PPC Match Types – What Difference Can They Make?

By admin

April 10, 2013,

It is the keyword in your paid search account that drives your entire PPC campaign. Without the right keyword, don’t expect your ad to pull-in the right amount of traffic. Life would have been so easy and beautiful only if you could add all of those keywords in your ad. But, unfortunately that’s not possible.

However, by using the right keyword match types, you can surely hope to make thing better, in fact a lot better. Before we dive into how to effectively use these keyword match types, let us first understand what they actually are. Have a look at the table below

Match Type	Keyword	Example searches
Broad Match	Men’s Shoes	Shoes For Men
Broad Match Modifier	Men’s Shoes	Man’s Shoes
Phrase Match	Men’s Shoes	Buy Men’s Shoes
Exact Match	Men’s Shoes	Men’s Shoes

Now, that’s a bit confusing isn’t it? Well, it shouldn’t be for we have got it all cleared up for you

Broad Match

Using broad match will show up your ad if the search term contains your keyword irrespective of its order. Close variations of your keyword too, are likely to pull up your ad. You might probably want to stick to Broad matches if you cannot afford to spend hours creating a keyword list. These matches will help you get a higher volume of ad traffic.

Broad Match Modifier

In this case, your ad will only be shown when searches contain specific modifications or close variations of the keyword. Modifier does not allow your ad to be shown when synonyms are used in the searches.

Phrase Match

Your ad will be shown when someone searches for the exact keyword. The searches may also include a few extra strings of words but will surely contain the exact keyword. Phrase Match offers precise targeting and helps you reach more number of potential customers. Your ad will not be shown to those using search terms that are not quite related to your product or the service you offer.

Exact Match

In case of exact match, your ad will appear only when the user searches with the exact keyword and a few variations. For instance, the search term ‘men’s shoes’ will show up ads that contain ‘men’s shoes’ and ‘man’s shoes’ but will not display your ad if someone is searching with terms such as ‘buy man’s shoes’ or ‘man’s shoes on sale’.

Choosing the Right Keyword Match

You need to be very careful while selecting a match type. Start up with broad match keywords. However, if you realize that these searches are bringing in a huge amount of irrelevant traffic, you might want to be a bit more specific. This is when you need to opt for either Phrase Match or the Exact matches. If you know too little about PPC, there are chances you might not be able to handle it all by yourself. A professional PPC Management Company can help you out with the task.