Digital Gurus

Match type

A match type tells Google how closely someone's search has to match your keyword before your ad can show.

Reviewed by Chris Day, COO Last reviewed

Keyword office coffee delivery

Broad match

“coffee subscription for my workplace”

Phrase match

“office coffee delivery in manchester”

Exact match

“office coffee delivery”

“coffee delivery for offices”

Negative keywords “jobs”, “repair”

  • “office coffee delivery driver jobs” blocked
  • “office coffee machine repair” blocked
One keyword, three match types. Each ring reaches the searches inside it.

What it means for your advertising

Google Ads has three. Exact match shows your ad for searches with the same meaning as your keyword. Phrase match also covers searches that include that meaning, often with extra words. Broad match reaches searches related to your keyword, even ones that share none of its words.

Wider matching reaches more people, and more of them want something else. Most campaigns mix types and use negative keywords to trim what phrase and broad match let in.

An example

Java Roasters' keyword “office coffee delivery” on exact match can show for “coffee delivery for offices”. Phrase match adds “office coffee delivery in manchester”. Broad match reaches “coffee subscription for my workplace”.

Java Roasters is a fictional business, and its figures are illustrative.

How we handle it

We choose match types keyword by keyword and check the searches your ads actually appeared for, so we can widen what's working and cut what isn't. More on Google Search advertising.

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