Understanding Keyword Match Types

In traditional, old-school advertising you had to create an ad, purchase the space to display it in a newspaper, magazine, or billboard, and then let it roll. You might check on it when it’s time to renegotiate the cost of the space but otherwise, you set it and forget it. This is not the way it works in the new media channels! You can constantly get feedback and data on the performance of your ads, but that data is only valuable if you act on it! You have to take advantage of the tools available to you, like the Google Ads platform.I sat down with our Google Ads Specialist Brett Casaccio to get some pro pointers on managing Google Ads performance. First on the list was talking about keyword match types!

Different Keyword Match Types

Keyword match types are the different options you can use that control what audiences Google serve your ads to. There are a few different match types to choose from so understand your options

Broad Match

Broad match is the default match type for your keywords. Ads can show on a host of different search variations, including synonyms, misspellings, related searches, relevant variations on the keyword.Broad match saves you time building extensive keyword lists. There’s no reason to plan out every possible variation of the keyword you are targeting because broad match does it for you. The Google platform will adjust where your ads are served as time goes on. If certain search term variants aren’t giving your ads any clicks, they will stop showing your ads there, which saves you money.

When to Look Elsewhere:

You should try another avenue if you want your ads to be served to searches that are the most closely aligned to what you are offering. However, you can use negative keywords to discount terms that are too general — most one-word keywords are usually too general for instance. You’ll likely experience a higher clickthrough rate (CTR) with exact and phrase match types.

Phrase Match

Phrase match is a much more targeted strategy than broad match, but not as specific as exact match. Phrase match allows you to target your exact keyword phrase and extra words either before or after. This let’s you be a bit more specific than broad match  but more open than exact match. It also allows for your ad to appear with close variations including misspellings, synonyms or acronyms, stemmings, and singular and plural forms amongst others.Phrase match will help you to create ads with the same keywords your customers are already searching for – you’re able to view the search terms customers were using when they engaged with your ad, then add those exact search terms to your keyword list.It also will increase your CTR as your ad only shows when people are looking for your designated terms and similar variants.

When to Look Elsewhere:

Phrase match is a great keyword option but there are times when either broad match or exact match will perform better for you. Use broad match when you are trying to reach a much wider audience. Use exact match if you know the exact terms your customers are using.

Exact Match

Here it is, the most of precise of all keyword match types. Exact match allows your ads to be displayed when the specific keyword or close variants are searched for. Close variants include misspellings, accents, abbreviations, singular or plural forms, synonyms, paraphrases, as well as implied words and words with the same intent or meaning. Exact match campaigns won’t get you nearly as many impressions, clicks, or conversions as other matching options, but they do mean that the people who do see your ads are the right market and are likely more interested in your service, product, or company.

When to Look Elsewhere:

Exact match is going to give you the most focused audience, but not a lot of impressions. If you don’t know your ideal customer well enough, the exact match terms you select might not be what they are searching for. In that case you need to cast a wider net to understand your target. If you need to gather data and get general results, using broader match types may be the way to go. Knowing the different capabilities of each match type will allow you to run a more powerful, profitable campaign. The biggest piece of advice we can give you is to run combinations of two of them to maximize your potential. You can reach a broader audience and hit the specific search terms you need. Another tip: make sure you are using negative keywords to refine your campaigns. Don’t know what negative keywords are? Keep your eyes peeled here on the Helix House Blog — we have plenty more to offer!  Prefer to save yourself the headache and just get results? Give Helix House a call and let our expert ads specialists create incredible campaigns to drive growth for your business!