Keywords serve as the "north star" of your Google Ads account. For search, they tell Google what types of queries you want your ads to show for.
google ads account structure - keyword level
When you select or edit your keywords, you also need to assign them a match type. There are three match types to choose from:
Broad Match: The least restrictive, as it matches your ad for all queries related to that keyword.
Phrase Match: A middle mint database ground when it comes to limitation, Phrase Match matches your ad to any query similar to the keyword in question .
Exact Match: The strictest match because it matches your ad to queries that are synonymous with your target keyword .
Matching behavior has changed significantly over the last couple of years. Check out our latest article on this for information on updated matchmaking behavior.
google ads account anatomy - wordstream keyword match type chart with examples
When applying match types, you can annotate using the following:
Broad match: No annotation needed as this is the default match type. Example keyword: coffee shop
"Phrase" match: Quotation marks around the keyword indicate that you want to use a phrase. Example keyword: "coffee shop"
[Exact] match: The brackets tell Google that you want to use an exact match. Example keyword: [coffee shop]