Broad Match VS Phrase Match VS Exact Match — Explaining Keyword Research Match Types

Most marketers know the importance of keyword research, but still their efforts are far from exhaustive. One thing that is often overlooked is the differences between “broad match”, “phrase match”, and “exact match”. The Google Keyword Research Tool allows you to change the match type when looking at the number of searches for keywords. The easiest way to highlight the differences between these options is with examples.

Exact Match

Exact match tells you how many people search for the exact keyword. For example, if the keyword is “red scarf”, then exact match tells you the number of people who have searched for that exact term. People who searched for “scarf red” wouldn’t be counted as in an exact match for “red scarf”. Neither would searches for “warm red scarf”. Neither would the searches “red” and “scarf”.

Phrase Match

If you looked at the number of searches for “red scarf” under phrase match, you would find there is more than under exact match. This is because other searches are included beyond those who typed in “red scarf” exactly. For example, people who searched for “warm red scarf” and “red scarf woolly” would be counted alongside the people who typed just “red scarf”.

Providing the phrase “red scarf” appears somewhere within the search term, then it is added to the number of searches for “red scarf” under phrase match. This wouldn’t include “scarf red” or “red colorful scarf”.

Broad Match

If you looked at the number of searches for “red scarf” under broad match, you would find there are even more than under phrase match. This is because broad match includes all searches that include the words “red” and “scarf”, no matter what the order they’re in or what words come around or between them.

For example, “red colorful scarf” would be counted as a search for “red scarf” under broad match. “Scarf red” would also be counted as a search under broad match.

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That should give you a basic idea of the three different match types and how they can be used.

It should be apparent that broad match may sometimes be misleading, as some searches may be included which have nothing to do with the subject you’re interested in. For example, someone may have searched for “blue scarf and red t-shirt” and yet that would appear as a search for “red scarf” under broad match. This is important to know, as broad match is the default setting.

For people new to keyword research, I recommend sticking to phrase match or exact match, as they give the best indication of people who are searching for thing you’re interested in.