Exact match types are now on the backburner. Google is increasingly emphasizing broader match types for keyword targeting, shifting away from simple keyword matching towards understanding user intent. This change naturally leads to a reduced emphasis on exact match targeting.
Choosing the right match type and the corresponding investment is crucial, as it significantly impacts your campaign’s reach, relevance, and return on investment. While Google’s best practices offer a starting point, a thorough review is essential to ensure your keyword strategy truly serves your needs
In this article, we unpack broad match vs phrase match, specifically exploring their effectiveness in lead generation campaigns, and how to strategically evaluate Google’s recommendations in the context of your own business objectives.
Keywords are the foundation of any Google Ads campaign. They are the words or phrases that potential customers use when searching for products or services online. When a user’s search query matches a keyword in your campaign, your ad may be displayed. However, the way your ad is matched to a search query depends on the keyword match type you choose.
Google Ads offers three primary keyword match types:
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.
Google has been strongly advocating for broad match keywords, but marketers focused on lead generation should carefully consider whether this strategy aligns with their specific marketing objectives.
Unlike e-commerce, where conversions are often immediate and easily tracked, lead generation involves a longer sales cycle. Lead quality can vary, and there’s often a delay in seeing the revenue generated from those leads. These factors make evaluating the effectiveness of broad match more complex.
However, broad match can be a powerful tool when used strategically. It can help you discover new, relevant keywords, improve brand visibility (particularly for upper-funnel keywords), expand your audience reach, and, due to its higher volume, provide more data for Google Ads’ AI to learn 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 connecting with your target market.
We’ve found that broad match works best as an extension of your existing keyword strategy. Its success hinges on a strong alignment between your offer and landing page, ensuring that the broader reach translates into qualified leads.
While broad match offers expansive reach, phrase match provides a more controlled and often more effective approach to keyword targeting, striking a crucial balance between reach and relevance. This makes it particularly valuable for lead generation campaigns.
Phrase match allows you to discover new, relevant keywords with similar intent (beyond your exact match targets) while maintaining tighter control than broad match, minimizing wasted spend on irrelevant clicks.
Phrase match ensures your ads are shown to users whose search queries include the meaning of your keyword, even if the exact wording isn’t present. This targeting significantly increases the likelihood of reaching genuinely interested prospects. For example, targeting the phrase “lead generation services” might also trigger your ad for searches like “best lead generation companies” or “affordable lead generation solutions.” This ability to capture variations in search terms, while still maintaining relevance, is perfect for middle and lower funnel intent.
As a result, you’ll likely see higher click-through rates (CTRs) because your ads are more relevant to the user’s search. Improved CTRs often lead to better Quality Scores, which can lower your cost-per-click (CPC) and improve ad position. Furthermore, because you’re reaching a more qualified audience, your conversion rates should also increase, leading to a higher return on ad spend (ROAS).
For lead generation marketers, phrase match should often be the primary driver of performance, offering a sweet spot between broad reach and laser-focused 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.
while Google’s recommendations offer a valuable starting point, blindly following best practices isn’t always the optimal strategy for your specific lead generation campaigns. The ideal mix of broad, phrase, and exact match keywords depends heavily on your business goals, target audience, and the nuances of your industry.
Don’t be afraid to experiment and deviate from conventional wisdom if it serves your objectives. The key takeaway is to understand the strengths and weaknesses of each match type and leverage them strategically to build a campaign structure that efficiently drives high-quality leads for your business.
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 our Google Ads Lead Generation Course.
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