Twitter is on a roll when it comes to attracting advertising partners, and today the company announced another appealing asset: Twitter has tweaked its keyword search for advertisers. Now, whether you tweet “I love soup” or “<3 soupie-soupz forreal!” the search is expansive enough to figure out both are talking about a preference for warm liquid meals (but please don’t tweet the second one).
Called “broad search,” Twitter’s widened discovery criterion is a boost for companies that use targeted advertising on the social network, where they place their ads based on what Twitter users are having a conversation about. So a pet supply company, for instance, will target Twitter users discussing dog walks or kitty litter, or a brand of women’s shoes would look for users discussing wedges and cowboy boots. The expanded search helps companies discover more appropriate advertising targets because it unearths discussions that were getting overlooked due to vocabulary choices.
Before Twitter widened its search, people using slang or colloquialisms (or just straight-up spelling stuff wrong) evaded the long arm of social advertising. But no longer. Broad search allows for targeting according to more than just keywords; it also includes related terms, synonyms, and stem variations in addition to improper spellings and slang.
Unfortunately, broad search is only available for those willing to use Twitter’s advertising campaigns and shell out money, so if you’re hoping you can use it for fun, no such luck.
