Question about Google Keyword "match type."
-
When using google keyword tool what type of match type do you find most helpful?
broad, exact match, phrase?
I know they all have their own benefits, but if you just want to test out which term gets more searches I'm not sure what the difference is between the exact match and phrase.
Thanks!
-
This is an excellent illustration Marisa. Very good description, and I totally agree on the modified broad match.
-
Good catch Marisa. Yes, you are correct.
-
I may be misunderstanding you, but I think the keywords "widgets extra large" or even "widgets white extra large" would be triggered with modified broad, not phrase match.
-
My favorite is modified broad match and my least favorite is regular broad match. Modified broad allows for the most variety in searches without returning results that are irrelevant the way regular board match does.
Our main keyword is "embroidered patches" so here is an example
[embroidered patches] - returns only "embroidered patches"
"embroidered patches" - could return "embroidered patches for uniforms"
+embroidered +patches - could return "patches embroidered onto hats"
embroidered patches - could return nicotine patches (useless)The bottom line is that broad match will get you the most traffic, but a large amount will be irrelevant.
Exact match won't get you as much traffic, but most of it will be high quality.
I personally think modified broad and phrase are the best balance. -
Hi Noah's Dad,
The phrase match is that if someone enters additional words before or after the keyword.
Using exact match means that your keywords are targeted more precisely than broad match or phrase match.
Dmitriy
-
I personally prefer using [exact match] instead of "phrase match." The difference is that with exact match a search for [extra large widgets] would return an ad for [extra large widgets] but not for "extra large widgets on sale." Conversely, if your campaign (and I'm making the assumption we are talking about paid ads) was set to be triggered for "extra large widgets" as a phrase match, your ads would be triggered for both "extra large widgets" and "extra large widgets on sale" plus many other variations, like "widgets extra large" or even "widgets white extra large" I use exact match because it gives me tighter control over my ad spend. However, this is with a keywords set with which I am intimiately familiar. If I was launching new campaigns for things I didn't know as well, I'd definitely use some phrase matches until I started to see what's really working and what isn't.
Hope that helps a little!
Dana
Got a burning SEO question?
Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
Proper use of location in keywords
¿If I want to track keywords in a specific location, do I need to write the keyword with the location or only the keyword? For example: If I want to track the results of the keyword "hair salon" in a specific city, should I write "Hair salon in (city chosen) or only hair salon.
Keyword Research | | reginadelafuente0 -
Selecting keywords
hello, i am using google adwords search terms to find keywords, first of all is that a good practice? If it is then i have the below question: What is most important to take into consideration when thinking of a better keyword: a) impressions b) Most conversotions c) Both in a combination i want to import that keywords in moz pro to see search visibility is that the right way? Which keywords are the most important and how can i chase them? i have to mention here that my adwords account is from 2010 so the data are very much!! Please be specific in for answer thanks in advance
Keyword Research | | anavasis0 -
Keyword research for new website
Hi guys, I'm pretty new to all this so please bare with me if I sound like a total noob. I've been tasked with doing keyword research for our new website to work out what we want to rank for. We are a b2b outsource provider of telecommunication services, contact centres etc. I'm looking for advice on how best to start the keyword research, what I should be looking for etc. At the moment I'm using a list of keywords provided by the sales team, running these through uber suggest for other variations and then putting them through Google's keyword planner. Once I've done that I'm looking at ones with higher volumes of searches with low competition. Is there anything that I'm missing? I'm trying to cross reference this with intent, looking for searches linked to people wanting help, a provider, to buy etc. Thanks in advance for any help guys, I really appreciate it. Leo
Keyword Research | | Leo_Woodhead0 -
Setting Up a Keyword Matrix
Greetings MOZ community!! My real estate web site contains about 500 pages with perhaps 70 pages targeting low volume, somewhat valuable but not very competitive keywords. Three to four URLs target very competitive terms. The following terms are among the most valuable: New York City office space,
Keyword Research | | Kingalan1
New York office space,
Manhattan office space,
NYC office space Such variants as: Office space in New York City,
Office space in New York,
Office space in Manhattan,
Office space in NYC
ETCETERA convert really well How would I match different terms to different URLs? For example I have just re-written the following two critical URLs: www.nyc-officespace-leader.com (home page)
http://www.nyc-officespace-leader.com/commercial-space/office-space (product page) Would it make sense to use "Manhattan office space" and variants on the home page while excluding "New York City office space" variants? At the same time I would use "New York City office space" variants on the "office-space" product page while excluding all mention of "Manhattan office space". Is this logical and does it conform to SEO best practices? For the "NYC office space" terms I would add them to http://www.nyc-officespace-leader.com/listings. This URL has almost no text but a strong potential to rent because of a high number of incoming internal links. Is this approach sensible? In general what measures should I take to prevent URLs from competing for the same keywords? Also, is there a software package or tools that I can use to come up with keyword variants? As a non SEO professional, can I create my own keyword matrix or is this really in the realm of a professional SEO consultant? Thanks, Alan0 -
Different or Same Keywords for Second Site
Hello, We're flushing out a second site for a client that's a second site in the same niche. How do I know when to use the same keywords for both sites and when to use entirely different keywords. One site is fairly strong, and the other will be less strong, though we're going to strengthen it quickly.
Keyword Research | | BobGW0 -
Ranking Reports for New Keywords
I added new keywords to my campaign. They do appear in my ranking report. But I am not getting any ranking data on the new keywords. It looks like they are yet to be crawled. For my initial set of keywords, i see the specific rankings in each search engine and for some it says "not in the top 50." For the new ones all I see are zeros. Will the ranking data eventually appear?
Keyword Research | | dseevers0 -
Broad Match and Exact Match
Using the keyword tool Ive noticed theres Exact match and Broad Match , Exact match is always way less . Is exact match only when a person puts the keyword in quotes? or is that the number of times when a person puts in the exact keyword. ? I see that google adwords only puts the broadmatch.
Keyword Research | | globalcampus0 -
Do you use broad match or exact match on Adwords Keyword Tool when doing keyword research?
I wasn't sure whether to classify this as a discussion or a question. I'd love "the right answer" but I'm not sure if we're going to get one... Let's try. When you use the Adwords Keyword Tool for doing keyword research, do you use the numbers from "broad match" or "exact match" when comparing relative search volume of keywords? (And yes, I know the numbers need to be taken with a grain of salt, but when it comes down to it, you're using the numbers to compare and come to conclusions regarding the best keyword to use - so which match type gives you the data you're looking for?) To be a little more specific - when you select "exact match" for, let's say the keyword "baking supplies", is that telling you how many people searched for that phrase within quotes <"baking supplies">, or how many people searched for only <baking supplies="">, as opposed to that word within a phrase <baking supplies="" stores="">or with the words reversed <supplies baking="">?</supplies></baking></baking> Based on some keyword research we had done a year ago where any phrase reversals like <water bottles="">and <bottles water="">were coming out with the exact same numbers, even when it wasn't so intuitive that there would be the same search volume, we came to the conclusion - with the tentative suggestion of the SEOMoz staff on the old Q & A - that broad match would include all instances of the keywords in reverse order, so if you wanted to know how many people were searching for <water bottles="">only, you needed to use exact match. </water></bottles></water> That's what we did for about a year (I also think I saw Rand mention that somewhere in a presentation slide recently, although I could be mistaken and I don't recall exactly where it was to check it up) and then based on a recent forum discussion I had where someone was questioning that premise, I did another check with two KW reversals and while <water bottles="">and <bottles water="">still give the same number, <baking supplies="">and <supplies baking="">do not. </supplies></baking></bottles></water> So I'm left with a big question here as to what the best policy is. Google Adwords Help is very vague on what the match type means in the tool (it seems to be talking about only your settings for your campaigns). So - any input after this long saga? Thanks!
Keyword Research | | debi_zyx0