Broad Match vs Phrase Match vs Exact Match: What's the Difference?

Broad match is the widest setting - a keyword like buy shoes can trigger a large range of searches that Google judges to be related, based on inferred intent rather than the literal words typed. It reaches the most people, but without a strong negative keyword list and, increasingly, automated bidding to steer it, it can also spend budget on searches that only loosely relate to the offer.

Phrase match, written as "buy shoes", requires that the search include the meaning of that phrase in a similar order or context. It's tighter than broad match but still allows Google to match on intent around the phrase, not just the exact words.

Exact match, written as [buy shoes], is the closest match to the literal keyword's meaning - the tightest control and the smallest reach of the three. The real tradeoff across all three is reach versus control: broad match scales fastest but needs active management to avoid waste, while exact match limits volume in exchange for precision. It's also worth knowing that Google's matching has become more intent-based across all three types over the years, so even phrase and exact match today are not a literal string match the way they once were - match type now controls how loose the targeting is, not whether Google matches word-for-word.