Keyword match type will cover all the following match types available on Google Ads (formerly Adwords match type) and Microsoft Advertising:
- Broad Match
- Broach Match Modifier
- Phrase Match
- Exact Match
Google Ads provides the advertisers the flexibility to target users based on the search queries. Keyword match types help you to filter out search queries unrelated to your business. Although with the introduction of the neural matching algorithm, the SERPs are not just based on keywords or search terms any more. The customer intent and the buyer journey comes into play. This means that your ads appear only when the user is in the right buying stage and the search term matches the triggering keywords in your ad group. Now let us have a look at all the keyword match types available on Google Ads and Microsoft Bing Advertising.
Broad Match Type
What is a Broad Match Type?
Broad match type is the match type to use when you would like to reach a large audience base. It is a great way to get traffic to your website. Broach match type is the default on Google Ads. When you use broad match your ads appear whenever the user query has your keywords or related keywords including misspellings and synonyms. Let us understand this concept using an example.
Sam wants to buy a Suit for his next meeting and Mike sells suits. Mike has added “Suits” with the broad match as the keyword match type. The ad would appear whenever Sam would type in the following queries:
- Suits
- Men’s clothing
- Suits new episode
- Blazers
- Formal Wear
- suits tv show
- Navy Suit
- ladies cardigans
- men’s 3 piece suit
- buy men’s suit
As you can see from the above examples, the search terms are vaguely related. And few queries like “suits tv show” has the keyword suits in it but those are not the users you would want to reach. This is why whenever the advertisers use broad match type, they always have negative keywords list preprepared.
Negative Keywords
The keywords that prevent the ad trigger using a specific word or a phrase is called a negative keyword. This is a must when using a broad match as there is a high probability of your ad being triggered for unassociated search queries.
We are sure that you already know what negative keywords example could be. For suits, any keywords related to the suits TV show would be a negative keyword. What would be the negative keyword for “Tennis Rackets” search term? Well, the answer is: Tennis magazines, Tennis players, Tennis strategy would be a negative keyword as these are not the people who are looking to buy tennis rackets.
While running a search campaign, review your account regularly and keep expanding your negative keyword list to filter out unwanted spam traffic that would not convert.
When to Use Broad Match Type
It is ideal to start with a broad match type with negative keywords to figure out which keywords bring you quality traffic that converts. If you are not in an eCommerce business and you would like to attract max customer to be aware of your service then broad match type works well. As a broad match shows up on all the related search it is bound to consume a lot of budgets. Hence make sure that if you are testing a broad match to find new keywords, keep the testing period short.
How to Use Broad Match Type in the Keyword Planner
√ In order to add the keyword as a broad match type, navigate to keyword planner from the “Tools” section.
√ Click on “find keywords” and type in your keywords.
√ Once the keyword list is generated select the related keywords that you would like to add to your list.
√ From the blue window bar, chose the match type as “Broad match”
√ Now choose the list of keywords that you would like to add as the negative keywords.
√ Click on the “More” section and add them as negative keywords.
Broad Match Modifier
What is the Broad Match Modifier?
Broad match modifier is recommended to the advertisers who would like to use the broad match type. It is the optimized version of the broad match keyword match type as it offers flexibility and control to the advertisers. It is identified with the “+” operator and triggers the ad only when all the words of the keyword phrase appears in the search term. Therefore results in higher relevance while using this match type.
In order to understand this concept, let us consider an example. Sam is getting married next semester. He is looking forward to buying his wedding suit. How would Mike who sells suits online target people like Sam at the peak of the wedding season?
Mike uses broad match modifier match type with the keyword “+wedding +suits” Here are the queries that would trigger the ads:
- Blue wedding suits
- Wedding suits and Blazers
- 3 piece wedding suit
- wedding dresses and suits
- wedding coat suits
- suits for men on wedding
From the above examples, the ads are triggered when there are both the words in no particular order.
When to Use Broad Match Modifier?
Broad match modifier is a good alternative to broad match as you do not have to make a list of negative keywords and reduces manual error. It is a great way to discover new keywords without breaking the bank. However, using broad match also limits the impression volume. Ensure that you do a thorough analysis when you are changing your match type from broad to broad match modifier. In any case, the advantages outweigh the disadvantages and it is definitely recommended to test broad match modifier for your next campaign.
How to Use Broad Match Modifier?
√ In order to add the keyword as a broad match modifier, navigate to keyword planner from the “Tools” section.
√ Once you have the list of the keywords, add them using this format
+word in the phrase +word in the phrase. For example, wedding suit would become +wedding +suit. Note that there should not be any space between the plus operating and the word itself.
Phrase Match
What is the Phrase Match Modifier?
Phrase match modifier triggers the add when there is the exact phrase or closely related phrase appears in the same order in the user search query. This provides higher control with greater relevancy and targeting as compared to broad match and broad match modifiers. Phrase match generally has higher CTR and conversion rate.
In order to understand what exactly is a phrase match, let us consider our friend Sam. Sam is back to business again and would like to sell digital watches online. He sets up a search campaign adding “digital watch” as a keyword with phrase match. Here are the search terms that would trigger his ads:
- buy digital watch
- digital watch with red strap
- cheap digital watch
- cool digital watch
- shop digital watch
- where can I buy a digital watch
Even though the top examples may sound like a great idea, Sam would miss out on these queries:
- sports watch digital
- digital wrist watch
- digital waterproof watch
When to Use Phrase Match Modifier?
If the campaign is geared towards conversions as the primary goal, phrase match is a good option. These are highly targeted and pinpointed terms, hence the traffic could be low. You could start out with the broad match modifier and once you find the relevant converting keywords, create a separate ad group with phrase match keywords.
How to Use Phrase Match Modifier?
√ In order to add the keyword as a phrase match type, navigate to keyword planner from the “Tools” section.
√ Click on Find Keywords and type in your search terms.
√ Once the keyword list is generated select the related keywords, select the ones you would like to add to your list.
√ From the blue window bar, chose the match type as “Phrase match”
Exact Match
What is the Exact Match Modifier?
As the word implies, the ad is triggered only when the user types the exact query that matches the keyword. This provides the highest control to the advertiser but is extremely targeted. Thus limiting the impressions volume.
Let us understand this concept using an example. Sam discovered that from the previous digital watches campaign, the following keywords had the highest conversions:
- buy digital watch
- digital watch with a golden strap
- digital watch black
So, Sam removes these keywords from the phrase match and adds them to a new group as an exact match.
When to Use Exact Match Modifier?
Exact match modifier should be used when the advertiser exactly knows the converting keywords. The upside is that the CTR and conversion rate is really high as it exactly matches with the user query. However, it has a lot of missed opportunity with the long tail keywords. Do not stick to one match type as there is no “perfect” one. Mix and match multiple match types and test until you find which one suits the best for a particular campaign goal.
How to Use Exact Match Modifier?
√ In order to add the keyword as an exact match type, navigate to keyword planner from the “Tools” section.
√ Click on find keywords and type in your search terms.
√ Once the keyword list is generated select the related keywords, select the ones you would like to add to your list.
√ From the blue window bar, chose the match type as “Exact match”
