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Ads Lighthouse

Glossary

Keyword match types

A plain definition, the context behind it, what Ads Lighthouse can and cannot observe, and the official sources.

Definition
Keyword match types control how closely a search must relate to a keyword for an ad to be eligible: broad, phrase or exact.

Broad match can reach searches related to the keyword's meaning, phrase match searches that include its meaning, and exact match searches with the same meaning or intent. Google and Microsoft Advertising both document their current rules.

Because match types reach beyond the literal keyword, advertisers can appear on brand searches without having chosen the brand name as a keyword.

How Ads Lighthouse observes it

Ads Lighthouse observes results for the searches you monitor. It does not know which match type or keyword triggered another advertiser's ad.

Official sources

Sources checked on .

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