What does each match type let through?
You set the match type with punctuation. A keyword typed plainly is broad match, which is the default. Put it in quotation marks and it is phrase match. Put it in square brackets and it is exact. Here is the reach of one keyword at each setting:
Exact match is no longer letter for letter. It covers reordered words, plurals and searches Google judges to mean the same thing. Phrase match covers searches that contain the meaning of your keyword, with words before or after. Broad match covers searches Google judges related, including some that never use your words.
What changed in 2021?
Google retired a fourth option, broad match modifier, during 2021 and folded its behaviour into phrase match, and broad match itself has kept widening since. Advice written before then, including a lot of it still ranking on Google, describes match types that no longer behave that way. Google's current advice is that broad match works best paired with Smart Bidding, which reads signals at auction time to decide what to bid.
Which match type cost a Bendigo solar installer least per quote? (example figures)
A solar installer in Bendigo, with a crew of four and an average system price of $7,500, ran one keyword at all three settings in separate ad groups for a month, on manual bids.
| Match type | Spend | Clicks | Average CPC | Quote requests | Cost per quote |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Broad | $1,400 | 410 | $3.41 | 9 | $156 |
| Phrase | $900 | 210 | $4.29 | 11 | $82 |
| Exact | $700 | 130 | $5.38 | 10 | $70 |
Broad match bought the cheapest clicks and the dearest quotes. Its search terms showed why: panel cleaning, solar hot water repairs and rebate questions, none of which this business sells. With 30 quote requests a month and manual bids, broad match had nothing steering it. The installer moved the money to phrase and exact, added negatives for cleaning, repairs and hot water, and kept broad match aside to try again once the account had enough tracked conversions for Smart Bidding to learn from.
How do you change a keyword's match type?
In Google Ads, open Campaigns, then Keywords, and read the Match type column. To change one, edit the keyword and change its punctuation; Google treats the result as a new keyword with its own history. The search terms report has a Match type column too, which shows how each actual search was matched.
What does CoraVision know about your match types?
CoraVision reads every Google Ads campaign's spend, clicks, conversions and bidding type each night once the account is connected. Bidding type matters here, because it says whether a campaign has Smart Bidding behind it or runs on manual bids, as the Bendigo account did. The keywords and their match types are read from your screen in a session you start, and each change is yours to make.
Questions
Is broad match a waste of money for a small business?
It can be when it runs on manual bids with few negative keywords, because it will find searches you never meant. Google says broad match should be paired with Smart Bidding, which needs a steady flow of tracked conversions. An account with a handful of conversions a month usually does better on phrase and exact first.
Should I add the same keyword in all three match types?
Google Ads Help says there is no need. When two of your keywords could match the same search, only one enters the auction, so copies add work without adding reach. Pick the match type for each keyword and use negatives to trim it.