If you advertise with Google Adwords, you probably think of exact match as the most restrictive match type. It’s the one you use when you want Google to show your ads only when someone enters a search query that exactly matches your keyword, no variations allowed. But that thinking is misguided and it’s time to rethink when and how we use exact match—and all the match types, for that matter.

We tend to view the four Adwords match types as differing primarily in their degree of stringency or exactness, running along a gradient like this (going from most restrictive to least):

Exact match > Phrase match > Modified broad match > Broad match

Changes by Google, though, have altered that, so that restrictiveness isn’t the primary differentiator. In fact, the main thing to remember about exact match is that it’s really no more restrictive than modified broad match or phrase match in terms of its “leakiness,” and word order doesn’t matter. The main distinguisher is that it doesn’t allow the search query to contain additional words. Now, it’s better to think of each match type as having its own unique purpose—beyond restrictiveness—within a keyword list.

Keywords 101 (Pros, skip this paragraph)

If you’re not familiar with the nuances of match types and why they’re critical to a successful SEM campaign, here’s a five-minute explainer. When we create an SEM campaign, we upload our list of keywords (and by keywords here, we mean both individual keywords and keyword phrases) to Google. For each keyword in this list, we indicate a match type.

Your SEM professional may provide you with a keyword list that includes symbols in and around the keywords. These symbols indicate the match type thusly:

The keywords tell Google which searcher-entered queries should trigger our ads to appear. (Or, in the case of negative match, which queries we want to exclude as triggers) Match types tell Google how precisely we want the search query to match our keywords. Or at least that’s been the common understanding.

More similar than different.

Here’s the big fallacy: exact match is very exact. The truth is that all match types allow a wide degree of variation—even exact match. Have a look at the table below.

1. Keyword phrase can include additional words before, between and after the words included in the phrase
2. Keyword order does not matter and can include prepositions, articles and other words that don’t affect meaning.

But the small differences are key

While the match types are very similar, they do have very important differences that make them a powerful part of your SEM arsenal. Here’s some guidance on how to use those small differences to your advantage.

Use broad match type judiciously. It’s high tolerance for synonyms and related searches means that it’s likely to trigger your ads to display at the wrong time. However, it makes sense to use it during the early stages of a campaign when you’re uncertain of what search queries searchers may be entering into Google and you want to cast a wide net.

But optimize your keywords quickly by comparing them with the queries that searchers actually enter. Using this knowledge, you can then create a more precise list of keywords with more stringent match types and add negative keywords to prevent inappropriate search queries from triggering your ads.

Use phrase match in those cases when word order is important. This could include when you want to use industry terminology with a very specific use and meaning. So for instance, the loan-industry keyword “Graduated Payment Mortgage”—I use quotation marks here to indicate the phrase match type—would not to be mistaken for mortgage payment options for recent graduates. And phrase match may also be useful in those odd situations when reordering words changes the meaning, e.g., business health versus health business.

Use exact match when you want to include specific terms and exclude almost all others. When might this happen? Branded terms and product models are the most common reasons I use exact match. As an example, if I use the exact-match keyword [Acme Road Runner Bait Mk5], my ads would not be triggered if someone searched for the outdated Acme Road Runner Bait Mk1 or even for the more general Acme Road Runner Bait.

Use modified broad match when you want to get the best characteristic of exact match and broad match. In other words, when you want Google to adhere to your keywords as much as possible (like exact match does) while still including other non-specific words in any order (like broad match does). So using modified-broad match +Acme +Road +Runner +Bait would likely trigger my ads if someone entered Where to buy Acme Road Runner Bait Mk5 or How to treat coyotes for accidental Acme Road Runner Bait consumption.

Bidder beware

The precise workings of the Google algorithm are a mystery. So when trying to fathom the black art of Adwords, be sure to use sound science. That may include experimenting with match types. For instance, using the same keywords but with different match types to see which one generates more impressions, higher CTRs and, very importantly, lower bid costs.