Exact Match

Exact match is a technique of using a specific keyword, exactly as it has been defined and identified, within the content of a web page or advertisement.

In the context of online advertising campaigns, such as those of Google Ads, exact match is a type of keyword targeting option that involves showing ads only when the user’s search query exactly matches the keyword specified by the advertiser, with no additional words before, after, or in between.

In the SEO context, however, the use of exact-match keywords in the text-without any editing, keeping the same sequence of words and the same form, even if ungrammatical or overtly incorrect-has been a widely used technique for years to signal to search engines the relevance of a page for those specific search queries. Modern search engines, such as Google, have become much more sophisticated in interpreting natural language and do not rely solely on exact keyword matching to determine content relevance, but also consider context, content quality, semantics, and user intent.

Even in ADS Google has slightly loosened the definition of “exact match” over the years to include very narrow variations of the target keyword, such as misspellings, singular/plural, abbreviations, accents, and other small variations that do not change the user’s search intention. This change was made to help advertisers reach more users who have similar intentions while maintaining a high level of relevance.

Using exact match allows advertisers to have more precise control over the search queries for which their ads are displayed, which can lead to a higher click-through rate (CTR) and more qualified conversions, but it can also limit traffic volume if keywords are not well chosen or if they are too restrictive.