Decoding Amazon Ad Match Types: Exact, Phrase, and Broad Explained

When running Amazon Advertising campaigns, understanding “match types” is fundamental to controlling your ad spend, reaching the right customers, and ultimately, driving profitable sales. These match types dictate how closely a customer’s search query must align with your chosen keywords for your ad to appear. Master them, and you master your Amazon PPC.

Let’s break down the three core match types: Exact, Phrase, and Broad.

1. Exact Match

How it Works: Your ad will only appear when a customer’s search query exactly matches your keyword or very close variations (e.g., plurals, minor misspellings, or filler words like “the,” “for” that don’t change the intent). The order of the words must remain the same, and no additional words can be present.

• Example Keyword (Exact): [blue yoga mat]
• Customer Searches That Trigger Ad:
  • blue yoga mat
  • blue yoga mats
• Customer Searches That Won’t Trigger Ad:
  • yoga mat blue (wrong order)
  • best blue yoga mat (additional words)
  • blue yoga mat for beginners (additional words)

Benefits:

• Highest Relevance: You reach customers with strong purchase intent who know exactly what they’re looking for.
• Higher Conversion Rates: Due to high relevance, clicks on exact match keywords often lead to sales.
• Lower ACoS (Advertising Cost of Sale): Fewer irrelevant clicks mean your ad budget is spent more efficiently.
• Precise Control: You have the tightest control over where your ad appears, allowing for highly targeted optimisation.

Best Use: Use for your top-performing, high-converting keywords that you’ve identified through research or from your broad and phrase match campaigns. They are ideal for direct competitor product names if you sell a direct substitute.

2. Phrase Match

How it Works: Your ad will appear when a customer’s search query contains your exact keyword phrase in the same order, but it can include additional words before or after the phrase. Close variations, plurals, and minor misspellings are also usually included.

• Example Keyword (Phrase): "comfortable running shoes"
• Customer Searches That Trigger Ad:
  • comfortable running shoes
  • best comfortable running shoes
  • comfortable running shoes for women
• Customer Searches That Won’t Trigger Ad:
  • running shoes comfortable (wrong order)
  • comfortable shoes for running (words between the phrase)

Benefits:

• Balance of Reach and Relevance: More flexible than exact match, allowing you to capture a broader range of relevant searches without being too broad.
• Discover New Long-Tail Keywords: Can help uncover more specific search queries that include your core phrase.
• Better Control than Broad Match: Reduces irrelevant impressions compared to broad match by maintaining keyword order.

Best Use: Ideal for expanding your reach beyond exact matches, while still maintaining good relevance. Use for phrases that describe key features or benefits of your product.

3. Broad Match

How it Works: Your ad can appear for a wide range of search queries that are loosely related to your keyword. This includes synonyms, misspellings, related terms, and all words in your keyword in any order. Additional words can be included anywhere in the search query.

• Example Keyword (Broad): yoga mat
• Customer Searches That Trigger Ad:
  • yoga mat
  • mats for yoga
  • exercise mat (synonym)
  • pilates mat (related term)
  • thick mats for stretching (related, words in any order)
  • equipment for yoga (very broad relation)

Benefits:

• Maximum Reach and Impressions: Casts the widest net, making your ad eligible for a large volume of searches.
• Keyword Discovery: Excellent for uncovering new, unexpected, but relevant search terms that you might not have thought of manually. This is a primary benefit.
• Lower CPC (Cost Per Click) Potential: Due to the broader reach, individual clicks might be cheaper, though overall spend on irrelevant clicks can increase without careful management.

Best Use: Primarily for keyword research and discovery, especially when launching new products or exploring new markets. Run broad match campaigns to gather data in your Search Term Reports, then “harvest” the high-performing search terms to create new exact and phrase match keywords.

The Differences Summarised: Precision vs. Reach

Feature	Exact Match	Phrase Match	Broad Match
Control	Highest	Medium	Lowest
Relevance	Highest	High	Moderate to Low
Reach	Lowest	Medium	Highest
Conversion Rate	Highest	High	Moderate to Low
ACoS Impact	Generally Lowest	Balanced	Can be High (if unmanaged)
Discovery	Minimal (only close variations)	Good for discovering long-tail variations	Excellent for uncovering new keywords/terms
Keyword Order	Must be exact	Must be exact	Any order
Additional Words	No	Yes (before/after phrase)	Yes (anywhere)

Strategic Use and The “Waterfall” Method

Effective Amazon PPC often involves a “waterfall” strategy:

1. Start with Broad Match (and Automatic Campaigns): Use these to cast a wide net and discover new search terms that customers are actually using to find your products.
2. Harvest and Refine with Phrase Match: From your broad match search term reports, identify relevant, converting phrases. Add these as phrase match keywords in a more controlled campaign.
3. Optimise with Exact Match: For the most high-performing, highest-converting search terms discovered through broad and phrase matches, create dedicated exact match keywords. This allows you to bid most aggressively on these money-makers.
4. Use Negative Keywords: Crucially, for broad and phrase match campaigns, regularly review your Search Term Reports and add irrelevant terms as negative exact or negative phrase keywords. This prevents wasted ad spend on searches that won’t convert.

By understanding and strategically employing Exact, Phrase, and Broad match types, you gain granular control over your Amazon advertising, ensuring your budget is spent efficiently and your products are seen by the right customers at the right time.

Let Bettersell.co.uk Fine-Tune Your Match Types

Navigating the intricacies of Amazon’s match types and optimising your bids for each can be a complex and ongoing task. This is where the expertise of bettersell.co.uk becomes invaluable.

We specialise in:

• In-depth analysis of your Search Term Reports to identify top-performing and negative keywords.
• Strategic implementation of all match types to maximise both reach and profitability.
• Dynamic bid management for each match type to optimise your ACoS.
• Continuous campaign refinement to ensure you’re always adapting to Amazon’s evolving landscape.

Don’t leave your ad spend to chance. Partner with bettersell.co.uk to build a robust and profitable Amazon advertising strategy, leveraging the power of Exact, Phrase, and Broad match types to their fullest potential.