Understanding of keyword match types is necessary to run a successful AdWords campaign. Keyword match types help you control searches on Google that can trigger your ad. If you hadn’t taken the time to understand these types then you have probably wasted a lot of money.
Better late than never! This post will teach you everything you need to know about Keyword Match Types with examples.
Keyword Match Type #1 — Broad Match
Broad match is the default match type that all your keywords are assigned if you don’t specify another match type. They will give you the widest reach i.e more traffic but with less relevancy.
Representation: Example Keyword
(No additional symbols are required to set your keyword as broad)
Matches: Synonyms, related searches, singular and plural forms, or close variants*
Example Keyword : Bike Shop
Ads shown for: Motorcycle Store, Cycle Store, Mountain Bike Shop, Bicycle outlet
Keyword Match Type #2 — Broad Match Modifiers
BMM is the middle ground between broad match and the more restrictive match types like phrase and exact. It allows you to reach a similarly wide audience, but better control who sees your ad by “locking” individual words in a key phrase using the “+” parameter.
Representation: +Example +Keyword
(Add a plus sign in front of any or all words in your keyword to set the keyword as BMM)
Matches: Search terms that include all words preceded by + sign or a close variants.
Example Keyword : +Bike Shop | Bike +Shop | +Bike +Shop
Ads shown for: Bike Store, Bike outlet | Cycle shop, motorcycle shop, Motorbike shop | Bike accessories shop, Bike repair shop, Shop for a bike
Keyword Match Type #3— Phrase Match
These are used for showing ads to exact keyword phrases and close variants of your exact keyword, with additional words before or after.
Representation: “Example Keyword”
(Put the keywords in quotes to set it as a Phrase Match Keyword)
Matches: Search terms that include the keyword phrase without any words in between or close variants.
Example Keyword : “Bike Shop”
Ads shown for: Bike shop near me, Bike shops in Delhi, Best bike shop in India
Keyword Match Type #4 — Exact Match
By setting up this match type you can exclusively run ads for exact keywords or extremely close variants of it. This match type also gives you the most control over who gets to see your ads with more relevant eyes falling on your ads leading to a higher CTR (Click-through-ratio)
Representation: [Example Keyword]
(Add the keywords in Square Brackets to set it up as exact match)
Matches: Search terms that include only the keyword or close variants.
Example Keyword : [Bike Shop]
Ads shown for: Bike shop, Bike shops, Biking shop
*Close Variants include:
– Misspellings
– Singular/Plural
– Stemmings (floor – flooring)
– Abbreviations
– Accents
– Words Reordered (with the same meaning)
– Addition/Removal of Function Words such as prepositions, conjunctions, articles, etc.
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