Keyword Match Types: Keyword Impact on Campaign Performance

Before discussing Google Ads keywords and their impact on campaign performance, we should explain what they are and how they work.
Keywords in Google Ads are words or phrases that help match your ads with the terms your potential customers are searching for. By choosing relevant keywords, you’ll be in front of the right people when they search for businesses like yours. With this explanation of keywords in mind, you can see that keywords are fundamental to a successful Google Ads campaign. With a well-thought-out keyword strategy, you can target your ideal visitors, convert them, and increase your ROI.
Before you create your keyword strategy, you need to deeply understand the product or services you offer, which requires an in-depth understanding of the audience’s search behavior and preferences. In addition to understanding your product and audience, you need to understand as well how Google Ads keywords work, what you want to achieve with different keyword types, how broadly you are willing to target your audience, and what criteria you will use to research the quality of traffic your keywords bring.
So, first, let’s discuss Google Ads keyword match types, how they work, and their impact on our ads.

Google Ads keyword match types

The keyword match types determine how closely the keywords must match the user’s search query for the ad to enter the auction process, where you bid with other advertisers to finally have your ads shown on the Google network. Depending on your match type, you can affect your paid search results’ potential reach and relevance.
For example, someone who provides 3D printing services may be interested in showing an ad to someone searching for a 3D-printed vase. The advertiser, on the other hand, probably isn’t interested in someone looking for work in a 3D printing company but instead wants to reach people needing their services. One way to avoid showing ads to job seekers and people not part of your target market with specific needs is to use Google Ads keyword match types. There are three match types, which range from very restrictive to minimally restrictive. They are broad match, phrase match, and exact match keywords.

Data source: Heroes of digital

Three types of keyword match

• Broad match: Queries must be related to the keyword you have chosen (least restrictive, highest reach, lowest relevance)
• Phrase match: Queries must contain the meaning of your chosen keyword (moderate restrictive, medium reach, medium relevance)
• Exact match: Queries have to match the meaning of your chosen keyword (most restrictive, lowest reach, highest relevance)

Data source: Google

Broad match type

Broad match is the default type assigned to all your keywords because it is the most comprehensive. This keyword type allows your ads to be shown when searches use terms that don’t contain the direct meaning of your keywords but instead use terms that Google’s AI has determined to be related. It offers the widest reach of any keyword match type, which can drive more traffic to your site, save you less time building keyword lists, and focus your spending on the keywords that bring results.
To deliver relevant results, this type of search may also take the following into account:

• Recent search activity of the user
• Landing page content
• Other keywords in an ad group for a better understanding of keyword intent

When you are adding broad keywords to your Google Ads account, it doesn’t require any special notation.
Let’s say you’re bidding on the keyword 3d printing. Your ad could be shown for the following queries:

• buy 3d printer (because the query includes the meaning of your keyword)
• printing 3d vases (because your ad group includes the term 3d printing)
• laser printing (because your ad group includes term printing)
• 3d printing ideas (because your ad group includes keyword 3d printing)
• CNC printing machine (because it is related to your keyword)

This means that ads can reach more people who are potentially interested in your products or services. However, there is a risk that you may be shown for less relevant queries.
In addition to previous examples, you should remember that using Smart Bidding with Broad Match is critical. Every search is different, and each bid should reflect the unique contextual signals during the auction. Smart Bidding uses these signals to ensure that you’re only bidding in the right auctions, at the right price, for the right user, and for any relevant queries, you may have broad matches.

Phrase match type

The phrase match type is a middle ground between reach and relevance. This keyword type works by letting your ads be shown when searches use terms that include your keyword’s meaning. The meaning of the keyword can be implied, and user searches can be a more specific form of the meaning. With phrase match, you can reach more searches than with exact match and fewer searches than with broad match, only showing your ads on searches that include your product or service.
To identify phrase-match keywords in Google Ads, enclose your keyword in quotation marks.
Let’s look at an example of how phase keywords work when bidding on the keyword “3D printing.”
Your ad could be shown for the following queries:
“Software for 3d printing” (because the query includes the meaning of your keyword)
“printing 3d vases” (because the query includes the meaning of your keyword)
“3d printing ideas” (because the query includes the meaning of your keyword)
“3d printing models” (because the query includes the meaning of your keyword)
Regarding phrase keywords, our ads won’t be shown for irrelevant search terms like “CNC printing machine” or “laser printing.”

Exact match type

Exact match is the most restrictive regarding reach and relevance among all keyword match types but has the highest click-through and conversion rates. This keyword type triggers ads only when users search for the exact keyword or a close variation.
To identify exact-match keywords in Google Ads, enclose your keyword in square brackets, such as [3D printing].
Let’s see an example of how exact keywords work when bidding on the keyword [3d printing].
Your ad could be shown for the following queries:
“3d printing” (because the query includes the meaning of your keyword)
“printing 3d” (because the query includes the meaning of your keyword)
Regarding exact keywords, our ads won’t be shown for search terms like CNC printing machine, laser printing, 3d printing ideas, etc…

Data source: EITO

Negative keywords

You can use negative keywords to prevent your ads from appearing for searches using some specific term.
For example, if you are a 3D printing company that doesn’t sell CNC machines, you could add negative keywords for CNC machines.
The keyword types used to add negative keywords to your Google Ad Campaign are the same—broad match, phrase match, and exact match. But you must remember that negative keyword match types behave differently from positive ones.

Types of negative keyword matches

Negative broad match
This is the default type for your negative keywords. Your ad won’t be shown for negative broad match keywords if the search includes all your negative keyword phrases, even if they are in a different order. However, if the search contains only some keywords, your ad may still appear.
Adding negative broad keywords to a Google Ads account doesn’t require special notation, just as in a positive broad match.
Negative phrase match
Your ad won’t be shown for negative phrase match keywords if the search includes your exact keywords in the same order. However, the search can also include additional characters to a word, and the ad will still be shown if the rest of the keywords are included in the same order. This negative match type is sensitive to plural or singular words.
To add negative phrase match keywords in Google Ads, enclose your keyword in quotation marks, just as in positive phrase match.
Negative exact match
For negative exact match keywords, your ad won’t be shown in the search containing the exact keyword phrases in the same order, with no additional words. Your ad may still appear if the search includes the keywords with additional words.
To add negative exact match keywords in Google Ads, enclose your keyword in square brackets just as in positive exact match.

Strategic Approach to Keyword Match Type Optimisation  

Optimizing for Search Intent

Understanding the search intent behind a user’s query is crucial to leveraging keyword relevance for enhanced ad performance.
Users can be in phases where they are:

• searching for information or answers to questions
• trying to access a specific website or page
• making a purchase or engaging in another type of action
• researching products or services to buy them in the near future

Keyword research is essential for optimizing your ad campaigns for search intent. This will identify terms that closely match the search behavior of your target audience.
Keyword research should include:

1. Use keyword research tools like Keyword Planner to identify the words and phrases that your potential customers are using.
2. Analyzing the intent behind these keywords to ensure your ad content and landing pages match user expectations.
3. Segment ad groups by different types of intent so you can adjust your messaging and landing pages to each user journey stage.
4. Segmenting your campaigns by user intent will help you create more personalized & relevant ads for your target audience.

Improving Keyword Relevance and User Experience

This strategic approach to keyword research focuses on improving the user experience and increasing conversion rates for your target audience by making your ads more relevant to their specific needs.
Keyword relevance and user experience are critical for advertisers looking to optimize their ad performance.
The first and most important step is to ensure that your ads are relevant to the search queries of your target audience. We have already mentioned keyword research by different intent stages and user behavior at each stage. With this in mind, our main goal should be to provide an excellent user experience by providing relevant ad copy and landing pages that match the intent behind the selected keywords.
To improve the user experience through keyword relevance, here are some key considerations:

• Ad copy should clearly communicate its goal. This clarity helps set expectations for what users will find on the landing page.
• Landing page content should be directly relevant to the keywords and ads. This type of keyword, ad, and landing page synergy reduces bounce rates and increases the likelihood of conversion because users can find what they initially searched for and saw in the ads on the landing page.
• Navigation and user-friendliness keep users engaged and easily guide them to the desired action. Whether they’re purchasing, downloading a price list, or filling in a form, a user-friendly landing page with intuitive navigation and visible calls-to-action (CTAs) is essential.

Negative Keywords Optimisation

It’s important to regularly review your keyword report to identify irrelevant queries that are triggering your ads. Those irrelevant terms should be added as negative keywords in your campaigns. Adding these terms as negative keywords will help refine your targeting and improve campaign performance.
Here are our best practices:

• Perform weekly keyword analysis to identify new irrelevant search terms that should be added as negative keywords.
• Filter out unwanted traffic with adequate match type at the campaign or ad group level, depending on their relevance to your ad content and objectives.
• Repeat this process weekly as part of your regular campaign monitoring and optimization to ensure your budget is focused on traffic that brings results.

In Conclusion

A strategic approach to keyword research, use, and optimization in campaigns is essential for targeting the most relevant audience segments. Furthermore, optimizing ad copy and landing pages with keyword relevance significantly improves the overall user experience and campaign effectiveness.
Data-driven analysis and adjustments enable advertisers to refine their strategies and respond to user behavior and market trend changes. Adopting new technologies, such as artificial intelligence, presents opportunities and challenges for campaign optimization. Only advertisers willing to experiment, follow, and embrace new changes will be positioned for success.