Broad
The least “advanced” of the 3 types that also applies to variations of your chosen keywords. If you choose, for example, the keywords:
download music videos
Your ad will also show for:
music download videos
video music download
download music videos
In some cases, this may not be a problem, but in others, when rearranged, it can mean something completely different than what a person is looking for, and therefore no longer a target.
Prayer
More specific, as it points to the exact phrase, in the sense that if you choose
“wii games online”
Since it was in the business of selling console games online, it would also trigger:
buy wii games online
order wii games online
buy wii games online
However, you run the risk of targeting unwanted terms like
free wii games online
download wii games online
In this case, you would use the negative keywords feature and mark “free” and “download” so you don’t appear with these terms.
Exact
The most specific match where you set the exact keywords to trigger your ad. These tend to be more longtail and will generally have a better return on investment. So, going back to the first example, if you think:
[download music videos]
So only when that phrase is entered will your ad appear.
In general, I always recommend starting with “exact” with various keyword combinations, particularly high-volume keywords. In some cases like “buy Manchester football boots” you could probably easily start with the phrase match due to its lower volume and the fact that it includes the word “buy” but always be sure to monitor the traffic you get your phrase matches to search for any words you need to add as negative keywords. Once you have most of your keywords covered by exact and phrase, use broad to cover lower volume variations.
The key though is to continually check your logs and use them to develop other keyword phrases as well as a negative keyword list.
