What does the ‘+’ plus sign in terms of AdWords Keyword matching? A.K.A. broad match with modifier?

Question: I saw in your AdWords “+SEO+Class” what does the + mean or do?

Answer: The ‘+’ plus sign is a critical new addition to AdWords keyword matching from summer, 2010.

What does it do? If you put the + character in front of a keyword, then it tells Google AdWords to match the search query vs. that keyword in a relatively tight matter, I.e., do NOT substitute synonyms. So –

+men’s +shoe = best men shoe values, men’s black shoes, dress shows for men, man shoe store, etc.

vs.

men shoe = men’s shows, male footwear, etc. (Google thinks for you, and make synonym substitution.

In today’s PowerPoint, review the slide that has the match types in green from Google. It’s sort of complicated, but think of them like nested circle with the [exact match] as the tightest match and broad match (no brackets, no quotes, no plus sign) as the loosest match. Use broad match carefully, as it can really run away from you!