Amazon ads use keywords to match search terms that shoppers look for. Keywords are in fact the words or phrases you add to your campaign if you want your product to get to specific shopper searches.
To reach the right consumers, you have to choose what keyword match type works best for your ad. The keyword match types available are exact, phrase, and broad match.
Let’s understand how each one of these works.
With exact match, search terms must include the same exact keyword of the ad, this also includes close variations such as plural forms. In this match type, keywords can be a single word or a phrase. Only the searches that include the same exact words in the same exact sequence will appear on the search page.
For example, the keyword “face cream” will match only with search terms such as “face cream” or “face creams”, but not other variations such as “face cream for women”, “face cream for men” etc.
With phrase match, the ad will appear when a shopper searches for either the exact phrase or the sequence of words in the keyword. This match type is more restrictive than broad match and it can drive more relevant traffic to the ad.
For example, the keyword “face cream” will match with search terms such as “face cream for women”, “face cream for men”, “discounted face cream, etc., but not with search terms such as “cream for face”, “cream for women” etc.
Broad+ match, also known as broad match modifier, can be considered that match type that fills the gap between broad match and phrase match. With Broad+ match, the ad will appear when a shopper searches for the exact close variant form of the keyword. In this match type, keywords are highlighted with a + sign before the word to specify that the keywords have to be necessarily part of the search query.
For example, the keyword “face +cream” will match with search terms such as “face cream for women”, “anti-age cream” etc., but not with search terms such as “face razor” etc.
Broad match keywords offer the widest traffic exposure. It is the least restrictive match type as it matches with a wider range of products and a larger audience. Your ad may appear when a shopper searches for your keyword, in any order or variations.
For example, the keyword “face cream” will match with search terms such as “face cream”, “cream”, “face creams” etc.
When you utilize a good combination of all match types on your ads, you’ll be able to drive high-quality and relevant traffic to your products and brand. But in order to get optimal performance, you must use a tiered bidding strategy.
With a tiered bidding strategy, what you need to do is to decrease your bid based on match types.
Example:
Why is the exact match bid higher? Exact match keywords are more likely to drive purchases to your account if it is set up properly, as it is the most effective to drive traffic to your ad.
Phrase match follows as it may run into a decrease in purchases due to a lack of relevancy for certain keywords or showing up to non-relevant search pages.
Broad match will have the lowest bidding as, with its keywords, it risks appearing in many search pages not relevant to the product.
