Broad vs Exact, Phrase Matching

Which is the best strategy?

[KaloVast]

Do you find it is better to bid on phrase and exact match terms, or is it best to bid on broad match terms and then have an extensive list of negative keywords to block out unwanted clicks?

I have personally been using broad, exact and phrase match at the same time but it can get a bit complicated. I am thinking of moving over to broad match and utilizing a big list of negative keywords to weed out the people who are looking for something else.

[netmeg]

I bid on all three match types (at different rates - broad is lowest, phrase in the middle and exact is highest) and I *also* have extensive lists of negative keywords (if called for)

[skibum]

Yea, use all 3. They are vastly different ad units and usually have greatly different values/ROIs associated with them. Keep using the negative matches on whatever is on broad.

You can also use negative exact match. Say you want to bid on "teddy bears" on all 3 match types and try to ensure that teddy bears on broad does not trump [teddy bears] on exact. If you use negative exact match you can ensure that teddy bears on broad will not show on an exact match by putting in

teddy bears
-[teddy bears]

A more practical example might be if you sold penguins hockey merchandise but figured people who type in penguins may be looking for the bird or since they didn't have a modifier like Penguins hats in the query weren't likely to buy you could include

penguins
-[penguins]

so you run on broad match but the ad is not triggered when someone types in just the keyword penguins. It only shows on penguins + a modifier

[onlineleben]

It only shows on penguins + a modifier

skibum,
isn't that the same as using phrase match "penguins" ?