The idea, in plain English
Start here.
A keyword is an advertiser’s targeting input; a search term is what someone searched. Broad, phrase and exact match control how related a search can be for eligibility. Exact match can include the same meaning or intent, so it is not a literal spelling lock. Negative keywords have different rules. Review actual available terms and the business need instead of assuming a match type guarantees useful traffic.
The repair studio offers zipper repairs, but it does not recruit sewing staff. A search containing ‘sewing’ is not automatically useful or useless. Read the person’s task: a repair inquiry, a job search and a price question need different decisions.
A few words you’ll meet.
OPEN WHAT YOU NEED ↙Keyword
A word or phrase the advertiser adds as a targeting input, with a chosen match type where applicable.
Search term
The word or words a person uses in a search. They may differ from the advertiser’s keyword.
Match type
A rule for how closely the search needs to relate to a keyword for consideration. Matching is not a guarantee that the ad will show.
Negative keyword
An exclusion with its own match rules. Its scope and wording should remove unwanted searches without accidentally removing useful ones.
Separate your input from the person’s search
Write the keyword and observed search term in different columns. ‘Zipper repair’ might be a planning input; a person’s longer question reveals what they actually need. The difference helps you assess whether the offer, message and page fit the task rather than merely share a word.
A matching candidate still has to meet other eligibility and auction conditions. Do not read an example as a promise that a specific query will trigger a specific ad. For an actual account review, keep the reported keyword, selected match type, search term, reporting period and relevant result together.
Understand meaning before punctuation
Google describes broad match as reaching related searches, including ones that need not contain the keyword’s direct meaning. Phrase match can reach searches including the keyword’s meaning. Exact match can reach searches with the same meaning or intent. Positive match types can include close variations; square brackets do not mean only identical characters.
The types overlap: broader matching can cover the narrower type’s searches as well as additional ones. Google’s current guidance emphasizes Smart Bidding with broad match. That is a documented product recommendation, not evidence that broad match is always profitable or that exact match always has the lowest cost. Review the actual goal, measurement and account setup before choosing a live strategy.
- Broad syntax: zipper repair
- Phrase syntax: "zipper repair"
- Exact syntax: [zipper repair]
- Punctuation changes matching; it does not establish a business result.
Three matching apertures. One relevance check.
Exclude the unwanted task, not every shared word
Start from a verified mismatch. If the studio does not offer employment, job-seeking searches are a different task from hiring it for a repair. A proposal to exclude ‘repair’ would also remove the core service language. A proposal to exclude every price question could remove someone trying to decide whether to inquire.
For Search, negative broad, phrase and exact match behave differently from positive match types. Negative broad excludes searches containing all the negative terms, in any order; negative phrase uses those terms in the same order; negative exact applies without additional words. Google says synonyms and singular/plural versions need separate consideration, while casing and misspellings are accounted for. Inspect the actual exclusion and where it applies; do not paste a universal negative list into every business.
Use the report without assuming it is complete
Google’s search terms report helps connect available reported searches with their keyword and performance context. Some low-activity queries are omitted for privacy. Search terms insights can group low-volume activity without exposing the underlying query. A missing individual query is not proof that it never occurred.
Also distinguish the match type selected for the keyword from the relationship shown in the report’s Match type column. A broad-match keyword can produce a report row labeled exact because that particular search closely matches it. Record what each field means. Keep justified terms, investigate uncertain ones and propose exclusions for verified irrelevant tasks. An observed zero-conversion row alone does not prove irrelevance or justify a universal stop rule.
Three fictional searches to review
Practice records supplied for relevance review, not live Google Ads exports or predictions of exact matching. Nook Repair Studio offers zipper repair and curtain alterations; it is not recruiting staff. No spend or conversion data is supplied.
| Search term | Task to understand | Review decision |
|---|---|---|
| zipper repair near me | Find someone to repair an item | Potential fit; verify service area and suitable destination. |
| sewing jobs near me | Find employment | Known offer mismatch; review an appropriately scoped exclusion. |
| curtain shortening price | Understand the cost of an offered service | Potential fit; do not exclude every price query by default. |
Put it into practice
Review a small search-term sheet
Use the three fictional searches. A colleague proposes excluding both ‘repair’ and ‘price’ and assumes a report label of Exact proves the original keyword used square brackets.
- Write the person’s task for each search.
- Identify the known offer mismatch and propose a narrowly justified exclusion for review.
- Explain the useful searches that blanket ‘repair’ or ‘price’ exclusions could remove.
- Distinguish selected keyword match type from the report relationship label.
- State what missing individual queries and absent conversion data do not prove.
Keep your working notes in your own document. This page saves only your completion check, not your answers or customer data.
Check your understanding
Make the call.
Choose an answer for each question. Then compare the reasoning.
You have a useful next step.
- Keep advertiser keywords and observed search terms separate.
- Learn the positive and negative matching rules independently.
- Make relevance decisions from the actual task and available evidence.
Completion is your own learning record. Quiz scores and practice checks are saved separately, on this browser.
Sources & context
The sources below explain the factual foundations and editorial methods used in this lesson. Worked examples, planning models and exercises are illustrative teaching material.
- Google Ads: About keyword matching options
Full English primary article as retrieved; the regional query parameter is retained for source traceability. No Italy-specific market data is used.
- Google Ads: About negative keywords
Current primary Search exclusion rules, including separate synonyms/singular/plural consideration and documented casing/misspelling handling.
- Google Ads: About the search terms report
Primary explanation of omitted low-activity terms, insights aggregation and the difference between report relationship and keyword match type.