Broad vs Phrase vs Exact match

newbie

[rfung]

I've just set up a keyword to run in broad, phrase and exact matches.

Do I really want to do that?

[Israel]

A little more info may help. Was it a single word or a phrase?

widgets

red widgets

round red widgets?

Some additional clue would help. Tell us more, but don't give away the farm - besides on WebmasterWorld, everything's a 'widget' as per TOS.

Myself I have no one word keywords (doens't fit my needs, doesn't suit many needs for that matter).

However, I often use all 3 types for the same keyword phrase where appropriate.

Israel

[Huligan]

Personally, I prefer to run phrase match because it's more cost effective. I can stand wasting money and getting clicks isn't a problem so I won't use broad match.

Huligan

[bears5122]

I think it depends on the situation and keywords. If it's very specific, you'll want to focus more on exact and phrase. If it's vague, focus more on broad and phrase.

Be warned though, the broad match has gotten extremely broad. Whether it's a revenue push or bad algo, you'll find some real gems in your logs with your broad match.

[netmeg]

I often run all three - broad match is priced as low as I can get away with, phrase is somewhere in the middle, and exact I will go a little higher than phrase, since it's more likely that THAT is the person I whose attention I want to snag.

[rfung]

Apologies.

I meant to use the broad, phrase and exact matches for the exact same combo of words (2 words or more).

So:
"widgets galore"
widgets galore
[widgets galore]

I've noticed that I'll get higher clicks on the broad matches, and cheaper ones on the exact matches.

I'm just wondering what the implications are for each one if we are running all three?

[BDuns]

The only advantage I can think of when setting the same KW on 3 different match types would be determining which is the most profitable for you. You'll probably see the broad match get the most impressions, and therefore clicks. The exact match will get the least impressions, but possibly the highest CTR and conversion rate. Once you figure out which match type works the best for you, remove the others and focus on the one.

[RhinoFish]

like nutmeg, i stratify my bids. data i've collected on keyword conversions and match type lead me to do so a long time ago.