In Amazon PPC, the manual keyword targeting options allow the seller/advertiser to select which keyword to bid on (Read our guide on Automatic vs Manual Amazon Campaigns). This gives the advertiser tight control over what they want to spend their dollars on. The final step after choosing the keywords would be to decide on the match type used for these keywords. There are 3 Amazon PPC match types and using all three correctly will allow you to achieve a high ad rank.
The match type you select will allow you to tell the platform how “tightly” to bid on a keyword/ad combination to match a customer search query. The 3 main match types are Broad, Phrase, and Exact. There is also a secret 4th match type – Broad Modifiers. We will discuss all 4 types in detail below.
There are also pros and cons to each match type. By knowing these pros and cons, you can align the use of these match types to your campaign objectives.
Amazon Keyword vs Search Term Explained
Amazon Broad Match
The broad match type allows your keyword/ad combination to have broad exposure. If the customer search term query is related to the keyword, the ad will be eligible for an impression. For example, if your keyword is “modern decors,” a potential broad match could be “new home decoration” or “new age decors.” As you can see, the match can potentially be really loose, so that is definitely something to keep in mind.
Losing attribution between keyword and customer search term (one to many relationships between keywords and search term)
Amazon Phrase Match
With phrase match type, the keywords that the seller is bidding for must be within the customer search query in exact order. It is much tighter and restrictive than broad. The tighter control means more relevant placements for your ads, ensuring stronger keyword relevancy.
For example, if your keyword is “modern home furniture.” Match phrases can be:
“modern home furniture for sale,”
“discounted modern home furniture,”
“buy modern home furniture,” and the like.
Phrase match is also a good way to “learn the data,” as it allows for placement on customer search queries with only slight variation. Gathering a slight variation of your keyword that resulted in an order will give you a good and efficient way to scale out your campaigns.
Pros
Allow tighter control over placement, it prevents “leaky spending”
Discovery of customer search terms of high relevance
Cons
Much lower impressions possibility than broad
CPC higher relative to broad
Loose attribution between keyword and customer search term (one to many relationships between keywords and search term)
Amazon Exact Match
The exact match type allows for the tightest control in your keyword bidding. In this match type, the search term must match the keyword phrase exactly. Exactly meaning in the same order for the keyword/ad combination for the ad to show. The exact match is the most restrictive of the 3 types but can be much more relevant to the search. The exact match type allows for the plural form of a keyword.
Pros
Very tight control, all spending on the keyword is direct
100% attributions between keywords and customer search (all clicks are attributed to that single search term)
ROI can be really high if keyword and product match exactly what the customer is looking for
Cons
Affords no discovery of additional search terms
CPC higher relatively than the phrase match type
Could get into a PPC keyword bidding war with a competitor
Below is a breakdown of the 3 Match Types:
Amazon Broad+ (Broad Match Modifiers)
Broad match modifiers are the 4th “secret” match type. Well, it’s not really a secret, but it is not mentioned regularly. It is an excellent match type to use in your Amazon PPC campaign potentially.
By adding the symbol “+” in front of a broad match keyword, you can get the benefit of both exact and broad match. Let me explain. For example, you use the keyword “+men shoes” with a broad match. In this case, the ad will only match to searches that contain the word “men”. But the 2nd-word “shoes” is run against the broad match type logic. So the broad modifier keywords “+men shoes” can be matched to the customer search term such as “men sneakers” or ” running shoes for men.” These customer search terms with the word “men” in them thus satisfy the broad modifier criteria.
Which Amazon Ads support Keyword Match Type Selection?
Proper account structure and effective keyword targeting are crucial to Amazon PPC success. First, note that there are two types of Amazon ads that allow for keyword targeting: Amazon Sponsored Products and Amazon Sponsored Brands ads.
Within these campaigns you can either choose manual or automatic campaigns. While with automatic campaigns you put Amazon’s algorithm in the driver’s seat and do not have the option to self-select target keywords, manual campaigns give you full control: You can pick your own target keywords, set your own bids and define the match type for each keyword!
So, manual campaigns are the way to go to balance results and control.
When to use which Amazon Keyword Match Type?
There is a great analogy when thinking about different keyword match types: think of them as different ways to catch fish:
Exact Match Keywords – Spearfishing: This type is the equivalent to spearfishing. You define a very specific keyword that you target. While there is a little bit of wiggle room with regard to singular and plural etc, your ads will generally only serve when an Amazon shopper searches for the exact term that you target. While this can be great in terms of efficiency, it also limits your reach. You will generally get less impressions than with other keyword match types (so meaning your ads are shown less often). So exact match is great when you know exactly which keywords convert and want to make sure your ads show in top positions for these keywords.
Phrase Match – Net Fishing: Phrase match keywords will generally provide you with a better balance between broader coverage paired with a high degree of relevance. While this means that you catch more fish, efficiency is also going to be a bit lower (as compared to exact match keywords). So you will likely catch some unwanted bycatch. In other words: pay for unwanted clicks that were not a perfect match for your Amazon Listings. Phrase match is great when you have identified a converting “keyword cloud”, but it is too difficult to narrow things down to specific keywords.
Broad Match – Dynamite Fishing: With broad match, the breaks are coming off. Your ads will show for a much broader range of search queries. Just as with dynamite fishing, this means that, assuming that your budget is sufficient, you will also catch the fish you want, but the collateral damage (aka. wasted ad budget due to unwanted clicks) may be a substantial share of your total ad spend. In general, broad match can help identify converting searches that are later added to phrase match, or exact match keyword campaigns with higher bids. Also, we strongly recommend adding negative keywords to broad match campaigns (more about Amazon negative keywords)!
After reading this section, you probably get some idea about the pros and cons of different Amazon keyword match types. Let’s move on and deep-dive in which scenarios you may want to use which match type.
How to best use Broad Match Keywords
Broad match types are best used during the early product launch phase. At the beginning of your product launch cycle, you want to accumulate as much data as possible. You want to see what customer search queries are converting to order and their corresponding conversion metrics. With a broad match type, you can get lots of impressions quickly as there are many more potential ad placement inventories than phrase and exact match types.
When your Amazon PPC campaign is more mature, the broad match types can be switched off. By switching off the broad match types, your budget can be funneled to the more relevant keywords, resulting in higher ROI and lower ACoS. When your campaign is matured, you will have a good number of relevant exact and phrase match type keywords that are known to convert for your product.
How to best use Phrase Match Keywords
Phrase match types should be used at all times, even if your Amazon campaign is matured. The phrase match type allows for consistent, relevant customer search term discovery, as harvesting new keyword is also part of the optimization process. If your objective to phrase match is new keyword discovery, keep the bid relatively lower than your exact matches.
How to best use Exact Match Keywords
Exact match types allow you to really zero in on those key revenue-driving keywords. When you discover a customer search term driving many conversions and with an acceptable ACoS, use the exact match type on that keyword with a corresponding competitive bid. Using this match type is the end goal, and the focus on a particular keyword with enough budget will allow you to really scale your Amazon business using Amazon PPC.
Advanced Strategies for Using Keyword Match Types Together
To get the most out of your Amazon PPC campaigns, you need to strategically combine different match types (Broad, Phrase, Exact) to optimize visibility and control. Depending on how well established your brand is (and how much ad budget you have available), you want to either opt for a more conservative approach to prioritizes efficiency (but limits visibility), or invest a bit more in building out your customer funnel by targeting a bit broader.
This section covers how to effectively balance precise targeting with reaching more potential buyers.
1. Keyword Isolation Strategy
The keyword isolation strategy involves using broad match keywords for discovery and gradually narrowing them down to phrase and exact match keywords for higher precision and better conversion rates. This strategy is helpful if you are starting out as a new Seller, or if you are an established Seller and constantly want to identify new high-potential search queries.
How It Works:
Start with Broad Match: Use broad match keywords to cast a wide net and discover new search terms and shopper intent. However, do add negative keywords to prevent complete budget wastage.
Analyze Search Term Reports: Review search term reports to identify high-converting terms.
Move converting keywords to Phrase and Exact Match Campaigns: Transfer high-performing search terms to phrase and exact match campaigns to target traffic more precisely.
Use Negative Keywords: Apply negative keywords in broad match campaigns to exclude unwanted traffic and prevent overlap with manual campaigns.
This strategy enables advertisers to build a list of top-performing exact match keywords while minimizing irrelevant traffic and wasted ad spend.
2. Using Bid Tiering paired with Match Type Segmentation
Segmenting your campaigns by match type helps streamline analysis and bid management, giving you a clearer picture of each match type’s performance. This approach generally works well for Sellers looking to allocate some budget to all stages of the marketing funnel (while allowing you to control the weighting via your ad budget allocation).
How to Implement:
Create Separate Ad Groups or Campaigns: Segment by match type (e.g., Broad, Phrase, Exact) to track performance individually.
Bid Differentiation: Allocate bids according to match type. Start with lower bids for broad match keywords and increase for phrase and exact match based on performance.
Adjust Budgets Accordingly: Allocate more budget to the match type generating the best ROI.
This approach provides more granular control over ad spending, allowing for better optimization decisions based on concrete data.
3. Combining Automatic and Manual Campaigns
Automatic and manual campaigns complement each other and can be used together to maximize keyword discovery and refine targeting. But please be cautious: with this approach you sacrifice control and we only recommend this for Sellers looking for aggressive growth (at a much lower efficiency). The more conservative version of this approach is strategy 1: Keyword Isolation Strategy.
How to Leverage This Strategy:
Set Up an Automatic Campaign: Start with an automatic campaign to explore a broad range of search terms.
Analyze Search Term Reports: Identify high-converting and relevant search terms from the automatic campaign.
Create Manual Campaigns with Match Types: Use the identified search terms to set up manual campaigns with exact and phrase match keywords for tighter control.
Apply Negative Keywords in Automatic Campaigns: Prevent the automatic campaign from targeting already-optimized keywords in your manual campaigns by adding negative keywords.
Combining these campaign types ensures comprehensive keyword coverage while maintaining control over your budget and targeting.
Common Match Type Mistakes and How to Avoid Them
Running Amazon PPC campaigns is all about fine-tuning detailed settings to achieve optimum performance. Even small errors can derail your campaigns and result in cost efficiency or foregone sales. In this section will highlight some of the most common mistakes Amazon Sellers make when using different keyword match types, as well as how to avoid them.
1. Mistake: Over-Relying on Broad Match Keywords
This is a basic mistake, but we see it over and over again. Broad match keywords can quickly drain your budget by showing your ads to a wide range of irrelevant search terms. Many advertisers make the mistake of using broad match exclusively or too frequently, resulting in poor conversion rates and wasted ad spend. Sometimes performance may still seem fine (more about Amazon ACoS) – but in fact you are likely missing out on much better results!
How to Avoid It:
Use broad match keywords for discovery purposes only.
Regularly review search term reports and add negative keywords to your broad match campaigns to filter out irrelevant traffic (All you need to know about the Amazon Search Term Report).
Once high-converting search terms are identified, move them to phrase or exact match campaigns to refine targeting and optimize bids (and add them as negative keywords to your broad match campaign).
2. Mistake: Not Segmenting Campaigns by Match Type
Many Sellers group all match types (broad, phrase, and exact) within the same ad group or campaign. This makes it much harder to analyze campaign performance and can also complicate bid management .
How to Avoid It:
Create separate campaigns or ad groups for each match type.
Track performance by match type to allocate budget and bids based on data insights.
3. Mistake: Failing to Move High-Converting Keywords to more Granular Exact or Phrase Match Campaigns
Automatic campaigns and broad match campaigns can be great for discovering new keywords, but many advertisers forget to transfer high-converting search terms into manual campaigns for better control.
How to Avoid It:
Regularly review search term reports of broad match and automatic campaigns.
Transfer high-converting search terms into manual campaigns with appropriate match types (exact or phrase match).
Use negative keywords in automatic and broad match campaigns to prevent overlapping traffic with manual campaigns.
4. Mistake: Setting Incorrect Bids Across Different Match Types
Another common issue is setting the same bid amounts for all match types, leading to inefficient budget utilization. Broad match should generally have lower bids compared to phrase or exact matches due to its wider reach. This is also referred to as bid tiering and generally your exact match keyword bid should be the highest bid you can afford, while your broad match bids (for the same keywords), are the lowest.
How to Avoid It:
Adjust bids based on the match type’s expected performance: Exact match leads the pack, followed by phrase match and broad match bids are the lowest.
Continuously monitor and optimize bids based on ACOS (Advertising Cost of Sales) and conversion rates.
5. Mistake: Lack of Regular Campaign Optimization
Do not “set and forget” your campaigns. While for exact match types of keywords may require less regular monitoring, phrase and especially broad match campaigns should be reviewed frequently (search term report) to weed out inefficient clicks. You should also review your bids regularly (did you know that we have developed a proprietary Amazon PPC Software that automatically optimizes bids 24/7?). Bidding too high results in wasted budget, while bidding too low may mean that you miss out on sales. Pro tip: also try to avoid running out of ad budget, especially during hours when shoppers are most likely going to convert!
How to Avoid It:
Perform weekly or bi-weekly reviews of your campaigns (especially phrase and broad match).
Add new negative keywords and regularly adjust bids at keyword level.
How you can leverage SellerMetrics with different match types?
If you are using broad and phrase match types, there is an opportunity for you to harvest new relevant customer search terms. This process is part of the ongoing Amazon PPC optimization process that will grow your sales.
In the above “Add New Search Term” rule example, from the source campaign A, our software will automatically add a search term that triggers both criteria of “2 orders” and “max ACoS of 45%”. The search term is added to the destination campaign B and in the ad group “Exact” as an exact match keyword.
What makes our Search Term rules function great is that you can add the search term into multiple campaigns and ad groups combinations. This function can add Search Term and ASIN between different Amazon ads product types, for example we can move new converted ASIN from a Sponsored Product auto campaign into Sponsored Display product targeting campaign.
Conclusion
I hope the above gives you clarity on the Amazon PPC match types. It is important to understand what they are and how to use the different match types to succeed in your Amazon PPC. Lastly, always look at the data, attribute your results by match type and see how they perform over time, so you can make bid adjustments when necessary. For more related readings check out our blog posts on Amazon PPC Campaign Strategy, Amazon PPC Campaign Structure and Amazon PPC Negative Keywords Selection. Also learn more about our Amazon PPC Services.
If you have questions or insights to share, please feel free to post them via the comments section. Please also consider joining our Facebook Group where we discuss any questions you may have about running an Amazon business.
We are SellerMetrics, our Amazon PPC tool helps Amazon sellers, brands, KDP Authors and agencies navigate Amazon Advertising PPC via bid automation, manual bid changes, and analytics.
FAQ on Amazon PPC Keyword Match Types
What are the different types of Amazon keyword match types?
Amazon PPC uses three main match types: Broad, Phrase, and Exact. Broad match offers the most extensive reach by targeting variations and related keywords, while exact match is highly specific and delivers the most control but limited reach. Phrase match sits in between, targeting phrases that include the keyword in the exact order.
What are the negative match types on Amazon?
Negative match types include:
Negative Phrase: Excludes ads from queries containing the entire phrase or its variations. Negative Exact: Excludes ads from queries matching the exact keyword phrase or its close variants.
How do I change match types on Amazon?
You cannot modify the match type of a keyword once a campaign is created. However, you can add new keywords with different match types or pause existing ones.
What is the exact match type?
Exact match triggers ads for queries that are exactly the same or very close variations of the keyword, offering high control over who sees the ad.
What are the match types in automatic campaigns?
Amazon automatic campaigns utilize four targeting match types: Close Match, Loose Match, Complements, and Substitutes, each focusing on different shopper intents.
What is the difference between Broad Match and Phrase Match?
As the name indicates, broad match keywords will target a “word cloud” based on a keyword you have selected. Including variation, partial matches and similar keywords. Phrase match requires a search term to include the keyword you have selected. Exact match is most precise and only targets the keyword you have intended (plus some exceptions including singular and plural forms. This means that a phrase match keyword will match all the searches as the same keyword in an exact match. Similarly, a broad match keyword will match all the searches of equivalent phrase and exact match keywords, plus additional related searches.
Should I use exact match or phrase match?
Choose exact match for precise targeting and higher control over ad delivery. Use phrase match if you want a broader reach while still maintaining some control over the keyword phrase order.
When should I avoid using Broad Match Keywords?
Avoid broad match if your budget is limited or if you want to minimize the risk of irrelevant clicks, as it can lead to higher costs due to its expansive reach.
When should I use Phrase Match?
It depends on factors such as expected conversion rate, CPCs and your budget Exact match gives you the most control over who views your ad, but reaches fewer searches than both phrase and broad match. Use phrase match if you want to ensure that ads appear for searches that include your target keyword phrase but still want to reach variations of that phrase.
