Google Ads
Keyword match types
Settings that control how closely a search must match a keyword for the ad to show: broad, phrase or exact match.
What it is
Exact match covers searches with the same meaning as the keyword; phrase match covers searches that include its meaning; broad match lets Google show ads on related searches it judges relevant.
Why it matters
For lead generation and e-commerceMatch types decide how much of the budget goes to searches the advertiser chose, and how much to searches Google chose.
In practice
Combine them with negative keywords and review the search terms report regularly; broad match tends to work with smart bidding and good conversion data.
A common mistake
Using broad match without negatives or conversion data, and paying for searches unrelated to the business.
All terms