These days, exact match forms are hardly used. Google is transitioning away from simple keyword matching and towards understanding user intent. This adjustment automatically reduces the emphasis on exact match targeting.
Your campaign’s reach, relevance, and return on investment depend a great deal on the sort of match types you choose to use. Although Google’s recommended practices provide a basis, thorough evaluation is necessary to make sure your keyword approach really fulfills your business objectives.
We break down broad match against phrase match in this post, particularly looking at their efficacy in lead generation campaigns, and discuss how best to strategically assess Google’s recommendations in relation to your own business objectives.
Any Google Ads effort starts with keywords. These are the terms or phrases prospective consumers search for products or services online. Your ad can show when a user’s search query matches a term from your campaign. The sort of keyword match type you choose will determine how your advertisement is matched to a search query, though.
Google Ads has three main kinds of keyword matches:
Broad Match:
This is the default match type and offers the widest reach. Your ad may show for searches that include any word in your keyword, in any order, as well as related terms and variations.
Phrase Match:
This match type offers a balance between reach and relevance. Your ad may show for searches that include the meaning of your keyword, or implied.
Exact Match:
Ads may show on searches that have the same meaning or same intent as the keyword. This is the most restrictive match type but also the most targeted.
Although Google has been fervently pushing for broad match keywords, marketers concentrated on lead generation should give much thought to whether this approach fits their particular marketing goals.
Lead generation spans a lengthier sales cycle than e-commerce, where conversions are generally instantaneous and readily monitored. Lead quality varies and the income from such leads may not show right away. These elements complicate assessing the success of a broad match.
Still, broad match is a useful instrument when applied deliberately. Particularly for upper-funnel keywords, it can help you find fresh, relevant terms, increase brand awareness, increase audience reach, and—because of its higher volume—offer more data for Google Ads’ artificial intelligence to benefit from.
Instead of focusing solely on the specific keywords triggered by broad match, a more effective approach is to analyze the audiences it’s reaching. This provides a better indication of whether broad match is truly generating value for your business.
It can also result in cheaper CPC compared to your exact+phrase match types, but once more, success depends on how well your offer and landing page connect, making sure that the wider reach converts into qualified leads.
While broad match has a wide reach, phrase match is a more controlled and often more effective approach to keyword targeting, striking a delicate balance between reach and relevancy. This makes it extremely useful in lead generating initiatives.
Phrase match enables you to find fresh, relevant terms with comparable purpose (aside from your exact match targets) while keeping tighter control than broad match, reducing wasted spend on irrelevant clicks.
Phrase match ensures that your ads are displayed to visitors whose search queries contain the meaning of your term, even if the exact phrasing is not present. This targeting greatly improves the chances of contacting really interested prospects. For example, targeting the keyword “lead generation services” may result in your ad appearing for searches such as “best lead generation companies” or “affordable lead generation solutions.” The ability to catch variations in search words while preserving relevance is ideal for middle and bottom funnel intent.
As a result, your advertising will likely receive greater click-through rates (CTRs) because they are more relevant to the user’s search. Improved CTRs frequently result in higher Quality Scores, which can reduce cost-per-click (CPC) and enhance ad position. Furthermore, because you’re targeting a better qualified audience, your conversion rates should improve, resulting in a larger return on ad spend (ROAS).
For lead generation marketers, phrase match ought to be the major driver of success, providing a balance between broad reach and tighter exact match targeting.
While rigidly separating keyword match types isn’t as critical as it once was, a granular campaign structure remains highly beneficial for control and optimization.
Phrase and Exact Match:
Phrase match should be the foundation of your account. Concentrate on your most important product or service offerings, using highly relevant phrase and exact match keywords. These campaigns target users actively searching for solutions like yours and should be prioritized. Structure these campaigns around tightly themed ad groups (STAGs), each focused on a specific set of related intent. This granular approach allows for highly targeted ad copy and landing pages, maximizing relevance and conversion rates.
Broad Match:
Broad match campaigns serve a different purpose: exploration and expansion. Use broad match keywords to uncover new search terms and audiences you might not have considered. Regularly review the search terms triggered by your broad match keywords. Identify any high-performing or relevant terms and add them as phrase match keywords to your core campaigns. At the same time, add irrelevant search terms as negative keywords to refine your targeting and prevent wasted spend.
Example:
Consider a B2B software account. For top-of-funnel activities, like driving content downloads, broad match can be effective. However, for bottom-of-funnel, more conversion-focused keywords, exact and phrase match should be your targeting strategy of choice.
Although Google’s suggestions provide a good basis, depending just on best practices isn’t usually the greatest approach for your particular lead generating initiatives. Your company goals, target audience, and industry specifics will largely determine the optimum mix of broad, phrase, and precise match keywords.
If it helps you, don’t hesitate to experiment and stray from received knowledge. The important lesson is to recognize the advantages and shortcomings of every kind of match and use them deliberately to create a campaign framework that effectively generates premium leads for your company.
Effective lead generation in Google Ads requires a holistic approach that considers numerous optimization levers. For a comprehensive understanding of these levers, including in-depth coverage of match type strategy, campaign structure, and other critical elements, check out my Google Ads Lead Generation Course.
Find lead generation digital marketing success here.
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