Understanding keyword match types isn’t too difficult. If you use Google keyword planner or any other keyword research tool, we suggest knowing about the different keyword match types first.
Keyword match types are like a framework within which a marketer can decide the visibility of their Google, Microsoft, or Bing ads. Here are the different types of keyword match types explained.
Broad match
Broad match type is the default keyword match type. Google ads with broad match type keywords will appear for almost every search query, including related keywords. It also considers misspellings, stemming (er, or, es), abbreviations, singular/plural, and other close variants.
It’s the most comprehensive match type and attracts the most visitors to the ad campaign.
Example: Simply use the keywords within quotation marks “ ” to make them behave like a broad match keyword type. If the keyword you are targeting is “sports equipment,” the ad will appear for a search query that includes keywords like:
Target keyword | Ad may appear for search queries like |
Sports equipment | Best sports equipment |
Sports equipments for basketball | |
Buy sports goods online | |
Sport equipment shop near me | |
Indoor sport equipment sale |
This shows that keywords set as broad match type match almost all variations of keywords (even synonyms). In the above example, the ad will appear even for synonyms like sports goods, indoor sports etc.
When to use: Use broad match type when you are not low on a marketing budget. Since a broad match reaches the most audience, it requires a high budget.
Broad match type is useful for start-ups looking forward to creating awareness about their business and wanting their ad to reach the maximum audience. However, as start-ups have financing restraints, it is suggested to use broad matches for a week or so before changing your keyword match type to more affordable ones.
Modified broad match
Modified broad match type (please note, that the modified broad match type is no longer supported by Google Ads) lies somewhere between broad match and phrase match in terms of reach and relevance. Any keyword may behave like a modified broad match type when a + sign is added before each keyword. The symbol denotes that the search query should necessarily contain the given keywords.
Here is an example of how it works:
Example:
Target keyword | Ads may appear for search queries like | Ads may not appear for search queries like |
+Sports +equipment | Best sports equipment online | Buy sports goods online |
Buy equipment for sports online | Sports equipment for sale | |
Sports equipment for sale | ||
Basketball sports equipment |
When to use: A modified broad match gives marketers more control over who can see their ad. This is good to use to keep your budget in check. Also, good for those businesses with a sure footing in terms of online presence. This can be used when launching a new product or market segment.
Phrase match
There is now a thin line between modified broad match and phrase match keyword type.
Source: support.google.com
Sometimes, using a broad modified match type may gather irrelevant traffic. To eliminate the issue, phrase match type can be used. For instance, in the above image, the BMM type for the keyword ‘moving services NYC to Boston’ ad may also appear for searches like ‘moving services Boston to NYC’, which may not serve the purpose of the search query.
Using a phrase match type will be more convenient to attract the right target audience. When using phrase match, the words between enclosed quotation marks should appear together. A few words can be added before and after the phrase but not in between the phrase.
Example:
Target keyword | Ads may appear for search queries like | Ads may not appear for a search query like |
Sports equipment | Best sports equipment shop online | Sports goods in the USA for sale |
Buy Adidas sports equipment on sale | Buy equipment for sports online | |
Top-selling sports equipment |
When to use: It is useful when the target audience is limited and specific. The ads that require balanced reach should take advantage of phrase match. Also, phrase match is for those who want to get away with irrelevant traffic. Brands with specific needs, like a clothing brand that only sells to women or a solar panel company that only services a specific state, can benefit from phrase match.
Exact match
Exact match is the most restrictive and the least irrelevant keyword match type. It is also the most affordable keyword-matching type. When placed between square brackets [ ], a keyword behaves like an exact match keyword.
The ad only appears when the search query contains the exact keywords as the target keyword. It may consider misspellings and singular and plural changes but no other major close variants like changing the order of words. Thus, it is useful for targeting a very specific target audience. The exact match type attracts 0% of irrelevant searchers.
Example:
Target keyword | Ads may appear for search queries like | Ads may not appear for search queries like |
[Sports Equipments] | Sports equipments | Buy sports equipments |
Sport equipment | Equipment for sports | |
Sports equipment shop |
When to use: The exact match phrase should be used by well-established brands that want to specifically target their brand and avoid competing with competitors. For instance, brands like Prada and LV should target for an exact match to allow their ad to be visible to the audience looking for their specific brand when buying handbags.
It’s also used to target audiences at the bottom of the sales funnel, i.e., customers just one step away from making a purchase.
Negative match
A negative keyword match is denoted by a – sign. A keyword with a (– sign) will be treated as a negative keyword i.e. such a keyword should not be targeted at all. All search queries which include a negative keyword would be considered irrelevant.
You can choose how you want your negative keyword to behave. A negative keyword can be put with broad match keywords, phrase match keywords as well as exact match keywords.
Example:
Negative keyword | Ads will not appear for search queries like |
Free | Free sports equipments |
baseball | Baseball sports equipment online |
Buy sports equipment for free |
Negative keywords help refine the keyword targeting as well as prevent irrelevant traffic and clicks. For instance, negative keywords are helpful for location-based targeting. You can add cities you are not offering the services to in the list of negative keywords to prevent irrelevant clicks.
When to use: this is one of the keywords that can be used irrespective of the situation. As a brand, there are always keywords you do not want to target. All of them can be added to the negative keyword list. A ‘flower’ will be a negative keyword for a balloon decorator company.
Also, use negative keywords to optimize your marketing budget. Ads are priced based on pay-per-click. Negative keywords prevent irrelevant clicks and thus optimize your budget. Negative keywords are also helpful in preventing competitive targeting. You can stop yourself from targeting the same keywords as your competitor and save your budget.
Pro tip: Use a mix of keyword match types to run a Google ad campaign, do not stick to just broad match keywords in the entire ad campaign duration. We have mentioned when each of the keyword match types should be used.
When we say a mix of keyword match types, we mean you can set different keywords under different match types. You can also change the match types from time to time. For instance, start with a broad match type to gain awareness and then switch to phrase and exact as you begin to focus on precise targeting.
You can also group your keywords as per their use and apply match types to them accordingly.
Final Words
Keyword match types are now an integral part of any keyword research. It should also be noted that besides the five keyword match types, there are also close variants. As you move from broad to exact match type, the flexibility of using close variants decreases. To summarize all the keyword match types,
Use a broad match to reach out to the widest audience. However, it is a bit budget unfriendly.
Use phrase match to limit your reach to a specific audience. This keeps your budget optimized.
Use exact match for very precise targeting. This requires the least budget.
Use negative keyword matches to save yourself from targeting the wrong keywords. This not only saves your budget but also helps in improving conversion rate, ROI, and click-through rate.
In the end, do not forget to keep monitoring and analyzing the performance of the keywords. Keep optimizing them by expanding the list of keywords, removing relevant keywords, and adding close variants to keep the effectiveness of your ad alive.
Image source: freepik.com
