When creating an advertising campaign on Google, Bing, or another website, it is critical to understand the different types of matches for the keywords i.e. keyword match types you want to target. There are several choices available, each with its own set of expenses and benefits to consider before moving forward with the initiative.
You may believe that selecting keywords is all that is required, but this is not the case. That is where the hard work begins, but it is also critical to choose keyword match styles appropriate for this campaign and help you accomplish all your goals in the future.
In this brief guide, you will learn about the four keyword match types available in Google ads, how they vary, and why they are essential for your PPC ad campaigns’ performance.
What Are Keyword Match Types?
Keyword match types are used to fine-tune your target when creating ads for Google AdWords and other relevant online advertisement platforms. It all comes down to how the algorithm running on the platform of your choice interprets your keyword choices.
The algorithm will determine which search pages your ads will appear on by performing this assessment based on the targeted keywords type you choose. This enables you to target the right individuals and be more precise in your targeting than you might otherwise. The keyword match type you choose will determine how closely the search keywords match the ad displayed.
Keyword selection and match type are also used to target people who are searching on Google and they can also help to get better results in competitor analysis tools.
The Keyword Match Type Options
There are a few different keyword match forms to be aware of since these are likely to be the choices you will consider when creating the next ad campaign. The keyword match type specifies how precisely a search term typed into Google (or Bing, Yahoo, or Twitter) would match the keywords chosen for these PPC platforms.
Choosing the right keyword matching options will help you maximise traffic volume and efficiency, resulting in the best combination of volume and benefit. Broader keyword matching attracts more visitors, while narrower keyword matching is more selective. The broad default match, a modified broad match, phrase match, and exact match forms are available in Google AdWords.
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Exact Match Type
Exact match has always implied that your ad will only appear when your chosen keywords and the user’s query are a perfect match. In recent years, though, Google has tweaked this and made it a bit more versatile.
Bing has maintained the status quo because if you use Bing Ads, your ads will only appear when an exact keyword match is found. Slight variations are permitted with Google AdWords, and this will be discussed further in the Google and Bing section below.
Broad Match Type
When creating an online advertisement campaign, broad match types are often used as default options. The platform’s algorithms will consider the keywords you pick as general guidelines for what is appropriate. It means that the search results where your ads appear will be more diverse.
Broad matches make sense if you want to ensure that your marketing campaign targets a wider audience and is viewed by more audiences. However, there are drawbacks to this strategy, as it requires you to agree that not all matches will be necessary.
Modified Broad Match Type
More people are reached than with phrase match, and you have more targeting power than with broad match.
Place a plus symbol (+) in front of one or more keywords in a broad match keyword to use the modifier. Each word followed by a (+) must appear in the search term of your potential client. Spelling mistakes, singular/plural forms, abbreviations, and buzz words, and stemming (like “floor” and “flooring”) are all close variants. Both AdWords and Bing Ads support the modified broad match.
Phrase Match Type
Phrase matches cause your ads to appear on search engine results pages where your phrase is part of a broader search that the user has conducted. There may be words before or after the phrase, but it will almost definitely include the phrase you want.
You must use inverted commas around the keywords to make them phrase matches. That way, the algorithm will match the exact phrase, and no advertisements will appear on searches that have terms in the middle of your preferred phrase.
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Negative Keywords
Negative keywords come in handy when you want to make sure your ads do not show up in the wrong places. You can, for example, ensure that your ads do not appear for searches that are close to your keywords and services but are not as appropriate as you would like.
It is yet another way to fine-tune your keyword selections to ensure that the right people see your ads. You never want to spend money on advertisements that would be seen by people who are not interested in what you are delivering. As a result, it may be a smart idea to eliminate specific terms and phrases this way.
How to use Keyword Match Type
The “Match type” and “added” columns show how similarly the search queries that activated your Google ads are linked to the keywords in your account. This data will help you figure out which match forms to use with your keywords.
Add new search words with promising prospects as keywords.
Add new search words that are insignificant as negative keywords.
You can use the search words report to see which keyword combinations activated your ads and resulted in conversions after more significant matches have collected encounters and clicks.
Choosing the Keyword Match Types for Your Campaign
Since each campaign is unique, the main factor determining which keyword match type you use is your own circumstance and the kind of advertisement you want to run. Since Google AdWords allows it, you can mix and match targeted keyword types in the same campaign.
Spend some time with your team debating the choices and determining which keyword match types are most likely to match with the goals and objectives of your online advertising campaign cleanly and productively. If you want to be precise and hit a particular area, phrase matching and exact matching are the best choices.
Leverage the Power of Question Keywords
Since Google introduced Featured Snippets, question keywords have become incredibly significant. You have probably seen them before: they take up most of the area above the fold, making other results on the SERP nearly invisible. Landing into the Featured Snippet can boost your click-through rate by 114%. Most likely, you would be thrilled with a similar traffic spike, which is why you should handle such terms differently.
Keyword Match Type Tips
- The default match type, Broad Match, should not be used. (Unless you are an AdWords expert.) Indeed, you should not begin with a broad match form.
- To get the best targeting combination of scope and importance, use modified broad match and exact match types.
- Start with an 80/20 strategy for keyword match types, with an 80% split modified broad match and 20% exact match.
- The exact match should not be used on keywords of more than three words or with a low to moderate search volume.
- On high volume keywords, use exact match style, particularly if there are only one or two terms.
- Exact match and modified broad match can be used for high-volume search words.
- MBM-only search terms may have a low to medium volume.
- Adding modified broad match terms to your campaign will help you get much more visits and transactions at a similar ROI as phrase match keywords.
- Using a modified broad match instead of just phrase and exact match keywords will drastically reduce the number of keywords you need because each term can match numerous word order and grammar variations. This, combined with the fact that exact match campaign settings are no longer available, has made phrase match largely obsolete.
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Google AdWords and Bing Ads
If you are thinking about starting an internet ad campaign, Google AdWords and Bing Ads are likely to be the two most popular options. Both employ keyword match types in the same manner, but which is best for you and your ad campaign? The most popular search engine is Google, but there are a few things to keep in mind about Bing as well.
If you select an exact match keyword match type, you have a little more versatility with Google, whereas Bing is more rigid. Bing is the superior alternative if you are looking for something tight and precise. If you prefer a more lenient set of match rules, Google is your best bet.
Conclusion
It makes sense to invest time learning about this because it is one of the most significant decision-making procedures for advertising campaigns. You want to know when and how your ads will appear on Google, Bing, or any other advertising network you choose.
If you are not sure which keyword match type is best for your business and marketing campaign, you can perform experiments. This may make your decision-making process a little more straightforward. But ideally, the information provided here will assist you in making an accurate decision on which path to go for your ad strategy.