Keyword Matching Types
You have four types of keyword matching to control your keyword to be more specific or general. There are three types of positive keyword matching that you can use to control your advertisement, which are Broad Match, Exact Match, and Phrase Match. You also have a Negative Match (NOT Displayed) to control your advertisement from showing when you specify a certain keyword to exclude from a search term.
Broad Match
Broad Match is the most common type of keyword matching. Broad Match doesn't have any specific word orders. As long as your keyword appears in the user's term, phrase, or keyword in any order, you'll have a match. Use this kind of keyword matching if you want more clicks.
Example: If your keyword is making money, then it matches all of the following search terms:
- money making
- making money
- fastest way of making money
- making money in real estate
- Which occupations are currently making the most money?
Side Note: If you're new to AdWords, you may temp
to have all of your keywords using broad match only. This is because broad
match will produce more clicks, but your ROI may not be too great. Try
to include "phrase match" and [exact match] keywords into your campaigns.
They may produce less click at first, as your campaigns mature in time,
you will have more clicks for phrase match and exact match. As a result,
your advertising costs will decrease while your return on investment will
naturally increase.
[Exact Match]
Exact match is the most specific type of keyword matching. Your keyword will only display when a user types in exactly the way you specified. You'd want to use exact match keyword for more targeted audience. You might have fewer clicks, but with higher conversion rate.
Example: If your keyword is [making money]
It will ONLY match if a user types in [making money]. It will NOT match the following:
- money making
- money
- making lots of money
- making money from home
"Phrase Match"
Phrase match will only appear in the same order of your specified keyword in a search phrase. This type of keyword match performance is in between the Exact Match and the Broad Match.
Example: If your keyword is "making money"
It will appear when a user types in the following:
- "the fastest way of making money online"
- "making money at home"
It will NOT match the following:
- "money making the fastest way"
- "the easiest of making lots of money"
Negative Match
Negative Match keywords prevent your ad from showing when a search includes a keyword that isn't relevant to your ad. You would use a minus sign (-) in front of your keyword or phrase.
Example: If your broad-matched keyword is making money and negative keyword is -selling cars.
Your ad will match for the following:
- money making in real estate
- making money from home
Your ad will NOT match for the following:
- making money selling cars
- selling cars making money
Side Note: It is a very import part of cost reduction to include Negative Match keywords in your keywords list. Negative Match keywords prevent FREE clicking and stop your text ad from showing to unrelated or product attributes that you're not promoting.
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