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Google released a ton of new features and options and updated their platform in a variety of ways. In fact, there were so many changes that if you weren’t paying close attention, you probably missed a few. So, to get you up to speed, let’s take a look at the biggest Google Ads updates of 2019 and what they mean to you and your business. 1. Close Variants Expanded (again) Back in July, Google expanded their definitions of phrase match and broad match modifier keywords to include even more close variants. Up till that point, only plurals and misspellings of words counted as close variants, but the update expanded the definition of close variants to include things like synonyms and paraphrases.

Now, this wasn’t the first time Google whatsapp database had expanded the definition of close variants. They did something similar back in 2017 with exact match keywords. Due to the “exact” nature of exact match keywords, though, the consequences of that change were fairly limited. For phrase match and broad match modifier keywords, however, this change had a lot more implications. By loosening the definitions of these keyword match types, Google heavily blurred the lines between the different match types. Their explanation? Intent trumps semantics. Or, in other words, “we know better than you do”.

It’s a fair enough argument. With their massive database and algorithms, Google’s ability to analyze and interpret search intent is probably better than what most advertisers could do on their own, but this update definitely affected a lot of campaigns. In the aftermath, it’s more important than ever to keep an eye on the Search Terms report and manage your negative keyword list. 2. New Search Advertising Audiences Back in 2018, Google added audience targeting as an option for paid search campaigns.