08 Feb Understanding Google Ads Keyword Match Types
Pay-Per-Click advertising, or PPC, is a common digital marketing strategy tactic. PPC allows businesses to bid on keywords that relate to their service or industry. It can be a very cost-effective way of reaching your potential audience.
A successful PPC campaign will implement Google best practices. It will also have a strategic list of keywords that make up the backbone of the ad account.
To help set your Google Ads campaign up for success, we’re taking a closer look at keywords.
What Are Keywords And Why Are They Important?
Keywords make up a big part of a winning digital strategy. They play an important role in content creation, Search Engine Optimization (SEO), PPC, and more.
But what is a keyword?
Put simply: A keyword (or key phrase) is what people are searching for on search engines. They could be single words, like “hairdresser”, or show deeper intent, such as “hairdresser near me.”
Using keywords will help boost your visibility in the search engines. Therefore, if you’re looking to attract a new audience, you definitely want to be using keyword optimization.
As we mentioned, you can use keywords across a variety of digital strategies. Today, however, we’re focusing on using keywords in your Google Ads campaigns.
What Are Google Ads Keywords?
Google defines the keywords as: “Keywords are words or phrases that are used to match your ads with the terms that people are searching for. Selecting high quality, relevant keywords for your advertising campaign can help you reach the customers that you want, when you want.”
What Are Google Ads Keyword Match Types?
Google Ads Keyword Match Types are a way of telling Google how to match your ads to user keyword searches. There are 3 main keyword match types:
- Broad Match
- Phrase
- Exact
Google Ads also used to support a fourth match type, Broad Match Modified (BMM). As of mid-February, 2021, Google will be phasing out the BMM keyword match types, and matching these to phrase match keywords instead.
Broad Match
Broad match keywords are the default match type in Google Ads. They allow for the widest audience reach. If you are using broad match keywords, your paid ad could appear for any words in your keyword / key phrase, in any order.
Broad match keywords can also show on queries that are related to your search term. That means if you are using the broad match keyword “desk chair”, your ad could also show for searches relating to “office chair”, etc.
Phrase Match
Phrase match keywords give you a greater level of control over which user search queries you will match to. Google notes “Ads may show on searches that include the meaning of your keyword. The meaning of the keyword can be implied, and user searches can be a more specific form of the meaning.”
With phrase match keywords, your ad could show for searches like “red desk chair”, “folding desk chair”, etc.
Exact Match
Exact match keywords are the most specific keyword match type. They are also the most restrictive. Google notes “Ads may show on searches that are the same meaning or same intent as the keyword. Of the three keyword matching options, exact match gives you the most control over who sees your ad.”
With exact match keywords, your ad would only show for searches for “desk chair”.
Pay-per-click advertising can be a great way of reaching a new audience. But it can be complicated. If you’d like to claim a free PPC-audit from the digital experts at 1 Stop Marketing Solutions, click here today.