Exact Match Broad Match and Phrase Match Comparisons

Due to some confusion over the differences between exact match, broad match and phrase match keywords used for Search Engine Optimisation, I thought I would help to explain what the differences actually are. Firstly, I’ve learned that each of them demonstrate different search volumes for the varied ways users may search for the same search term.

Firstly, exact match is when your website appears only if your exact keyword is searched for and nothing other than this. For example, if your search term consisted of the keyword ‘sky diving’, your website may only appear when a user searches for the keyword ‘sky diving’ only, with no variation. So basically, your website is exclusive to your exact keyword. Exact match produces very keyword specific traffic to your website and is the most targeting approach relative to both broad match and phrase match. The drawback of using an exact match keyword is that it may restrict traffic to your website however; the traffic it does receive is likely to be the most keyword specific.

Secondly, broad match is when your website may appear as a search result from a wide range of variations of your keyword. For example, if your target keyword was ‘sky diving’ once again, this time your website may appear in the search result due to a user’s search for anything from ‘sky diving’, ‘sponsored sky dive’ to ‘learn sky diving’. Broad match keywords produce a much higher search volume relative to both exact match and phrase match keywords. The drawbacks can often be that the use of using a broad match keyword could lead to less targeted traffic to your website.

Lastly, phrase match allows your website to appear when the exact keyword is searched for by users however, this time it may consist of words before or after the keyword. For example, if once again, your search term consisted of the keyword ‘sky diving’. This time, your site may still appear if the user was to search anything from ‘skydiving school’ to ‘prices for skydiving’. This type of keyword matching is useful when the broad match keyword is too broad and the exact match keyword is too specific and limiting.

Google have also recently introduced a new keyword targeting strategy, called Google Keyword Broad Match Modifier.

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