The right keywords are the key to a successful Google Ads search campaign. Google gives us 3 different match types that we can use. There is no better or worse option here.

Each match type has advantages and disadvantages and offers different possibilities. In this post, you will learn everything you need to know about the current status quo so that you can use the different match types profitably in your campaigns.

Here’s an overview:

How do keyword match types work?

Before we go further into the specific match types, here is an explanation of the basics: What are match types?

When you add keywords in Google Ads, there are the following 3 options:

• Broad Match

• Phrase Match

• Exact Match

Match types give you control over how relevant a search query must be to your specified keyword in order to trigger an ad. As a rule of thumb:

From broad match to exact match, the relevance increases and possible reach decreases.

Search Term vs. Keyword: What is the difference?

In Google Ads, there are search terms and keywords. Even though these terms sound like synonyms and are often treated as such outside of Google Ads, they are two different concepts.

What are keywords?

Keywords are words or groups of words that you can add to Google Ads at the ad group level. These keywords determine for which searches your ads will be triggered.

What are search terms?

Search terms are the actual and literal search queries that triggered your ads. In other words, the search terms give you information about the real searches of the users.

How does the ad mechanism work?

For each search query, Google checks whether the search term has the same or a similar meaning as one of your keywords.

If it has a completely different meaning, no ad will be placed.

If the meaning is similar, but not exactly the same, the Match Type of the respective keyword determines whether an ad is triggered or not.

Which 3 Match Types are there?

Now first an overview of the 3 match types. In Google Ads there is broad match, phrase match and exact match. The keyword option used determines how much reach a keyword can achieve and how relevant the individual search queries have to be.

How does Broad Match work?

As the name suggests, broad match is the broadest keyword match type in Google Ads. This means that you can reach the largest target audience.

Broad match is used by Google by default. To select this option, you simply have to enter a keyword – without any additional characters like quotes (“keyword”) or brackets ([keyword]). This is how it will be displayed in the Google Ads interface.

In order for an ad to be triggered, Broad Match only requires that a search query has a meaning that is related to the meaning of the keyword.

The spelling or the actual words used in a keyword do not matter. As long as there is a certain thematic match, an ad can be triggered.

Thus, keyword and search terms can be really far apart in this case. Also, the searching users do not necessarily have to have the desired intent.

Example: When does Broad Match trigger an ad?

You sell high-quality leather suit shoes. In a campaign, you therefore enter the keyword suit shoes leather. In this case, all search queries that simply contain the word “shoes” are thematically relevant enough to theoretically trigger ads.

Keyword: suit shoes leather

Search query	Could Broad Match trigger an ad?
Leather suit shoes	✅
Suit Shoes	✅
Leather shoes ladies	✅
How do I clean shoes?	✅
Which leather goes with my suit?	✅
Suit pants	❌

Here is another example from Google:

You see, broad match gives you relatively little control. And so it can quickly happen that you spend money on search queries that are not relevant to you at all.

Broad Match takes more than the keyword into account

According to Google’s own statements, broad match keywords also take into account user signals that go beyond the search query. This is not the case with phrase or exact match.

In order to display relevant ads, the algorithm also looks at the following aspects:

• The past search activity of the user
• The content of the landing page
• The importance of other keywords in the same ad group

Google prefers broad match keywords

Maybe you have noticed it before: Google obviously prefers broad match keywords. It is the default keyword option, when you add new keywords Google always recommends using broad match and even in running campaigns Google keeps asking if you don’t want to convert your keywords to broad match.

Meanwhile, there even is an option in the campaign settings to use only broad match keywords with one click:

Why is this actually the case?

Google Ads is constantly evolving. For a long time now, the trend has clearly been moving away from manual control to automation through Google’s AI technology.

Since broad match gives Google the most freedom, the AI-based algorithm works best for this match type. If you use automated bidding strategies (Smart Bidding), you will often get the best results.

These bidding strategies are e.g. maximize conversions (+Target CPA if applicable) or maximize conversion value (+Target ROAS if applicable).

How does Phrase Match work?

For a keyword with the match type phrase match, an ad is only triggered if the search term has a similar meaning or intention. Phrase match thus lies between broad match and the strict exact match option.

To select this option, you must enter a keyword in quotation marks (“keyword”).

The exact spelling and the order of the words are no longer relevant with phrase match. This used to be the case only until Google revised the way it works. More about this later.

With phrase match, you can control quite precisely which search terms can trigger your ads. However, you give Google some leeway and your ads will be shown even if a search query does not 100% have the same meaning.

Example: When does Phrase Match trigger an ad?

The exact spelling and the words used are no longer relevant. What matters is the intent of a search query. For an ad to be triggered, it must either match exactly or be similar.

Let’s stay with the suit shoes example:

Keyword: “suit shoes leather”

Search query	Could phrase match trigger?
Leather suit shoes	✅
Suit shoe	✅
Leather shoes chic ladies	✅
How to clean shoes?	❌
Which leather goes with my suit?	❌
Suit pants	❌

You see, phrase match is also quite broad and can trigger for many different search queries. We can see this again with the Google example:

How does Exact Match work?

For a keyword with the match type exact match, an ad is only triggered if the search term has the same meaning or intent.

So exact match gives you the best control over which search terms can trigger your ads.

To select this option, you must enter a keyword in square brackets ([keyword]).

The exact spelling and word order is no longer relevant for exact match keywords either.

Example: When does Exact Match trigger an ad?

Only the meaning behind the words counts. For an ad to be triggered, it must match exactly.

Keyword: “suit shoes leather”

Search query	Could Exact Match trigger?
Leather suit shoes	✅
Suit shoes	✅
Leather shoes chic ladies	❌
How do I clean shoes?	❌
Which leather goes with my suit?	❌
Suit pants	❌

And here is the Google example:

Match type comparison: the pros and cons

For choosing the optimal match type in your Google Ads campaigns, a thorough understanding of their strengths and weaknesses is crucial. Each match type offers specific benefits and challenges that can impact your campaign’s performance. Here’s an easy-to-read comparison:

Features	Broad Match	Phrase Match	Exact Match
Reach	High	Medium	Low
Control	Low	Medium	High
CTR	Low	Medium	High
Ad relevance	Variable	Medium	High
Setup effort	Low	Low	High
Discover new keywords	Good	Good	None
Management effort with negative keywords	High	Medium	Low
Best use for	Top with sufficient budget and focus on reach	Balanced control and reach	Fine-tuned control and efficiency

Features	Broad Match	Phrase Match	Exact Match
Reach	High	Medium	Low
Control	Low	Medium	High
CTR	Low	Medium	High
Ad relevance	Variable	Medium	High
Setup effort	Low	Low	High
Discover new keywords	Good	Good	None
Management effort with negative keywords	High	Medium	Low
Best use for	Top with sufficient budget and focus on reach	Balanced control and reach	Fine-tuned control and efficiency

Summary

• Broad match provides the most reach and is good for smart bidding, but requires careful management of negative keywords, due to low control and can result in lower click-through rates.
  
• Phrase match offers balanced control and reach, is good for targeted ads, but also requires management of negative keywords and can result in higher cost per click.
  
• Exact match provides maximum control and relevance, minimizes wastage, and requires less management effort. However, it can lead to lower reach and difficulty in discovering new keywords.

Choosing the appropriate Match Type depends on your specific campaign goals, available budget, and desired balance between reach and control.

What effect do match types have on performance?

Match Types have a direct effect on your campaign performance. This is because the different targeting of the keyword options decisively influences some of the most important metrics. In the following, I would like to give you a short overview.

Broad Match

Broad match reaches the largest target group, so tends to get the most impressions, clicks and possibly conversions. It covers a lot of different search queries that often don’t have a high competition. This often results in a lower CPC.

At the same time, not all search queries are really relevant to your ad. Therefore, the click-through rate (CTR) often decreases also the conversion rate, which often leads to higher costs per conversion (CPA).

Exact Match

With exact match, you reduce scatter loss but also have a limited reach. The CPC tends to be higher because there is more competition for exact match queries.

The CTR tends to be higher because the ads only appear for highly relevant search queries. This often leads to efficient use of and a lower cost per conversion (CPA). However, due to the limited reach, the absolute number of conversions often decreases.

Phrase Match

As the middle match type, phrase match performs between both extremes. That means you will also see a mix of the described effects on performance.

When to use which match type? 3 strategies

Unfortunately, there is no simple recipe that always leads to success in every campaign. Which match type is best depends on many factors. Important factors are e.g. the campaign duration, the budget or the search volume.

In addition, you can of course also combine the match types. That means you don’t have to decide for one of them.

Instead of presenting you with the “best match type strategy“, I would like to present you 3 popular strategies that can help you…

1. Broad Match + Exact Match

In this strategy, you combine broad match and exact match. That means, in one ad group you have keywords in both match types.

You should always structure your ad group thematically according to a keyword theme. In exact match, you list different variations of your keyword, e.g.[suit shoes leather],[leather suit shoes], [shoes for suit].

In addition, you add the keyword theme once as a broad match: e.g. suit shoes leather

This has the following advantages:

• Wide reach and discovery of new keywords through broad match:
  Broad match keywords help you find new keywords that you may not have thought of. If there are recurring search queries that lead to conversions, you can then add them as exact match.

• Good performance with Smart Bidding:
  Broad Match makes this setup work very well with Smart Bidding and you benefit from Google’s AI power.

• Improved CTR and more data with exact match:
  By using exact match, your click-through rate usually increases and your CPC decreases. In addition, you have the advantage that you can better track the performance of the most relevant search queries.

When is this strategy suitable?

This strategy is well suited for the start of a campaign because you can quickly discover additional keywords, which you can include in your keyword list.

It is important that your advertised offer is not too narrow. For example, if you offer a certain service for which there is only one word to describe, Exact Match only might be a better strategy.

2. Broad Match with Smart Bidding

This is Google’s preferred strategy. Here you should include 1-3 keywords per ad group that exactly describe your offer. Together with a smart bidding strategy, like maximize conversions or maximize conversion value, and correct conversion tracking, you use the full power of Google’s AI algorithms.

This strategy also requires a certain budget to be successful. As a rule of thumb, you should use a daily budget for this that is approximately equal to your desired cost per conversion.

If you don’t have that, I would advise against this strategy for now.

3. Exact Match only

With this strategy, you only use exact match keywords. You group your ad groups thematically by keyword theme again. Then you can add a few variations of them as exact match keywords.

This strategy is especially good in the following situations:

• You have a limited budget and your offer has enough search volume

• You already know from past campaigns what your most profitable keywords are.

• You have strict guidelines on which search queries you can bid on.

Update 2023: How have match types changed?

In many resources you find online, you read outdated information about match types in Google Ads. This is because, in the past, the spelling of the keywords was actually crucial, now it’s the meaning behind it.

After an update in 2023, keywords are now interpreted even more “broadly”. Because Google’s algorithms are now extremely good at understanding the semantic meaning of a search query. For this reason, only the meaning of a keyword is now relevant – not the exact spelling.

This can be seen in this overview from Google:

How do Match Types work for negative keywords?

In Google Ads, in addition to keywords that include which searches trigger an ad, there are also negative keywords. With these, you can exclude certain words. This way you can further avoid scatter loss. There are the same match types here as well.

For negative keywords, the match types still work the same way as they used to for normal keywords. That is, it is about the exact spelling. Thus, you also have to consider typos, plurals, and variations.

Specifically, the match types for negative keywords work as follows:

• Broad Match: A negative keyword in broad match blocks all search queries that contain the same words in any order.
  
• Phrase Match: A negative keyword in phrase match blocks only search queries that contain the same words in the same order.
  
• Exact Match: A negative keyword in exact match only blocks search queries that match the keyword exactly in spelling. No additional words may be included.

For a better understanding, here is an overview:

Negative keyword: shoes jogging

Can an ad be triggered?

Search term	Broad Match shoes jogging	Phrase Match “jogging shoes”	Exact Match [shoes jogging]
tennis shoes blue	✅	✅	✅
shoe jogging	✅	✅	✅
shoes jogging blue	❌	❌	✅
jogging shoes	❌	✅	✅
jogging shoes	❌	❌	❌

Conclusion: match types – always on the move

Understanding match types is extremely important for your success with Google Ads. It is worthwhile to always stay up to date on this. Because Google keeps changing the way it works. This, of course, also changes the way we should use them.

Just from the length of the post, you can tell that keyword match types are a complex topic with a lot to consider. I hope you were able to learn some helpful things for your campaigns.

Thanks if you read the post till here and good luck with your campaigns! 🚀

Work smart, not hard – Clicks in Mind