Keyword Match Types: How & When To Use Them
Introduction:
What is a keyword?
When is it used?
What is a match type?
When creating any Google Ads campaign, it is important to know what kinds of keywords attract audiences, and how they can play a major role in the overall success of your marketing efforts. Specifically in a search campaign, keywords are words or phrases that are used to match your ads with the terms people are searching for and have a variety of different formats that can be explored. These formats are known as match types and have unique ways of changing the strategy of a campaign.
What are the different keyword match types?
Broad match: this match type is characterized by its ability to match your keyword to many broad search terms. This is typically used as the default setting for keywords as it doesn’t require a match type and will show up for extensive search results.
Phrase match: this match type is characterized by its ability to match your keyword to search terms based on the actual words used.
Exact match: this match type is characterized by its ability to specifically match your keyword to an exact search by a user.
A great example of these different match types in practice looks like:
What are negative keywords?
When you are running a search campaign using targeted keywords, you are bound to come by unwanted search traffic. This will typically come in the form of bad search results for the keywords you are running. It is important to note that all search terms should be looked at through the lens of overall keyword performance, but in cases where the search results are not in any alignment with the product/service you are running, then you are given the ability to add keywords to the negative keyword list.
This is a list of keywords composed by you that gives Google a direction of what searches they can and can’t put your ads in front of. For example, if you are selling specifically blueberry pies but see that apple pies are consistently showing up in your search terms, then you can insert the word apple into the negative keyword list ensuring that your ads do not show up for that term again. One caveat of this feature is that the keywords inserted only work with that particular spelling of the keyword. Any other search term coming in spelled differently will need to be added as well.
The negative keyword list can also host different match types of the same keyword. Typically, most campaigns will insert the keyword into the list as a broad match by default, but if you change the type to match phrase (“keyword”) or exact ([keyword]) then the same rules applied to search keywords will apply here.
In addition to keyword match type specificity, you can also make a keyword count as negative at the ad group, campaign, and account level. These varying degrees allow for the campaign to be as targeted as necessary, especially in different ad groups that may appeal to different types of users.
When should you use the different match types?
Now that you know the different keyword match types, it's important to understand the various ways they can be used throughout a campaign.
Broad match keywords:
If you are advertising for niche topics or products that have low search volume
Note: This match type should be used with caution and monitored closely to ensure you’re not spending your budget on searches that are irrelevant to your business.
Phrase match:
When you have a product/service that can be known/searched for under different terms. For example, if many users will search for both “dietitian” and “dietician” then using one of those spellings as a keyword will help to capture both kinds of searches
If you want to keep search volume open but only want to show up for things related to your product/service
When you are trying to narrow down which keywords work best for you
Exact match:
If you have a very specific product/service that falls under a large umbrella category and don’t want to get caught up with unrelated traffic
Brand or name searches
When you want to lower an overall ad group’s average cost per click
Conclusion:
Utilizing different keyword match types can depend greatly on the objectives and goals lined out for your campaign. Taking into consideration how all the match types work, as well as what kind of traffic they can bring to your campaign can seem like a headache, but it is one more move you can make to ensure that your campaign can work to its fullest potential. Some helpful tips to take into consideration are:
When trying out different match types, always keep an eye on search terms coming in that may not fully align with your product/service
Some match types will have more expansive search volumes than others
All match types will have varying costs per click (even for the same keywords) depending on your market
If you are looking for a better understanding of how keyword match types can play a major role in your campaign, feel free to get in touch with the Google Ads experts at RevKey, who can guide you on this and many more topics!
