---
title: "What is Match type in Google Ads? | Kodalogic"
description: "Match type is the setting on a Google Ads keyword that controls how closely a search has to match it for the ad to enter the auction."
url: https://kodalogic.com/glossary/match-type
---

[Glossary](/glossary)/Match type

Google Ads · Dimension

# What is Match type?

Match type is the setting on a Google Ads keyword that controls how closely a search has to match it for the ad to enter the auction: broad match allows related searches, phrase match requires the meaning of the phrase, and exact match requires the same meaning as the keyword.

Clicks · 100%Broad46%

* Broad46%
* Phrase33%
* Exact21%

Broad, phrase or exact: how loosely a keyword is allowed to match.

Data source

Google Ads

Type

Dimension

API field

[ad\_group\_criterion.keyword.match\_type](/reference/google-ads-fields)

## Why it matters

It is the dial between reach and control. Broad finds searches you never thought of and spends on some you would not want; exact spends only where you decided, and misses the rest.

## How to read it

Read the split by cost and by conversions, not by keyword count: a handful of broad keywords can take most of the budget. The search terms report shows what broad and phrase actually matched, which is where negative keywords come from.

## In a Data Studio report

In a Data Studio (formerly [Looker Studio](/glossary/looker-studio)) report match type is the keyword analysis page: scorecards per match type, two donuts of how cost and conversions distribute across phrase, exact and broad, a stacked chart of clicks by match type over time, and a keyword table filterable by match type.

## Where to find it in Google Ads

Google Ads: Keywords, then Search keywords, with the Match type column; the search terms report under Keywords, then Search terms.

Shown in these dashboards

* [![Google Ads Dashboard for Data Studio dashboard](https://kodalogic.com/cdn/templates_images/0206_4CRM5X5QLJ7SUGUB0IV0CK7NBOSAL8U5_0000.png)](/template/google-ads-template-for-looker-studio)  
[Google Ads Dashboard for Data Studio](/template/google-ads-template-for-looker-studio)$129
* [![GA4 + Google Ads Dashboard for Data Studio dashboard](https://kodalogic.com/cdn/templates_images/0531_BAM0ZAK8YRLTQ9O5W39RPBLKDSW1GBON_0000.png)](/template/ga4--google-ads-dashboard)  
[GA4 + Google Ads Dashboard for Data Studio](/template/ga4--google-ads-dashboard)$214
* [![All-in-One Marketing Dashboard for Data Studio dashboard](https://kodalogic.com/cdn/templates_images/0235_VE78OLDV9VA3KZRHCCPIEFB0MQ7ZW8Y7_0000.webp)](/template/all-in-one-dashboard-looker-studio-web-seo-ads)  
[All-in-One Marketing Dashboard for Data Studio](/template/all-in-one-dashboard-looker-studio-web-seo-ads)$289
[See the dashboards](/templates)

![Match type on the Keyword analysis page of the Google Ads Dashboard for Data Studio](/informes/2026-09-02/google-ads-template-for-looker-studio/05.webp)

Page 5, Keyword analysis, of the [Google Ads Dashboard for Data Studio](/template/google-ads-template-for-looker-studio).[Open the live demo](https://lookerstudio.google.com/embed/reporting/76b52c27-e7dc-4117-b545-cc8c9ecdd919/page/p%5Fdman9v5nkd) to see it with real data.

## See it in a report

[Google Ads dashboard](/template/google-ads-template-for-looker-studio)[PPC report template](/report-templates/ppc-report)

## Related terms

* [Looker Studio](/glossary/looker-studio)
* [ROAS](/glossary/roas)
* [PPC dashboard](/glossary/ppc-dashboard)
* [Outranking share](/glossary/outranking-share)
* [Campaign name](/glossary/campaign-name)
* [Conversion rate](/glossary/conversion-rate)

[← Average CPC](/glossary/average-cpc)[All 49 terms](/glossary)[Search type →](/glossary/search-type)