Keyword match types control how closely a person's search has to match your keyword for your ad to show. Exact match is the tightest, phrase match sits in the middle and broad match is the loosest. None of them is "best" on its own; the right choice depends on your budget, your tracking and how much control you need. Here is how they work in practice.
The three match types at a glance
| Match type | How you write it | Can show for |
|---|---|---|
| Broad | plumber gothenburg | Searches related to the keyword, including ones without your words |
| Phrase | "plumber gothenburg" | Searches that include the meaning of your keyword |
| Exact | [plumber gothenburg] | Searches with the same meaning or intent as your keyword |
One important detail: all three match types today also cover close variants, such as misspellings, singular/plural forms and other wordings Google judges to mean the same thing. Exact match no longer means "only these exact words in this exact order".
Exact match
Your ad can show when the search has the same meaning as your keyword. For [emergency plumber gothenburg], that could include "emergency plumbers gothenburg" or "gothenburg emergency plumber".
- Pros: most control, most predictable spend, highest relevance.
- Cons: lower volume; you can miss useful searches you didn't think of.
- Use it for: your most valuable, proven keywords and when budget is tight.
Phrase match
Your ad can show when the search includes the meaning of your keyword, possibly with extra words before or after. For "oak dining table", that could include "buy oak dining table 6 seats" or "oak dining table sale". It could also match "how to oil an oak dining table", which is why negatives matter.
- Pros: more reach than exact while keeping the core meaning.
- Cons: picks up informational and irrelevant variations.
- Use it for: a good default for many small business campaigns, combined with a solid negative keyword list.
Broad match
Your ad can show for searches Google considers related to your keyword, even if they don't contain your words. For accounting firm, that might include "bookkeeping help small business" or "annual report help". Google uses signals like the rest of your keywords, your landing page and the user's recent searches to decide.
- Pros: largest reach; finds searches you would never have guessed; works together with smart bidding.
- Cons: can spend money quickly on loosely related searches, especially without good conversion data.
- Use it for: accounts with reliable conversion tracking and smart bidding (like Maximise conversions or Target CPA), and enough budget to let it learn.
Why broad match is risky without tracking
Broad match relies on smart bidding to decide which searches are worth paying for. Smart bidding learns from conversions. If your conversion tracking is missing or counts the wrong thing (for example page views), Google has nothing sensible to optimise towards, and broad match can drift into irrelevant searches.
Illustrative example: a campaign spends 8,000 kr per month. Broad match brings in many cheap clicks at 8 kr, but the search terms show that half of them are job seekers and DIY questions. That's 4,000 kr a month of mostly wasted spend. With phrase or exact match plus negatives, the same budget would have gone to fewer but more relevant searches.
How I usually choose
- New account, little data, small budget: mainly exact and phrase match on high-intent keywords.
- Tracking verified and conversions coming in steadily: test broad match in a separate ad group or campaign with smart bidding, and compare cost per conversion.
- Proven keywords: keep them on exact or phrase so they get budget even when testing broader.
- Always: review the search terms report and add negative keywords.
The search terms report is your best friend
Whatever match types you use, the search terms report shows what people actually typed. Check it weekly at first:
- Add irrelevant terms as negative keywords.
- Add strong, converting terms as their own keywords (often exact match).
- Notice patterns, such as many searches including "price" or "near me", and adjust ads and landing pages to match.
Note that Google doesn't show every search term, as some low-volume searches are hidden for privacy reasons.
Common mistakes
- Adding the same keyword in all three match types in the same ad group without a reason.
- Using broad match with "Maximise clicks" and no conversion tracking.
- Thinking exact match blocks all variations.
- Never looking at search terms.
Key takeaways
- Exact = tight control, phrase = balanced, broad = maximum reach.
- All match types include close variants today.
- Broad match works best with reliable conversion tracking and smart bidding.
- Whatever you choose, review search terms and add negatives regularly.
Match types are one of the first things I check when I review an account as part of my Google Ads management. If you're wondering what a well-run account could cost, have a look at the pricing calculator.
Unsure if your match types are wasting budget? Ask for a free account review.