- Definition
- A search term is what a person typed; a keyword is what an advertiser chose to bid on, and the two are often different.
Match types let an ad show on searches related to a keyword, not only its literal text. Google's search terms report shows advertisers the actual searches that triggered their ads.
This is why an ad appearing for a brand search does not prove the advertiser bid on the brand name. Say the ad appeared for the search, not that they bought the keyword.
How Ads Lighthouse observes it
Ads Lighthouse records the search it ran and the ads that appeared for it. It cannot see another advertiser's keywords, match types or bids.
Official sources
Sources checked on .