As any seasoned marketer knows, phrase match types are a crucial component of any successful Google Ads campaign. But with so many options to choose from – broad match, exact match, phrase match, and more – it can be tough to know which one to use in any given situation. In this article, we’ll dive deep into the world of match types and explore their various benefits, drawbacks, and use cases.

Are you looking to boost your online presence and generate more leads for your business? understanding the different types of keywords in Google Ads is key to success. Check out our other articles about Google Ads to learn even more.

Table of Contents

What Are Match Types in Google Ads?

Simply put, match types are a way to tell Google which search queries you want your ads to appear for. When you create a new ad group or campaign, you’ll be prompted to choose a default match type for your keywords. This default will determine how Google matches your ads to search queries, unless you specify a different match type for a specific keyword.

Broad Match: The Default Match Type

The broad match type is the default option for all keywords in a new Google Ads campaign. With this match type, your ad will be eligible to show for any search query that includes your keyword in any order, as well as relevant variations and synonyms. For example, if your keyword is “running shoes,” your ad could show for searches like “best shoes for running” or “running sneakers.” While broad match can help you reach a wider audience, it also has the potential to show your ads to irrelevant searches that waste your budget.

Example

Suppose you’re running an ads campaign for a sports shoe company and want to advertise your latest line of running shoes. By using the broad match type for the keyword “running shoes,” your ad may appear for searches like “trail running shoes,” “marathon running shoes,” and “women’s running shoes.” 

While this may increase the reach of your ad, it may also attract clicks from people looking for different types of running shoes, resulting in lower conversion rates and wasted ad spend. To mitigate this, you could add negative keywords like “tennis shoes” or “basketball shoes” to exclude irrelevant searches and improve the relevance of your ads.

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Exact Match: Pinpoint Precision

Exact match, on the other hand, is the most targeted match type available in Google Ads. With this match type, your ad will only show for searches that exactly match your keyword, with no additional words or variations. For example, if your keyword is “men’s dress shoes,” your ad will only show for that exact search term. Exact match is perfect for highly specific keywords that you want to bid on, but it can also limit your reach and make it difficult to capture relevant searches that include close variants.

Example

An example of using the exact match type in Google Adwords is for a shoe retailer bidding on the keyword “women’s high heels.” By using exact match, the ad will only appear when someone searches for the exact term “women’s high heels” and not for close variant such as “high heel shoes for women” or “women’s stiletto heels.” While this can limit the reach of the ad, it ensures pinpoint precision for highly specific keywords.

Phrase Match: The Middle Ground

Phrase match falls somewhere between broad match and exact match. With this match type, your ad will show for search queries that include your keyword match in the same order, but may also include additional words before or after the keyword match. For example, if your keyword is “blue suede shoes,” your ad could show for searches like “buy blue suede shoes online” or “where to find blue suede shoes.” Phrase match can be a good option if you want to reach a slightly wider audience than exact match, but still maintain some level of control over which searches trigger your ads.

Example

Let’s say you run an online shoe store and want to advertise your blue suede shoes. You’ve set up a Google campaign and have chosen the phrase match type for your keyword “blue suede shoes.”

With phrase match, your ad will appear for search queries that include the phrase “blue suede shoes” in the same order, but may also include other words before or after the phrase.

So when a potential customer types in “where to buy blue suede shoes online” or “blue suede shoes on sale,” your ad could potentially show up in the search results.

Using phrase match allows you to reach a slightly wider audience than exact match, while still maintaining some control over which searches trigger your ad. This can help you find the middle ground between casting too wide of a net and being too restrictive with your keyword targeting.

Modified Broad Match: Control and Flexibility

Modified broad match is a variation on broad match that allows you to add a plus sign (+) before one or more keywords in your phrase. This tells Google that the keyword must be included in the search query for your ad to show, regardless of word order. For example, if your keyword is “+women’s +shoes,” your ad will only show for searches that include both “women’s” and “shoes.” Modified broad match can give you more control over which searches trigger your ads, while still allowing for some variation and flexibility.

Negative Match: Excluding Irrelevant Searches

Negative phrase match is a match type that allows you to exclude certain search terms from triggering your ads. By adding a minus sign (-) before a keyword, you tell Google not to show your ad for any searches that include that term. For example, if you sell running shoes but don’t carry any kids’ sizes, you could add “-kids” as a negative keyword to exclude any searches that include that term. Negative match is a powerful tool for reducing wasted ad spend and improving the relevancy of your ads.

Using Different Match Types for Different Goals

Ultimately, the best strategy is to use a combination of different match type in your Google Ads campaign. By doing so, you can achieve a balance between reach and relevance. For example, you could use broad match keywords to capture a wide range of relevant searches and use modified broad match or phrase match for more targeted searches. Exact match keywords are ideal for when you want your ads to appear only for specific searches that closely match your keyword, while negative keywords are crucial for excluding irrelevant searches.

When creating a Google Ad campaign, it’s important to consider using different match types like exact match type, phrase match keyword, and negative phrase match, as well as accounting for close variants and carefully selecting the most relevant keyword phrases.

Example

Let’s say you’re a shoe retailer and want to run a Google campaign to promote your new line of athletic shoes. You could use broad match keywords like “athletic shoes” to capture a wide range of relevant searches, but to target more specific searches like “women’s running shoes” or “men’s basketball shoes,” you could use modified broad match or phrase match. Then, you could use exact match keywords for searches that closely match your product, like “Nike Air Max running shoes,” and negative keywords to exclude irrelevant searches like “dress shoes” or “sandals.” This way, you can achieve a balance between reach and relevance and ensure that your ads are being shown to the most relevant audience.

Close Variant

Close variants refer to searches that are similar to your keywords but may not be an exact match. For example, someone searching for “shoes” may also be shown ads for “sneakers” or “footwear.” Close variants are enabled by default for all phrase match types in Google Adwords, so it’s important to regularly review your search term reports and add negative keywords to exclude any irrelevant searches.

Keyword Research & Smart Bidding

Another important factor to consider is keyword research to maximize keyword match type and keyword phrase. Understanding keyword match types is crucial for successful Google Ads campaigns, as it involves optimizing ads keyword match type, such as broad match keyword, exact match keyword, and utilizing the various Google Ads match types, including broad match type.

By using tools like Google Keyword Match Planner, you can identify relevant keywords and phrases for your business and determine which match types to use for each keyword match. It’s also important to consider additional words or phrases that could be added to your keywords to make them more specific and relevant.

Smart bidding is another powerful feature of Google Ads that can help you optimize your bids for different match types and search queries. With smart bidding, you can set automated bids based on your campaign goals, such as maximizing conversions or improving return on investment.

It’s worth noting that different match types and negative keywords also apply to other search engines like Bing Ads (now known as Microsoft Ads) and Google Shopping. By understanding the differences between each match type and using them strategically in your campaigns, you can improve the relevance and performance of your ads while avoiding irrelevant clicks and wasted spend.

Example

Suppose you run an online pet store and want to create a Google Ads campaign for your best-selling product, cat food. After conducting thorough keyword research using Google Keyword Planner, you identify several potential keywords and phrases, such as “cat food delivery,” “buy cat food online,” and “best cat food brands.”

Using different match types, you decide to use broad match keywords to capture a wider audience for more general searches related to cat food, such as “cat food reviews.” You use phrase match for more targeted searches, such as “buy cat food online,” and exact match for when you want your ads to appear only for specific searches, such as “best cat food brands.”

You also add negative keywords like “dog food” and “bird food” to exclude irrelevant searches and avoid wasting ad spend on uninterested users. Additionally, you utilize smart bidding to automatically adjust your bids for different match types and search queries based on your campaign goals.

By using a combination of keyword match types, negative keywords, and smart bidding, you can ensure that your ads are reaching the most relevant audience and maximizing your return on investment.

Conclusion

Understanding the different phrase match types and close variants in Google Ads is crucial for any paid search campaign. By using a combination of different match types, you can achieve a balance between reach and relevance. Broad match keywords are great for capturing a wide range of relevant searches, while modified broad match and phrase match are ideal for more targeted searches. Exact match keywords are perfect for when you want your ads to appear only for specific searches that closely match your keyword.

Negative keywords are another important aspect of Google Ads. Negative keywords allow you to exclude certain search terms from triggering your ads. For example, if you sell running shoes but not hiking shoes, you could add “hiking” as a negative keyword to ensure your ads aren’t shown to people searching for hiking shoes. Negative broad match keywords can also be used to exclude entire categories of searches, while negative exact match keywords allow you to exclude very specific search terms.

Broad match modifier is another match type that can be used to ensure that your ads are only shown for specific variations of your keywords. By using a “+” sign in front of certain keywords, you can ensure that your ads are only shown for searches that include those specific words or variations of those words. This can be especially helpful for businesses that have multiple keywords with similar variations.

Paid search campaigns can be complex, but by understanding the different phrase match types and utilizing negative keywords, broad match modifier, and exact keywords, you can improve the performance of your campaigns and drive business growth. It’s also important to note that these strategies apply to other search engines like Microsoft Ads (formerly Bing Ads), and that different match types and keyword research should be used for each ad group and campaign within your paid search strategy.

Overall, understanding the intricacies of Google Ads and paid search campaigns can take time and effort, but by using a strategic approach and continually refining your campaigns, you can achieve better results and drive business growth. So, make sure to use different keyword match types, optimize ad groups with exact keywords and close variations, and always keep negative broad match and negative exact match in mind when setting up your campaigns.