Keyword Match Types (Broad, Phrase, Exact)
How closely a search has to match your keyword before Google Ads will show your ad.
What it means
Match types control how loosely or tightly Google Ads matches searches to your keywords. Broad match casts the widest net, including related searches. Phrase match requires the core meaning of your phrase to be present. Exact match requires the search to closely match your exact keyword.
Why it matters
Broad match can bring in more traffic, but also more searches that have nothing to do with what you sell. A tighter match type usually means fewer but more relevant clicks. Getting this wrong is one of the most common ways small budgets get burned on irrelevant searches.
ask datanephew
Is broad match wasting my budget?
Ask datanephew to pull the actual search terms triggering your broad match keywords — it can show you how many are relevant versus off-topic.
Should I switch a keyword to a tighter match type?
Ask datanephew to compare performance across match types for that keyword — if broad match is bringing irrelevant traffic, tightening it up is usually the fix.