View your keyword match types in the Type column in the data view. To edit the match type, choose one of the options below.
Select and edit specific keywords
- Select Keywords.
- Select the keywords to edit.
- In the edit panel, select a new Match type in the drop-down menu.
Import keywords with new match types
You can use the Make multiple changes tool or CSV import to edit your keyword match types. Learn how to include match types in your list of keywords.
You can specify keyword match types when you update a list of keywords using a CSV file or any of the tools for adding and removing keywords and negative keywords. The match types include broad, phrase, exact, negative broad, negative phrase, and negative exact.
How to specify keyword matching options
There are two ways to designate matching options for a list of keywords:
Option 1: Include a column with the matching option for each keyword. Here's a sample keyword list that includes an explicit match type for each keyword:
Chocolate gift basket, broad
Chocolate gifts, phrase
Chocolate candy box, exact
Drinking, negative broad
Ice cream, negative phrase
Baking, negative exact
Option 2: Use the Google Ads power posting formats. Here's the same keyword list as above, using power posting instead of the explicit match type:
Chocolate gift basket
"Chocolate gifts" or """Chocolate gifts"""
[Chocolate candy box]
-Drinking
-"Ice cream"
-[Baking]
Tips for specifying matching options
- Default match type: Match type is an optional field. If you don't include a match type, new keywords will default to broad matching (or negative broad matching, in the tools for negative keywords).
- Conflicting match types: If you use a combination of the two methods, and the explicit match type conflicts with the power posting match type, you'll see an error.
- Phrase match: If your phrase matched keyword text includes a comma, tab, or line break, use """triple quotes""" to designate phrase matching.
- Negative keywords: When specifying negative match types, note that [-keyword] and "-keyword" are incorrect formats. The dash (-) must be first.
For more details about these keyword matching options and how keyword match types affect your ad delivery, visit the Google Ads Help Center.