Should I use broad, phrase, or exact match?
Large
The least “advanced” of the 3 types that also applies to variations of the chosen keywords. If you choose, for example, the keywords:
download music videos
Your ad will also show for:
music download videos
music videos download
download music videos
In some cases, this may not be a problem, but in others, when it is rearranged, it can mean something completely different than what a person is looking for, and therefore cease to be a target.
Phrasing
More specific, as it points to the exact phrase, in the sense that if you choose
“wii games online”
Since it was in the business of selling console games online, it would also trigger:
buy wii games online
order wii games online
buy wii games online
However, you run the risk of targeting unwanted terms like
free wii games online
download wii games online
In this case, I would use the negative keywords feature and check “free” and “download” to avoid showing up for these terms.
Exact
The most specific match where you set the exact keywords to trigger your ad. These tend to be more longtail and will generally have a better return on investment. So, going back to the first example, if you think:
[download music videos]
So only when that phrase is entered will your ad appear.
In general, I always recommend starting “exactly” with various combinations of keywords, particularly high-volume keywords. In some cases, like “buy Manchester football boots”, you could probably easily start with phrase matching due to its lower volume and the fact that it includes the word “buy”, but always make sure you monitor the traffic your matches get phrase to search for any words that you should add as negative keywords. Once you have most of your keywords covered by exact and phrase, use broad to cover lower volume variations.
However, the key is to continually check your logs and use them to develop other keyword phrases as well as a list of negative keywords.
