What are match types?
Malthe Weibeck Thomsen · Growth Hacker · Senior Pull Specialist · 8 July 2026 · 3 min.
Definition
Match types determine how closely a user's search must match your keyword before your ad shows: broad match (widest), phrase match (medium) and exact match (narrowest).
Also called: Match types, Keyword matching, Match type
Sådan virker det
Match types styrer, hvor bredt et keyword matcher søgninger. Broad rammer bredest (og kræver stramme negativer), exact snævrest. Med moderne smart bidding kan broad fungere godt — men kun med rene konverteringssignaler og disciplinerede negative keywords.
01Reach vs control
Broad match reaches widest — including synonyms and related searches — and gives the algorithm the most to work with, but demands tight negative keywords to avoid waste. Exact match reaches narrowest and gives the most control. Phrase match sits in between.
With modern smart bidding, broad match can work surprisingly well, because bidding can read the context and bid accordingly — but only with clean conversion signals and a disciplined negative list. Without them, broad becomes an expensive affair. The choice of match type is therefore tightly linked to the quality of your tracking.
Frequently asked questions
Is broad match dangerous?+
Not in itself. With clean conversion signals, smart bidding and a disciplined negative list, broad match can perform well and find searches you'd never have thought of. Without those prerequisites, it wastes budget.
Which match type should I use?+
It depends on your tracking and how much control you want. Exact gives the most control; broad gives the most reach with smart bidding. Many accounts use a combination and steer the breadth with negative keywords.
Related terms
Glossary
What are negative keywords?
Negative keywords are search terms you exclude from your campaigns, so your ads don't show on searches that contain them.
Read the entry →Glossary
What are search term insights?
Search term insights (search terms) are the report of the actual search queries users typed when your ads showed — as opposed to the keywords you chose to bid on.
Read the entry →Glossary
What is Quality Score?
Quality Score is a rating from 1 to 10 that Google assigns your keywords based on three factors: expected click-through rate, ad relevance and landing page experience.
Read the entry →
Malthe Weibeck Thomsen
Growth Hacker · Senior Pull Specialist at Oaksmond
Pull specialist with 8+ years' experience. Comes from the agency world and has since worked as an independent consultant for several of the country's largest brands.
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