What Are Different Types of Keywords in Google Ads?

There are several types of keywords in Google Ads:

• Broad keywords: To show the ad to people searching for related terms.

• Phrase keywords: To show the ad for phrases that include part of the keyword.

• Exact keywords: To show the ad only for exact keywords. 

• Negative keywords: Stop showing the ad for certain keywords that are similar but not useful. 

So, the exact match keywords will bring in the smallest amount of visitors, whereas broad match keywords will bring in the largest. 

For optimum results, you must use a mix of all these keywords. If you use too few keywords, the reach will be short. With too many keywords, you will just overpay for unnecessary clicks. 

1. Broad Match Keywords

By default, Google Ads shows your ads for broad match keywords. Your ad will appear for search queries related to your keywords. It also includes synonyms, singular and plural forms, and misspellings. Avoid the use of any punctuation to define broad match keywords.

For example: For example: if your keyword is ‘tennis shoes’, then the ad will show when people search for related terms like ‘discount tennis shoes’, ‘mens tennis shoes’, ‘converse tennis shoes’, etc. 

2. Phrase Match Keywords

Phrase match keywords are a bit more targeted than broad match keywords. The ad will appear for the search queries that are not exactly the same as your keyword but contain the complete keyword. 

For example, your keyword is tennis shoes. People who search for red tennis shoes, best tennis shoes, tennis shoes online, buy tennis shoes under 500, etc. The ad will not appear for shoes for tennis, tennis sneakers, men shoes for tennis, etc.

Phrase keywords are defined using quotation marks, like this: “tennis shoes”.

3. Exact Match Keywords

Exact match keywords are highly targeted, showing the ad only when people search for the exact keywords set by you. These keywords are defined with square brackets. 

For instance, if your exact match keyword is [best seo company], then your ad will appear only when the search query is ‘best seo company’. It will not appear to people searching for ‘best seo company in india’ or ‘best seo agency’.

4. Negative Keywords

When you add negative keywords to your campaign, Google will not show your ad for those keywords or search queries. It is much like blocking a keyword for a specific ad. 

The aim of using negative match keywords is to avoid ad clicks for the related terms that are not useful for you. 

For example, if you are running ads to bring customers to your cab business, then your keywords might be ‘book jaipur to delhi cab’, ‘cab from delhi to agra’, etc. But if you don’t define negative keywords, Google may also show your ad for queries like ola cab jaipur to delhi, book uber cab in delhi, etc. 

5. Synonyms

It is a good practice to research and include synonyms of your keywords in the content to make it rich and natural. Moreover, it makes long-tail keywords that have less competition. 

For example, if you are running ads for a gym, you may like to add keywords related to bodybuilding, exercise, fitness, etc.