The DIFFERENCE between broad, phrase and exact match keyword research

[Adam Roy]

I've noticed some people having trouble understanding why they should be using EXACT MATCH when doing individual keyword research. I figured I'd throw this out there, in case if helps anyone who's unsure of what exactly the difference is between broad match, phrase match, and exact match search traffic.


Broad Match – The number of monthly searches containing your keywords in any order, along with any number of other words in the search. For example, broad match results for ‘dog training’ will also include search traffic for ‘dog training, training a dog, training a small house dog, dog obedience and trick training’, etc.



Phrase Match – The number of monthly searches containing your keywords in their exact order, along with any number of other words in the search. For example, phrase match results for ‘dog training’ will include search traffic for ‘dog training, dog training for small dogs, golden retriever dog training, german shepard dog training’, etc.


Exact Match – The number of monthly searches containing your exact keywords, in their exact order, with no other words in the search. For example, exact match results for ‘dog training’ will include ONLY the search traffic for the exact keyword phrase dog training.

[LX10]

When you say “Exact Search” do you also mean that the user searches the keyword, with square brackets (the user literally write the square brackets on the search box)?
I’m asking this question because, if you do a search for the Keyword dog training, and select Broad Match, Phrase Match and Exact Match, you will get:
dog training = 823,000 Global Monthly Search
“dog training” = 673,000 Global Monthly Search
[dog training] = 60,500 Global Monthly Search
What does this mean?

[underthegun]

I'm still getting the hang of this portion of keyword research and it has confused me, too.

I found a keyword that gets...
Broad 250,000 searches
Phrase 6,000
Exact 1,600



What gives? Is there a way I can take advantage of the broad?

[Adam Roy]

Originally Posted by LX10

When you say “Exact Search” do you also mean that the user searches the keyword, with square brackets (the user literally write the square brackets on the search box)?
I’m asking this question because, if you do a search for the Keyword dog training, and select Broad Match, Phrase Match and Exact Match, you will get:
dog training = 823,000 Global Monthly Search
“dog training” = 673,000 Global Monthly Search
[dog training] = 60,500 Global Monthly Search
What does this mean?

No, this does not mean people are searching for this in brackets. Please re-read the OP. Exact match simply means, people searching for that exact phrase. Broad match, could be any search including any words in the phrase in any order. Broad match for 'dog training' is NOT how many people per month search for that term, but rather, how many people search for anything with both the words, dog, and training within it.

Originally Posted by underthegun

I'm still getting the hang of this portion of keyword research and it has confused me, too.

I found a keyword that gets...
Broad 250,000 searches
Phrase 6,000
Exact 1,600



What gives? Is there a way I can take advantage of the broad?

Broad results, you should consider them to be an idea of what kind of traffic the 'niche' has.

Example, search results for broad match with dog training, includes search traffic for terms like, 'best videos for training a dog', 'how does a dog react to training', 'dog training', 'how do reward a puppy during dog training', 'what to feed a dog during training'. This is why a broad match search will always show more searches.

Getting traffic stats for a keyword using 'exact match', is search traffic for that particular term exactly, in no other order, with no other words, exactly as you typed it, which is why this result is always much lower, and why you should always use exact match when determining the search traffic for a keyword.

[underthegun]

So pretty much I gotta use EXACT when choosing my anchor text? If I want to see real results.

[Adam Roy]

Originally Posted by underthegun

So pretty much I gotta use EXACT when choosing my anchor text? If I want to see real results.

That's correct. Exact match is what shows you the search traffic for that particular keyword.

[justin482000]

oh, sh!t....
thank you for this post, so I've been doing wrong kind of searches all the time
now, I understand...thanks bro!

[addy80]

very well said..!but i am still little bit confused.!!my question is that when i search on google..for example logo design services..so what the result appear on google?it will be exact, broad, phrase????plz give me a answer..!!

Thanks

[Tad 100]

Originally Posted by addy80

very well said..!but i am still little bit confused.!!my question is that when i search on google..for example logo design services..so what the result appear on google?it will be exact, broad, phrase????plz give me a answer..!!

Thanks

If you search just logo design services it will be broad. If you search with "logo design services" it will be phrase match, if you search with brackets it will show exact match.

Always start your research with exact match. After that phrase and if results are good broad.

All simple people that are looking to buy in internet use broad match because they dont know how to do in other way.

[PabloVTB]

Originally Posted by backlinksvideo

If you search just logo design services it will be broad. If you search with "logo design services" it will be phrase match, if you search with brackets it will show exact match.

Always start your research with exact match. After that phrase and if results are good broad.

All simple people that are looking to buy in internet use broad match because they dont know how to do in other way.

You just contradicted the OP and got everyone confused again.

Searching for:

logo design services

is the exact match way, as far as I'm concerned.

Searching for:

how to offer logo design services

is the phrase match way

and Searching for:

services that offer logo design

would be the broad way.


Please correct me if I'm wrong.

[roady]

you're absolutely correct.

[Stuart william]

Originally Posted by PabloVTB

You just contradicted the OP and got everyone confused again.

Searching for:

logo design services

is the exact match way, as far as I'm concerned.

Searching for:

how to offer logo design services

is the phrase match way

and Searching for:

services that offer logo design

would be the broad way.


Please correct me if I'm wrong.

hi, as far as i know, you are correct. its better if we choose keywords from exact search.

[onSubie]

Hi

You can see this when you analyze a single-word keyword with the Keyword Tool. Phrase and Broad will be the same since there are no alternative combination of words to add results for Broad over Phrase. The only big drop is Exact. Which is your Keyword exclusive of other words in the search.

And no, Google users do not search with "" or [] for Phrase and Broad. Using [] in Google Search does nothing. Those are only used for analysis and displayed by the Google Analytics Keyword tool.

In the Google Search, the default returns Broad match results- anything relevant to my terms. "Using quotes" gives Phrase match results- my phrase plus anything before and after.

There is no Exact for search results- return pages that have only my term and no other content before or after.... Nobody would want that anyway.

Google Search and Google Keyword Analytics are two different things.

Mahlon

[lizatailor23]

Broad Match: Broad match is the default setting when using the Keyword Tool. What broad match means is that any time any part of the keyword shows up in a search phrase, that data gets added to the reported total searches per month.

Phrase Match: Phrase match keyword search volume works like this: if you check phrase match search volume for “sunflower seeds” then the number returned will include all traffic for the main phrase as well as phrases like “huge sunflower seeds” and “sunflower guide for seeds”.

Exact Match: The volume of searches returned when checking exact match keywords is simply for only that single keyphrase. So there are no aggregates involved, it’s only the total number of searches for just that exact phrase, typed exactly into Google, with no other words included. This is the most accurate number to reference when researching niches, as it doesn’t aggregate traffic you might not actually rank for and get.

[onSubie]

Originally Posted by lizatailor23

Phrase Match: Phrase match keyword search volume works like this: if you check phrase match search volume for “sunflower seeds” then the number returned will include all traffic for the main phrase as well as phrases like “huge sunflower seeds” and “sunflower guide for seeds”.

Hi

That is not correct.

The words "guide for" have been inserted into your phrase. It would count “huge sunflower seeds” and "guide for sunflower seeds", but "sunflower guide for seeds" would show up under a Broad Match, not Phrase.

Mahlon

[money talk]

I am ranking well in yahoo for a 4 word phrase exact match but it only gets 24 exact searches, though I am in two minds about wether I should keep it in yahoo, because i also appear on the first page results when you type in some major keywords that are not the same as the ones I am bidding for. These ones get 1900 exact match, should I keep it and try and rank even better for this phrase? please help....

[ARVolund]

There are two parts to the equation.

Finding profitable keywords and Deciding if your keyword is too competitive.

For the first you should use the exact keyword matches in the keyword tool. Generally speaking if you do not see enough searches for your keyword or if if you are building a site around multiple related keywords (my preference) then you move on or find some others you can add to the group. Do Not Use anything else other than exact when deciding whether your choice could be profitable.

Now the second part of the equation is can you get ranked on the first page and make some money. For this you type in you chosen keyword without quotes because this is how 99+% of your potential visitors are going to do it. Very few people use quotes in searching so knowing how hard it will to rank using the quotes will do you no good at all. You must test the competition without quotes to find out if you will be able to rank for you keyword.

[daleduan]

This is how you should do searches:

Broad Match - type the keyword directly only to SE (e.g. dog training)
Exact Match - type the keyword to SE with quotes (e.g. "dog training")
InTitle - checks your tough competitions for having exact match keyword in the title (e.g. intitle:"dog training")

The intitle tag allows me to check my tough competitions if I can outrank them. That is usually checking their backlinks. Don't forget that "exact match domains" matters a lot.

[dburk]

Hi Warriors,

LOL, this is one of the funniest threads I've seen in a while. Nearly everyone replying has got it a little bit to totally wrong. No offence, but someone needs to correct some of this misinformation. I will attempt to do so.

Originally Posted by backlinksvideo

If you search just logo design services it will be broad. If you search with "logo design services" it will be phrase match, if you search with brackets it will show exact match.

Always start your research with exact match. After that phrase and if results are good broad.

All simple people that are looking to buy in internet use broad match because they dont know how to do in other way.

Hi backlinksvideo,

Exact match, Phrase match and Broad match are terms that apply to the AdWords Keyword Tool. It applies to groups of keywords that might trigger an ad to display. It has absolutely nothing to do with search techniques.

Originally Posted by PabloVTB

You just contradicted the OP and got everyone confused again.

Searching for:

logo design services

is the exact match way, as far as I'm concerned.

Searching for:

how to offer logo design services

is the phrase match way

and Searching for:

services that offer logo design

would be the broad way.


Please correct me if I'm wrong.

Hi PabloVTB,

Yes, you are wrong.

Exact match, broad, match, and phrase match are different groups of keywords that may trigger an AdWords ad to display, nothing to do with how people search.

Originally Posted by addy80

very well said..!but i am still little bit confused.!!my question is that when i search on google..for example logo design services..so what the result appear on google?it will be exact, broad, phrase????plz give me a answer..!!

Thanks

Hi addy80,

All searches show up in the AdWords Keyword Tool under exact match search data. The other match types just include other keywords that could trigger an advertisers ad to display.

Originally Posted by underthegun

So pretty much I gotta use EXACT when choosing my anchor text? If I want to see real results.

Hi underthegun,

Nothing in this thread discussion was about anchor text. It was about the Match Type settings in the AdWords Keyword Tool.

Originally Posted by onSubie

Hi

You can see this when you analyze a single-word keyword with the Keyword Tool. Phrase and Broad will be the same since there are no alternative combination of words to add results for Broad over Phrase. The only big drop is Exact. Which is your Keyword exclusive of other words in the search.

And no, Google users do not search with "" or [] for Phrase and Broad. Using [] in Google Search does nothing. Those are only used for analysis and displayed by the Google Analytics Keyword tool.

In the Google Search, the default returns Broad match results- anything relevant to my terms. "Using quotes" gives Phrase match results- my phrase plus anything before and after.

There is no Exact for search results- return pages that have only my term and no other content before or after.... Nobody would want that anyway.

Google Search and Google Keyword Analytics are two different things.

Mahlon

Hi Mahlon,

You did get a few things right, but please let me correct the things you got wrong.

People do occasionally use quotes in searches, this is called a phrase search. "Phrase Search" is not the same thing as "Phrase Match" data from the keyword tool, they are unrelated.

Regular searches are not "Broad match" searches. The match type in the AdWords Keyword Tool defines what group of keywords will trigger an ad, it has nothing to do with any particular search method.

The only match type setting that shows regular search data for a particular keyword is the exact match setting. Broad and Phrase match data setting includes an unknown number of other keywords besides the one you might be analyzing.

Originally Posted by daleduan

This is how you should do searches:

Broad Match - type the keyword directly only to SE (e.g. dog training)
Exact Match - type the keyword to SE with quotes (e.g. "dog training")
InTitle - checks your tough competitions for having exact match keyword in the title (e.g. intitle:"dog training")

The intitle tag allows me to check my tough competitions if I can outrank them. That is usually checking their backlinks. Don't forget that "exact match domains" matters a lot.

Hi daleduan,

Again, match types have absolutely nothing to do with search methods. That is just plain wrong. All regular search data shows up under the exact match setting in the AdWords keyword tool. And yes, that is true for phrase search (Not the same as phrase match) as well as seach queries that use search operators.

I hope this post clears up a few things for all the readers of this thread. I you need further clarification please let me know.

[Keep Trying]

Hi, I'm sorry but I'm so confused here with all the information that people have been saying here on this SEO forum. I'm a newbie and I really want to learn, but I want to make sure I'm learning the right information.

Can you explain what you mean here in terms of numbers?

For example, I just searched dog training on Google AdWords: Keyword Tool

It says:

dog training (Broad)

Global Monthly Searches: 1,000,000
Local Monthly Searches: 550,000

dog training ("Phrase")

Global Monthly Searches: 823,000
Local Monthly Searches: 450,000

dog training ([Exact])

Global Monthly Searches: 74,000
Local Monthly Searches: 33,100

1. Are any of these numbers 100% accurate in terms of how many searches are performed by people per month or are these numbers just numbers that show when an ad will appear on Google?
   
2. Hypothetically speaking, if my SEO goal was to rank on page 1, result #1 for dog training and my website ended up being at that spot, how would I determine how much traffic I would get per day using the numbers mentioned above?

Originally Posted by dburk

Hi Warriors,

LOL, this is one of the funniest threads I've seen in a while. Nearly everyone replying has got it a little bit to totally wrong. No offence, but someone needs to correct some of this misinformation. I will attempt to do so.



Hi backlinksvideo,

Exact match, Phrase match and Broad match are terms that apply to the AdWords Keyword Tool. It applies to groups of keywords that might trigger an ad to display. It has absolutely nothing to do with search techniques.



Hi PabloVTB,

Yes, you are wrong.

Exact match, broad, match, and phrase match are different groups of keywords that may trigger an AdWords ad to display, nothing to do with how people search.




Hi addy80,

All searches show up in the AdWords Keyword Tool under exact match search data. The other match types just include other keywords that could trigger an advertisers ad to display.



Hi underthegun,

Nothing in this thread discussion was about anchor text. It was about the Match Type settings in the AdWords Keyword Tool.



Hi Mahlon,

You did get a few things right, but please let me correct the things you got wrong.

People do occasionally use quotes in searches, this is called a phrase search. "Phrase Search" is not the same thing as "Phrase Match" data from the keyword tool, they are unrelated.

Regular searches are not "Broad match" searches. The match type in the AdWords Keyword Tool defines what group of keywords will trigger an ad, it has nothing to do with any particular search method.

The only match type setting that shows regular search data for a particular keyword is the exact match setting. Broad and Phrase match data setting includes an unknown number of other keywords besides the one you might be analyzing.




Hi daleduan,

Again, match types have absolutely nothing to do with search methods. That is just plain wrong. All regular search data shows up under the exact match setting in the AdWords keyword tool. And yes, that is true for phrase search (Not the same as phrase match) as well as seach queries that use search operators.

I hope this post clears up a few things for all the readers of this thread. I you need further clarification please let me know.

[dburk]

Originally Posted by Keep Trying

Hi, I'm sorry but I'm so confused here with all the information that people have been saying here on this SEO forum. I'm a newbie and I really want to learn, but I want to make sure I'm learning the right information.

Can you explain what you mean here in terms of numbers?

For example, I just searched dog training on Google AdWords: Keyword Tool

It says:

dog training (Broad)

Global Monthly Searches: 1,000,000
Local Monthly Searches: 550,000

dog training ("Phrase")

Global Monthly Searches: 823,000
Local Monthly Searches: 450,000

dog training ([Exact])

Global Monthly Searches: 74,000
Local Monthly Searches: 33,100

1. Are any of these numbers 100% accurate in terms of how many searches are performed by people per month or are these numbers just numbers that show when an ad will appear on Google?
   
2. Hypothetically speaking, if my SEO goal was to rank on page 1, result #1 for dog training and my website ended up being at that spot, how would I determine how much traffic I would get per day using the numbers mentioned above?

Hi Keep,

No not 100% accurate, because they round the number, so it is approximately 99% accurate.

The Exact match data is the only data that reports search volume for an individual keyword. Those other match types include search volume for an unknown number of other keywords, so they are meaningless for analyzing individual keywords.

Also, I should mention the search volume is for all searches performed across Google's search network of which they supply search results.

To answer you second question, You cannot predict your actual traffic to a high degree of accuracy. There are many variables involved. Including how compelling your page title and descriptions are written in relation to both the keyword, and your competitor's page titles and descriptions.

There are also big differences in the click through rates for different types of keywords, branded verses generic keywords. Since Dog Training is a generic search term, it would tend to have a slightly lower CTR than a branded keyword term on average.

The average CTR for position #1, as shown in the largest publicly available dataset, shows an average CTR of 23%. You can adjust that based on the type of keyword and how compelling your Title and Descriptions are in relation to your competitors on that same page.

So, If your CTR was about average for a generic keyword term you could expect about 18% of the exact match search volume for that keyword. You may also receive search traffic from other terms besides the one keyword you are analysing, but that would be a rough estimate based on averages for traffic from that particular keyword search.

There are other factors of course, but this is simple rough estimate:

33100 x 0.18 = 5958

[Keep Trying]

Okay, this makes a lot more sense now. Thank you so much.

Originally Posted by dburk

Hi Keep,

No not 100% accurate, because they round the number, so it is approximately 99% accurate.

The Exact match data is the only data that reports search volume for an individual keyword. Those other match types include search volume for an unknown number of other keywords, so they are meaningless for analyzing individual keywords.

Also, I should mention the search volume is for all searches performed across Google's search network of which they supply search results.

To answer you second question, You cannot predict your actual traffic to a high degree of accuracy. There are many variables involved. Including how compelling your page title and descriptions are written in relation to both the keyword, and your competitor's page titles and descriptions.

There are also big differences in the click through rates for different types of keywords, branded verses generic keywords. Since Dog Training is a generic search term, it would tend to have a slightly lower CTR than a branded keyword term on average.

The average CTR for position #1, as shown in the largest publicly available dataset, shows an average CTR of 23%. You can adjust that based on the type of keyword and how compelling your Title and Descriptions are in relation to your competitors on that same page.

So, If your CTR was about average for a generic keyword term you could expect about 18% of the exact match search volume for that keyword. You may also receive search traffic from other terms besides the one keyword you are analysing, but that would be a rough estimate based on averages for traffic from that particular keyword search.

There are other factors of course, but this is simple rough estimate:

33100 x 0.18 = 5958

[marketingrep4u]

What bearing does this have on local search?

For example, you might do a generic search for 'dog training' and follow the advice given here.

But what numbers are more important when you do a specific location search like 'dog training fort worth'?

Which should you pay closer attention to for local search?

[dburk]

Originally Posted by marketingrep4u

What bearing does this have on local search?

For example, you might do a generic search for 'dog training' and follow the advice given here.

But what numbers are more important when you do a specific location search like 'dog training fort worth'?

Which should you pay closer attention to for local search?

Hi marketingrep4u,

It is similar for geo-targeted keywords, however you have more variables because of Google Places results being integrated into the regular search results. There are no large publicly available datasets that include Google Places integrated search CTRs. So all you can do is make rough estimates and adjust as you accumulate more actual data.

[Johnletton]

I think its good to have every type of keyword research because for homepage you choose short keywords and for internal pages long keywords are used.

[Logo Design]

Originally Posted by Adam Roy

I've noticed some people having trouble understanding why they should be using EXACT MATCH when doing individual keyword research. I figured I'd throw this out there, in case if helps anyone who's unsure of what exactly the difference is between broad match, phrase match, and exact match search traffic.


Broad Match – The number of monthly searches containing your keywords in any order, along with any number of other words in the search. For example, broad match results for ‘dog training’ will also include search traffic for ‘dog training, training a dog, training a small house dog, dog obedience and trick training’, etc.



Phrase Match – The number of monthly searches containing your keywords in their exact order, along with any number of other words in the search. For example, phrase match results for ‘dog training’ will include search traffic for ‘dog training, dog training for small dogs, golden retriever dog training, german shepard dog training’, etc.


Exact Match – The number of monthly searches containing your exact keywords, in their exact order, with no other words in the search. For example, exact match results for ‘dog training’ will include ONLY the search traffic for the exact keyword phrase dog training.

Interesting information you shared with us.

[uhereks]

This is rally tricky.. I remember the first time when I typed in the keyword and It showed me the number of searcher, and I was thrilled.. And after a week later I found that broad doesn't mean the real number of searchers.. What a disappointment. From that point to now using only EXACT...

[marketingrep4u]

What I find interesting is the instruction you get from online 'gurus'.

To date, I have NEVER had anyone of them in all the training I've received specifically tell me that more importance should be placed on EXACT match to determine the real amount of traffic.

In fact, BROAD match is what you see them teach most often.

Goes to show you, that you'll learn more from the good people on WF (not WSOs) if you'll just take the time to ask questions.

Thanks WF! I appreciate your instruction.

[indalor1]

Ok so this all means, when boiled down to how to make use of this information, that when were are determining the competition that we should pay closest attention to the "exact match" over the other 2 options?

So If I do a search and come out with something like...

Broad - Big shiny widgets - 30,000
Exact - Big shiny widgets - 2,200
Phrase - Big shiny widgets - 15,000

When I go to start my campaign, which am I competing against to get the traffic from your run of the mill generic customer? Because the common man/woman doesn't use any tool except the box on Google.com for their search. That search shows the broad match, right?

So while I am in direct competition against only the exact match won't I be competing against the broad matches when someone searches my product in Google?

I understand what they all mean now in the Adwords tool but what do the results really mean for someone trying to get to page 1 on Google for a keyword phrase?

[Josh MacDonald]

People say broad is useless but its great to decide if it is worth going into a niche because it determines if the niche has lots of room to expand and scale up.

[dburk]

Originally Posted by indalor1

Because the common man/woman doesn't use any tool except the box on Google.com for their search. That search shows the broad match, right?

Wrong!

The term "broad match" refers to a group of keyword queries that will trigger an AdWords ad impression. It has absolutely nothing to do how the common man performs a particular search.

Originally Posted by indalor1

So while I am in direct competition against only the exact match won't I be competing against the broad matches when someone searches my product in Google?

No, The broad match is a group of many unknown keywords that will trigger an Adwords ad impression. It has absolutely nothing to do with an individual search using a particular keyword.

Originally Posted by indalor1

I understand what they all mean now in the Adwords tool but what do the results really mean for someone trying to get to page 1 on Google for a keyword phrase?

The only match type that applies to keyword research for an specific individual term is the exact match data.

[Redheadlady]

I can't thank everyone enough! I have been a silent reader..and now realize I have done everything @ss backwards...ugh...
now I have to go do the whole keyword thing again
for the self improvement field...not easy

but that explained so much
Thank you

[Dizain]

Great thank you for the info

[pabrigowar]

Now my question is (if I'm making any sense at all)...

If a keyword/phrase has these results....

Broad: 300,000
"Phrase": 20
[Exact]: 0

With "Search Results"
Google: 500,000
Yahoo: 58


Will this keyword still be a good candidate for a campaign?

[dburk]

Hi pabrigowar,

With zero monthly searches it would not be a very good keyword by itself. Now if you use thousands of keywords like that one in a campaign then the numbers might start to add up to something meaningful.

[lourob]

Another silent watcher here - thanks for all the great content. My question is, if I have a Domain that matches main KW and that KW gets - EXACT matches of 590 Global - 390 Local - CPC = $1.05 Currently Ranked #1 on Google AND other kW ranking off of this same domain (e.g. wwwdotdomaindotcom/kwhere with EXACT traffic of... Phrase - Global - 260 - Local 210 - #3 Phrase - Global - 73 Local 58 - #3 Phrase - Global - 590 Local480 - #5 All of which are in the top 5. If you knew you could get to #1 and in the top 5, would this be worth going after? Thanks! Lou

[dburk]

Originally Posted by lourob

Another silent watcher here - thanks for all the great content. My question is, if I have a Domain that matches main KW and that KW gets - EXACT matches of 590 Global - 390 Local - CPC = $1.05 Currently Ranked #1 on Google AND other kW ranking off of this same domain (e.g. wwwdotdomaindotcom/kwhere with EXACT traffic of... Phrase - Global - 260 - Local 210 - #3 Phrase - Global - 73 Local 58 - #3 Phrase - Global - 590 Local480 - #5 All of which are in the top 5. If you knew you could get to #1 and in the top 5, would this be worth going after? Thanks! Lou

Hi lourob,

That keyword by itself is not worth your time, however if it is one of many related keywords then probably yes. It depends on the commercial intent of the keyword searches and how you intend to monetize the traffic.