Phrase Match

Phrase match shows your ad for searches that include the meaning of your keyword phrase, in the same word order, plus additional words before or after.

Phrase match sits between broad and exact match in precision. Google merged the old exact-match-like precision of phrase match with some of BMM's flexibility in 2021, so modern phrase match is broader than it used to be — a keyword that felt tightly controlled in 2019 may now match a wider set of queries than expected.

"Running shoes for flat feet" as a phrase match keyword will match "best running shoes for flat feet" and "running shoes for flat feet reviews," but generally not "shoes for flat running feet" (word order changed) or "flat feet running shoes for men" if that reorders the core phrase's meaning.