Keyword Match Types are a feature in Google Ads that allows our mid 80’s film merchandise salesperson to separate and distinguish themselves from search results that may seem similar or have similar words but are, in fact, very different. Another way to say it: Keyword Match Types help Google decide how closely the keyword should match with a user’s search query in order to enter the keyword auction. In other words, Keyword Match Types allow Google to differentiate between the Thunderdome and a thunder dome. There are four types to choose from.
A broad match keyword type is the widest net you can cast. Google’s search result algorithm is really smart now, so if you choose a broad match, your ad will show up even when someone isn’t looking for the keyword terms you’re bidding on. This wide net is advantageous in a number of instances but can be detrimental if you are selling a very specific product or service.
Example Search: “1980s action movie props”
Hypothetical Broad Match Results: Conan the Barbarian Sword eBay Auction, Mad Max Action Figure w/ Gun, Star Wars Han Solo in Carbonite, Indiana Jones Whip & Hat Replica.
Example Search: “Local Accounting Firm”
Hypothetical Broad Match Results: Annie’s Tax Services, Vancouver WA Accountants INC, Accountants Anonymous, Vancouver’s #1 Tax Service Agency.
Phrase Match
If a broad match is a huge net, a phrase match is a crab pot. It’s going to bring you smaller results than a giant net, but it will catch a large quantity of the same type of search result, and it’s not as restrictive as a single hook (the exact match). Specifically, a phrase match will match a person’s search results with your ad if the search either contains some of the exact keywords you bid on or words that mean the same thing (running shoes or tennis shoes, for example).
Example Search: Vintage Leather Jacket
Hypothetical Phrase Match Results: Anthony’s Warehouse of Vintage Leather Clothes, Vintage Leather Jackets on eBay, Old-School Leather Bomber Jacket, Wilson’s Leather Outlet Jackets.
Example Search: Walkman CD Player
Hypothetical Phrase Match Results: Walkman CD Players at Best Buy, Sony CD Player, Walkman CD Replica Player, Refurbished Walkman CD Player.
Exact Match
The exact match is the fishing hook, or perhaps the bait on a hook: it gets you exactly one type of thing, and there’s not a lot of wriggle room. When you choose exact match, you’re telling Google that every single word in a keyword you’re bidding on—and nothing more or less—will turn up your result. The benefit is you’ll find exactly who you’re looking for and no one else; you don’t have to worry about cumulonimbus ruining your Mad Max ad.
The bad thing is, if someone misspells something or adds an extra word, you won’t show up at all. There’s a teeny bit of leeway here: if your exact match keyword is, for example, “square silver tablecloth,” the algorithm is smart enough to return extremely similar results like “square tablecloths silver” or “silver and square tablecloth” but it won’t return something like “silver tablecloths rectangular” because that’s not a near perfect match to your key phrase. A rectangle and a square are very similar, but Google would likely regard them as two different keywords.
Negative Match
The final Keyword Match Type is the negative match, or negative keyword. This is a tricky tool to use right, but basically, it allows you to designate a result you do not want, under any circumstances, to appear next to. Often, this is used to make sure things like cartoons for kids don’t show up when someone searches for something rated R, or vice versa. It would also very much help in our Thunderdome example. If you find your Mad Max ad keeps appearing for people looking for information about clouds, you could use a negative match keyword to make sure you never, ever show up in a results page where “cloud” is mentioned. For more info about how to use Negative Keywords, read our article.
There used to be a fifth match type called Broad Modified Match, but it was recently merged into the Phrase Match and is no longer relevant if you’re making a new campaign. If you have used BMM in the past, here’s what Google has to say about the transition.
