Keyword Match Types : What is it?
Keyword Match Types are very important when building your Google ads.
They indicate to what extent you would like your keywords to match a search term. Keywords should reflect your products or services, and the search terms are what people are looking for on search engine.
To simplify : you want to tell Google to what extent someone searching for something should find your ads.
Keyword Match Types : The different types
Three different keywords match types are available on Google Ads : Broad Match, Phrase Match and Exact Match.
Broad Match Type
This match type is the largest. First, your ads will appear if a keyword or any variation of it is contained in a user search term. It is going to target a large audience, for extended search terms. So, it is the good solution if you want to spend less time defining your keyword list, test some keywords and try to spread your ads to a wider audience.
This option is suitable for companies with a dedicated marketing budget. With broad match type, they won’t have to create an exhaustive keyword list, and they can reach potential customers that haven’t yet heard of their brand.
Phrase Match Type
Here, we place a quotation mark around the keyword to specify they are phrase matched.
Phrase match type is a more specific keyword match type. Your ads will only show up if the keywords or its close variations match the user search terms. The difference with broad match is that you cannot have any extra word between your keywords.
For example, if your keyword is « boy pants », your ads will show up for search terms like « boy trousers » « 8 years old boy pants », but not « boy blue pants ».
Phrase match is a good fit if you are looking for something a bit more specific, with more relevance than the broad match type, but still more flexible than the exact match.
Good to know, your ads will still show up for requests with search terms before or after your keywords. For example, they will appear for the search “ 8 years old boy pants shop New York”.
Exact Match Type
Exact Match is the most precise keyword match type. Here you have to place your keywords in brackets [ ] . This way, your ads will appear for searches including exactly your keywords and its closest variations such as plurals, misspellings and synonyms.
The ads will not show up if additional search terms appear between the keywords, before, or after. This helps you narrow down to potential customers only. It is a good solution to match specific users’ search terms.
Example: if your keywords are, in exact match [blue pants], your ads will not show up for the search term “blue pants for sale”, but only appear if someone is looking for “blue pants” only.
Keyword Match Types : Frequently Asked Questions
Should I think about synonyms, plurials and mispelling when deciding my keywords?
No matter the keyword match type you select, your ads will show up for its plurial or singular, and also for the mispelling. If your keyword is « pants », your ads will appear for people searching « pnts » or « pant ». In addition, your ads will show up for synonyms, such as « trousers ».
Can I add keywords I don’t want people to find me for?
Yes, you can add Negative Keywords to indicate search terms you do not want people to find you for.
How can I change my keyword match types inside my campaign?
Finally, to change your keyword match type, click on your campaign, go to Keyword, then tick the box on the left, select Change Match Types and select the Match Type you prefer.
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