Amazon’s vast marketplace offers sellers an incredible opportunity to reach customers through its Pay-Per-Click (PPC) advertising system. To optimize your ad campaigns and maximize return on investment, understanding the differences between Broad Match, Phrase Match, and Exact Match targeting is essential. Each match type has unique strengths and limitations that make them suitable for different stages of your advertising strategy.
Understanding Amazon PPC Match Types
Amazon PPC match types determine how closely a customer’s search query must align with your selected keywords for your ad to appear. Selecting the right match type gives you better control over ad visibility, spend, and ultimately, conversions.
- Broad Match
- Phrase Match
- Exact Match
1. Broad Match
Broad Match is the most flexible of the three match types. When a keyword is set to Broad Match, your ad can appear for customer searches that include misspellings, synonyms, related searches, and variations of your keyword, as long as they contain some of the keyword’s components.
Example: If your keyword is running shoes, your ad could appear for: shoes for jogging, buy run shoes, or best sneakers for running.
Advantages of Broad Match:
- Wider reach and higher traffic potential
- Useful for keyword discovery and market research
Challenges:
- Can lead to irrelevant clicks and wasted spend
- Requires strong negative keyword strategies
Broad Match is ideal for the initial discovery phase when you want to cast a wide net and identify vocabulary used by potential customers.
[ai-img]amazon ppc, match types, advertising dashboard[/ai-img]2. Phrase Match
Phrase Match provides a balance between reach and targeting. Your ads will be shown only when the customer’s search query includes your exact keyword phrase in the same order, though there can be words before or after the phrase.
Example: For the keyword running shoes, your ad might show for queries like best running shoes or running shoes for men, but not for shoes for running.
Advantages of Phrase Match:
- More targeted than Broad Match
- Still allows for some variation and discovery
Challenges:
- Can miss valuable but differently worded searches
Phrase Match is best used when you have a clearer understanding of the search behavior of your target audience, and want to focus your ad spend without being overly restrictive.
3. Exact Match
Exact Match offers the highest level of control. Your ad will only be shown when the customer’s search query exactly matches your keyword or is a close variant—such as a misspelling or plural form.
Example: A keyword set to running shoes would trigger your ad for running shoes or running shoe, but not for best running shoes or buy shoes for running.
Advantages of Exact Match:
- Highly targeted traffic with strong buyer intent
- Better control over budget and ad relevance
Challenges:
- Lower impressions and reach
- Limited keyword variation or discovery
Exact Match is most effective during the optimization and scaling phase, when you’ve identified the high-performing keywords and want to focus only on the most profitable terms.
[ai-img]keyword targeting, amazon ads, product search[/ai-img]When to Use Each Match Type
The key to PPC success on Amazon comes not just from choosing one match type, but understanding how and when to use each:
- Start with Broad Match to explore the landscape and gather data on which search terms bring clicks and conversions.
- Shift to Phrase Match as you identify keywords with reliable performance and start focusing on cost-effective targeting.
- Rely on Exact Match to zero in on converting terms, reduce waste, and scale your most successful keywords.
An effective Amazon advertising strategy layers all three match types across campaigns, allowing you to take advantage of discovery while maintaining precision.
Final Thoughts
Mastering Amazon PPC match types is a critical component of running successful ad campaigns. While Broad Match can open the door to new customer segments, Phrase and Exact Match help narrow your focus and increase return on ad spend. The most successful sellers continuously analyze performance data and adapt their keyword strategies, matching the right ad targeting to the right moment in the buyer’s journey.
By understanding the fundamental differences between Broad, Phrase, and Exact Match types, you gain greater control over your ad delivery, reduce wasted spend, and improve your overall advertising efficiency.
