a standing process for reviewing search terms and adding negatives.
  • You are consolidating a fragmented account and want fewer, wider keywords feeding one bidder.

Use Broad Match Modifier when

  • You inherited an account full of plus-sign keywords and need to know what they actually buy now.
  • Old documentation, templates, or a client brief still specifies BMM and someone has to translate it.
  • You are reconciling a historical performance shift that lines up with the match type change.
  • You want the closest live equivalent to the old behavior, which is phrase match rather than broad.

Common questions.

What happened to my +keywords?

They still sit in the account with the plus signs visible, but they are matched under phrase match rules. Nothing broke and nothing was deleted. What changed is the query mix: reordered matches that BMM allowed can drop out, and same-meaning paraphrases that BMM excluded can come in. Treat them as phrase match keywords in every audit.

Should I rewrite BMM keywords without the plus signs?

Cosmetically yes, because the syntax misleads anyone reading the account later. Removing plus signs does not change matching behavior, so do it as part of a wider cleanup rather than as an urgent fix. The higher-value work is checking the search terms report for those keywords and adding the negatives their current matching needs.

Is broad match the right home for old BMM keywords?

Only if the campaign is on automated bidding with trustworthy conversion data. BMM was used by advertisers who wanted control, and broad match gives less of it, not more. Phrase match is the closer replacement, so moving straight to broad is a deliberate strategy change rather than a like-for-like migration.

Or stop choosing between them.

AdFlint picks the setting, writes the ads, and keeps optimizing inside the Google and Meta accounts you already own.

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