What are Keyword Match Types, and How Do I Use Them?
Are you eager to make the most out of your PPC ads campaign? Google Ads offers many built-in tools and features to fine-tune your advertising efforts to get the desired results. Among these features, we want to discuss an important aspect – keyword match types. This option lets you control when your ads are triggered based on the keywords and queries that users search for. Whether you’re new to Google Ads or already familiar with how it works, the match type feature is something you must learn about for a successful ad campaign. So in today’s guide, we will tell you all about keyword match types, what they are, and how to use them for best results in your advertising strategy.What are Keyword Match Types?
Source: https://blog.hubspot.com/
Google’s algorithm can understand the meaning and context of words and phrases much like humans, thanks to its powerful natural language processing (NLP) capabilities. So when you pick a keyword for your ad group, you must instruct Google on how to trigger your ads based on those keywords.
Do you want your ads displayed only to users who search for the same keyword? Or would you like to show you ads for all search queries that are even remotely related to your keyword? That is basically what match types do.
It’s a feature of Google Ads that lets you decide how closely you want your target keywords to match user search queries. You have three options for keyword match types – broad match, phrase match, and exact match. There’s also an extra option called negative match that lets you exclude specific keywords when triggering ads.
Let’s take a look at each of these types in detail.
Broad Match
Broad match displays your ads for all searches somewhat related to your keyword. Using this match type ensures that your ads reach a wider audience. With broad match, your ads will show up for any searches that include:
- Your exact keyword
- Variations of your keyword, like plurals and synonyms
- Contextual variations of your keyword
- Other words before and after your keyword
- All words and phrases that match the meaning or intent of your keyword
Let’s consider a few examples.
If your target keyword is “football shoes,” broad match will show your ads for a wide range of searches containing related words and phrases, such as:
- football boots’ or ‘soccer shoes’ (synonyms)
- football shoes for men’ or ‘men’s soccer boots’ (additional words as well as synonyms)
- football jersey’ (contextual variation)
And it might not just be limited to these. Google may even display your ads for something like “basketball shoes” or “tennis shoes,” as there is some relation between these terms and your target keyword. They contain the word ‘shoes’ and are related to a broader category – sports.
As long as Google can establish some kind of similarity or connection between your keyword and the user’s search query, there is a chance for your ads to be displayed through broad match.
Benefits and Shortcomings
The way that broad match works has its pros and cons.
Its benefit is that with just one keyword, your ads can reach more people, thus improving ad visibility and bringing more traffic to your landing page. Let’s go back to the above example. Say your website sells all shoes for all kinds of sports, not just football. So with just one keyword – football shoes – you can still reach people searching for basketball or tennis shoes. And as Google matches your ads with a wide variety of related searches, it might even help you uncover new potential keywords you didn’t think of.
However, the downside is that you can always show your ads to irrelevant searches. Again, following the same example, since your website specializes in different types of sports shoes, you wouldn’t benefit from your ads being shown to people searching for football jerseys. Moreover, you could be wasting much of your ad budget if these irrelevant users click on your ads.
Exact Match
The exact match is the polar opposite of the broad match. It only displays your ads for searches that have the exact same meaning as your target keywords. Note that we said “exact meaning” and not “exact keyword.” That means your ads will still appear for searches that don’t contain your target keyword as long as they mean the same thing.
That includes plurals, direct synonyms, changing the order of the keywords, and the addition of functional words like prepositions or articles since they don’t alter the overall meaning of the phrase.
We’ll stick to the same example of “football shoes” as the target keyword. Again, singular/plural forms and close synonyms will be matched, so your ads can be triggered by searches like “football boots” and “soccer shoes.” In addition, it can also be matched with “shoes for football,” where the order of words is reversed, and a preposition (for) has been added. Google can tell that it means the same as your keyword.
But your ads will not appear for “football shoes for men” or “buy football shoes,” as these searches include additional words which slightly change the meaning by adding more context to your chosen keyword. And it won’t appear for searches that have nothing to do with football shoes, like other sports gear and equipment.
Benefits and Shortcomings
The main advantage of the exact match is that it displays your ads to the most relevant users. Matching your ad keywords with searches that retain the exact meaning ensures that only people specifically searching for your products and services see your ads. Such people are likelier to click on the ad and eventually purchase what you’re selling. Thus, you will see better clickthrough rates (CTR) and conversions with exact match.
The downside is that it will limit the reach of your ads. So you’re missing out on a lot of potential buyers who might be interested in your products but aren’t actively searching for them. Following the same example of ‘football shoes,’ someone searching for a ‘football jersey’ will not see your ads. However, you’re missing out on a potential customer if you sell shoes and jerseys.
In addition, you’re also missing out on the opportunity to target long-tail keywords like “buy football shoes for men.” Such keywords are valuable because they have less competition and bring about better conversions.
Phrase Match
Phrase match is the middle ground between broad and exact match, offering a balance of reach and relevance. It’s broader than exact match, but more restricted than the broad match. With phrase match, your ads will be shown for all variations of keywords that we discussed in exact match, but it will also cover long-tail variations.
So for the target keyword ‘football shoes,’ your ads could show up for searches like:
- Buy football shoes
- Men’s football shoes under $100
- Cheap soccer boots
- Best shoes for soccer
Basically, Google will show your ads for any search focusing on football shoes, regardless of additional words and phrases in the search query. As long as a search has anything to do with football shoes, there’s a chance that your ad will be displayed.
Benefits and Shortcomings
The benefit of phrase match is that it brings you the best of both worlds. Your ads get a wider reach than they would with an exact match, and it also filters out some irrelevant searches that would be included in a broad match. So it gives you a balanced advertising strategy where you don’t have to choose between reach and relevance.
The drawback is that it also comes with the shortcomings of both broad and exact match.
Like with exact match, you’ll still lose out on new keyword opportunities and the chance to reach out to more people who may not be interested in your products now but could end up being valuable customers later on. It’s not too far off to assume that someone searching for ‘football jerseys’ may also be interested in buying football shoes at some point.
And similar to broad match, you still risk displaying ads on irrelevant searches because not all long-tail variations may suit your requirements. If you’re selling high-end football shoes, you wouldn’t want your ads to appear for searches like “cheap football shoes.” Or if you’re advertising your own brand of shoes, you wouldn’t want to bid for “Nike football shoes.”
Negative Match
Negative match is not an exclusive keyword matching option but is meant to be used with the three main match types we’ve explained above. Instead of letting you control what search terms to match with your target keywords, it does the opposite. It lets you decide on words and phrases for which you don’t want your ads to appear. So if your target keyword is “football shoes,” but you add the negative keywords “cheap” and “discount,” your ads will not be triggered whenever these words are present in the search query, like “cheap soccer boots” or “discounted football shoes.”
How to Use Different Match Types for Best Results in Ad Campaigns
So far, you’ve learned about the three match types, their benefits and drawbacks, and the use of negative match types. Now it’s time to learn the best ways to use these match types so your ad campaigns bring the best results per your objective.
How and When to Use Broad Match?
Broad match is best used by websites that want to increase reach and visibility. Startups and new websites, for example, need to focus on traffic and brand awareness before they can push for sales and conversions. So broad match can be incredibly useful in such cases.
With just one keyword, they can reach out to countless users who are searching for something similar or related. Many of these users may not be interested in the product or services being offered through the ads, but at least they will become aware of the website and what it offers.
And it’s not just startups or new sites. Even big brands can use broad matches to promote their products and services to mass users. In fact, since broad match displays you for a wide range of searches, it also leads to more impressions, costing the advertiser more money. So large organizations with greater ad budgets can definitely benefit from broad matches.
Broad match is also the default match type setting on Google Ads. So when you create a new ad group and set a keyword, it will automatically be set to broad match until you change it. If you want to add a keyword for broad match manually, you just need to type it into the designated keywords box.
How and When to Use Exact Match?
Exact matches are ideal for any website attracting highly relevant traffic and boosting conversions. Websites that already get a lot of visitors every month but struggle to make enough sales and revenue can benefit from exact match in their advertising efforts. It’s also a great choice for businesses that want to limit their ad spend and make the most out of a lesser ad budget. In such a case, it’s best to avoid the possibility of ad impressions on irrelevant searches, even if it has other potential benefits like discovering new keywords. So using an exact match would be the best approach.
It’s also perfect for websites that deal with highly specific niche products and services. For example, an online store that makes and sells handcrafted journals and diaries would only target users who are interested in this specific item. So there is no benefit for them in increasing their reach, as their target audience is a smaller community, to begin with. An exact match using the most relevant keywords can help them reach their target audience effectively.
To set a keyword for an exact match, you need to type it into the designated keywords box within square brackets, like [football shoes].
How and When to Use Phrase Match?
Phrase match is naturally the best option for websites that want to focus both reach and relevance equally or simply want to go with the most neutral matching option. When you don’t have clear priorities between greater ad visibility and more relevant ad impressions, then phrase match is the right choice for you. Additionally, if targeting long-tail search queries is an important aspect of your marketing strategy, then you don’t need to think twice before using phrase matches for your ad campaigns. Often, a lot of websites go with phrase match simply because it’s a balanced matching option.
To set a keyword for an exact match, you need to type it into the designated keywords box within quotes (“ ”), like “football shoes.”
How and When to Use Negative Match?
Negative match can be used with any three-match types by specifying negative keywords. There’s a specific box in Google ads where you can enter your negative keywords. As for what those keywords should be, that depends on the nature of your business and what you’re selling or advertising.
Some of the example scenarios we covered earlier should come in handy to explain the usefulness of negative keywords. If your website sells high-quality sports shoes for football, basketball, and more, you’d want to avoid searches for anything that’s not sports shoes. So even if your target keyword is “football shoes,” it would be fine for your ads to also appear for “basketball shoes” as that is still part of your product. But “football shorts” is something you’d want to avoid.
Now if you used broad match, it would make your ads eligible for searches that involve both basketball shoes and football shorts. Then you can add words like ‘shorts’, ‘socks’, and ‘jerseys’ as the negative keyword. By doing so, you can confidently use broad match for the keyword football shoes and still have your ads displayed for basketball shoes as well, but not for any sports gear other than shoes.
The bottom line is that you should make the best use of negative keywords to cancel out some of the irrelevant search queries that have nothing to do with your products.
Conclusion
In conclusion, understanding and effectively utilizing keyword match types can greatly impact the success of your online advertising campaigns. By strategically selecting the right match types, such as broad match, exact match, and phrase match, you can balance reach and specificity, optimize ad relevance, and target your desired audience more accurately.
Broad match allows for a wider reach, capturing a broader range of search queries, while exact match ensures precision by showing ads only for the exact keyword or close variants. Phrase match strikes a balance between the two, accommodating variations in search intent. With the help of this guide, we believe that you should now be able to use them effectively in your ad campaigns for the best results within your advertising budget.
Image source: freepik
