In Google Ads, attracting the right traffic isn’t just about selecting keywords—it’s about aligning those keywords with user intent. Understanding when to use exact match, phrase match, broad match, or negative keywords is crucial for maximizing ad spend and targeting effectively.
The stakes are high: the wrong match type can waste budgets on irrelevant clicks, while the right choice can drive higher click-through rates, return on ad spend, and quality leads.
This guide provides a clear, practical breakdown of each match type. You’ll learn the strengths and weaknesses of exact, phrase, and broad match, along with the best use cases and key findings from our latest match type study on advertiser preferences and performance.
What are the different keyword match types in Google Ads?
Google Ads offers three main keyword match types, each with unique targeting criteria:
- Exact Match (EM): Targets searches that closely match the keyword, delivering high precision with limited reach.
- Phrase Match (PM): Matches ads to searches that align with the keyword’s meaning, even if wording or order varies.
- Broad Match (BM): Provides the widest reach, allowing ads to show for a broad array of related searches.
These match types suit different campaign goals. Understanding their individual advantages allows advertisers to structure campaigns for the best performance.
When to use each match type?
Exact match: Best for precision
- Ideal for branded keywords or high-intent searches where relevance is key
- Ensures minimal wasted clicks and higher engagement from users who search for the exact keyword meaning
- Works best in campaigns targeting specific product terms or high-value, bottom-of-funnel audiences
Phrase match: Balance between reach and control
- Useful for competitive markets and thematic keyword groupings
- Helps broaden reach to intent-aligned searches while maintaining relevance
- Effective for capturing closely related search queries without overly restricting traffic
Broad match: Maximizing reach with Smart Bidding
- Ideal for top-of-funnel campaigns or discovering new audiences at scale.
- Works well when paired with Smart Bidding to improve relevance by analyzing user intent in real-time.
- Requires careful monitoring and the use of negative keywords to avoid irrelevant clicks.
Performance insights from our study
Strategic Data: Our November 2024 analysis of 992,028 keywords across 15,491 ad accounts highlights the unique strengths of each match type:
Source: Optmyzr Keyword Study - November 2024
Key Takeaways:
- Exact Match achieves the highest ROAS (415%) and CTR (21.66%), proving its value for high-intent campaigns.
- Phrase Match shows a strong balance with a high conversion rate (9.31%) and solid ROAS (313%), making it ideal for advertisers needing both control and reach.
- Broad Match delivers high volume at a lower ROAS (277%) and CTR (8.5%), making it suitable for large-scale or exploratory campaigns where volume outweighs precision.
Our analysis of keyword match types from 2022 to 2024 reveals consistent patterns in how advertisers allocate their keywords across broad, exact, and phrase match types. The distribution of match types has remained largely stable over the past two years, with only minor shifts in usage:
- Broad Match: Increased from 33.12% in 2022 to 36.67% in 2024 (+3.55%).
- Exact Match: Declined slightly from 37.11% in 2022 to 34.35% in 2024 (-2.77%).
- Phrase Match: Marginally decreased from 29.77% in 2022 to 28.98% in 2024 (-0.79%).
This consistency highlights that advertisers continue to use match types in similar proportions, suggesting their strategic value has not significantly changed over time.
Phrase match still dominates in terms of usage, followed by exact match, with broad match showing the most growth—likely due to advancements in Smart Bidding and Google’s improved intent-matching algorithms.
So what does this data say?
The relatively static distribution reflects how each match type serves distinct campaign goals:
- Phrase Match remains a popular choice for balancing reach and relevance, particularly in competitive markets.
- Exact Match continues to serve as the go-to for precision targeting, despite a slight decline in usage.
- Broad Match shows steady growth, indicating more advertisers are willing to leverage it for discovery and scale, particularly with the support of Google’s AI-driven bidding strategies.
These findings reinforce the importance of understanding when and how to use each match type effectively, as their roles in campaign strategy remain crucial even amidst changes in Google Ads’ algorithms and AI capabilities.
To maximize results, you need to optimize campaigns regularly by analyzing keyword performance, adjusting bids, and refining negative keywords. Brand exclusions and inclusions are also useful tools, particularly when working with phrase and broad match, to control the quality and relevance of ad placements.
Best practices for each match type
Exact match tips
- Stick to specific keywords: Limit exact match to precise, high-intent terms, such as brand names or product-specific keywords.
- Monitor regularly: Adjust keywords based on performance to ensure that you’re not missing out on potential traffic due to overly narrow targeting.
Phrase match tips
- Organize thematically: Group keywords by related themes to improve relevance.
- Use brand exclusions: Prevent ads from appearing on searches for your brand terms that you already have in branded campaigns.
- Add negative keywords: Continuously refine your negative keyword list to filter out less relevant searches.
Broad match tips
- Leverage smart bidding: Broad match works best with Smart Bidding, which adjusts bids based on Google’s analysis of search intent.
- Track search terms: Regularly review search terms and add irrelevant queries as negative keywords.
- Use brand inclusions: For increased precision (but lower volume), consider allowing ads only on queries related to your brand.
Capture the right clicks with precise targeting
In Google Ads, your choice of keyword match type is more than just a technical detail.
But no match type is a magic bullet. Success requires a hands-on approach—analyzing performance, adjusting bids, adding negative keywords, and refining your strategy as the data comes in.
If you need help with that from a proven set of tools, try Optmyzr.
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