Definition:
Modified broad match is a historical keyword matching option in Google Ads. It allowed advertisers to mark certain terms in a keyword with a "+" sign to limit the searches with which an ad could match.
It was also known as the broad match modifier, or BMM. It provided more control than broad match and greater flexibility in word order than the former version of phrase match.
It ceased to be available as an independent matching behavior in 2021. Since July of that year, new keywords cannot be created with this notation; existing ones moved to the updated phrase match behavior.
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Characteristics of modified broad match
The modifier was added before one or more terms, as in +clothing +shop. The marked terms, or their close variants, had to be represented in the search, while unmodified terms retained broad match behavior.
The marked words did not have to follow the same order as the keyword. For example, +clothing +shop could match searches such as "clothing shop", "clothing shop in Seville" or "cheap clothing in a shop". Matching a keyword did not guarantee that the ad would appear: the auction and campaign conditions also played a role.
Throughout its lifetime, its behavior was not limited to requiring literal words. Close variants allowed matches such as misspellings or singular and plural forms, and their scope expanded to include expressions with the same meaning. It is therefore not correct to state generally that every synonym was excluded.
Negative keywords allowed advertisers to exclude irrelevant searches. This control was separate from the modifier: the "+" sign did not make a word negative or automatically exclude unhelpful queries.
Retirement of modified broad match in Google Ads
In February 2021, the transition began in which phrase match incorporated part of the broad match modifier’s behavior. In July 2021, the change was completed across all languages and the creation of new keywords with the modifier was no longer allowed.
Existing keywords with "+" did not necessarily stop serving ads: they moved to the updated phrase match behavior. This also applied to keywords in which only some terms carried the modifier.
Current phrase match takes the meaning of the search into account and preserves the importance of word order when it changes the meaning. For example, a search for moving services from Madrid to Barcelona does not mean the same as one from Barcelona to Madrid.
Google’s explanation of this transition distinguishes the retirement of the independent matching behavior from the continued operation of existing keywords. Finding the old notation in an account or report does not mean that a fourth match type remains available: the current options are broad, phrase and exact match.