Amazon Ads Sponsored Products Match Types Explained - 2025

Published on April 16, 2025

About this video

Amazon Ads Sponsored Products Match Types Explained - 2025 - In this detailed guide, I break down the three essential match types in Amazon PPC - Exact, Phrase, and Broad - to help you optimize your Amazon advertising strategy. Whether you're launching a new product or looking to improve your existing campaigns, understanding these match types is crucial for your success on Amazon.

## Exact Match: Precision Targeting

Exact match isn't what it used to be, but it remains incredibly useful for targeted advertising. While it primarily targets the exact keyword, it now also includes plurals and slight variations. This expansion means your 20 exact match keywords might actually be targeting 40 different search terms.

Exact match is perfect for: - Product launches when you need to signal to Amazon which keywords best describe your product - Ranking campaigns, especially with single keywords in dedicated campaigns - Re-ranking after stock-outs - Targeting high-value long-tail keywords with higher bids - Targeting low-volume long-tail keywords with lower bids for maximum profitability

## Phrase Match: Flexible Relevance

Phrase match allows your keyword to appear with additional words before or after it. For example, "puppy" in phrase match could trigger ads for "puppy food," "vaccines for puppy," or "my puppy is sick." This flexibility makes phrase match excellent for:

- Research campaigns to discover new keywords - Branded defensive campaigns (like using your brand name to cover all variations) - Precise targeting when using multiple words (like "puppy organic food") - Finding relevant long-tail keywords with high buying intent

Be careful when using single words in phrase match, as they can generate many different search terms.

## Broad Match: Wide Coverage

Broad match casts the widest net but requires careful management. With broad match, word order doesn't matter, and Amazon may show your ads for related terms. For instance, "puppy" could match "little dog" or "baby dog," while "puppy collar" might match "small puppy collar" or "puppy collar for big dogs."

Broad match works well for: - Research campaigns to discover new keyword opportunities - Categories where shoppers browse extensively before purchasing (jewelry, clothing) - Capturing traffic you might miss with more restrictive match types

While broad match can generate single-click waste, it can also be surprisingly profitable since many advertisers avoid it due to its unpredictability.

## Strategic Implementation

The key takeaway is to test all match types for your specific products. Your competitors might be focusing on only one or two match types, creating opportunities for you to capture valuable, low-cost sales with the match type they're neglecting.

Each match type has strengths and weaknesses - use them strategically based on your campaign goals and product category.

## Timestamps: 0:00 - Introduction to Amazon PPC match types 0:20 - Exact match explained and examples 2:25 - Exact match use cases 4:05 - Phrase match explained and examples 5:15 - Phrase match for branded defensive campaigns 6:45 - Broad match explained and examples 8:23 - When to use broad match effectively 9:49 - Testing different match types for your products

#amazonppc #amazonads #amazonadvertising

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Transcript

Hi guys and welcome to another video where I will be covering everything regarding match types on Amazon PPC. So this video will guide you through each and every match type available and every possible use case scenario for every match type available. So let's start with the most obvious one. So it's exact match. Exact match by the way isn't what it used what it used to be in the past but still it's pretty useful. On the left for all the examples you will see keywords and respective match types and which kind of search terms can be generated from these different or same keywords and then on the column D you will see some of the use cases for each of the match types I will be explaining. So stay tuned. Puppy in exact match it can be attributed to the same keyword puppy but please note that it can also be attributed to the plural type of the keyword. So puppy and puppies and that's all good. So puppy color can be puppy color and puppy colors. Treat puppy can be treat puppy but also treat puppy can be treat for puppy which sometimes can create some difficulties. If you don't use single keyword in a in a exact match campaign but maybe 10 of them or maybe even 20 of them that can actually make the situation for you that you're not bidding on 20 keywords but you're bidding on 40 keywords because even the exact match are generating different kind of search terms. So if you add plurals plurals to to that uh and these variations that last year Amazon added like treat puppy can be treat for puppy or treat four puppies then it can also generate some issues for you that you may be spending amounts of dollars on some keywords that you're not willing to pay that much. Exact match typically is used in a product launch as a type of campaign that I would always suggest that you run during the product launch because you want to signal the Amazon algorithm which kind of keywords are describing your product the best. Now that's a whole different topic on how to choose the product launch keywords and I covered that in my previous videos. But also this exact match can be used in ranking campaigns most likely single keyword campaigns. So single campaign, single ad group, single keyword inside in exact match to hit some ranking uh organic ranks that you want to uh aim for. Then also reranking after maybe a stockout. then it's very useful for uh useful for longtail high bit keywords and longtail long long tail low bit uh these two for example um if you want to cover longtail keywords long tails are considered for example this should be this could be a longtail keyword so consisted of four or more three four or more words in a single keyword so puppy collar for big dog if that's highly relevant keyword for you. Then you can bid really high for that keyword. Have maybe five keywords per campaign or even single keyword campaigns and cover your most important keywords with exact match. The other thing that you can do uh let's pick this long. The other thing that you can do is that maybe you want to target them if they're not that of a big volume of of uh these keywords. for example, don't have a big search volume, you can maybe target them with low bit and just hit hit that auction with a low bit and just aim for ultimate profitability on these. Furthermore, let's go to the phrase match. So phrase match uh pay attention that this is only a single word uh as a keyword puppy and in phrase match it can generate multiple different search terms. So it can be puppy food, it can be vaccines for puppy. So the logic behind puppy in a phrase match. Phrase match is giving you everything that you defined with additional words before that or after that or after that. So that's why this can be puppy food or it can be vaccines for puppy. I love my puppy or puppy is wet or my puppy is sick. So it can it can go crazy really especially when used as a as a single word. Now I put that as an example just to be careful. Whenever you put a single word as a keyword in any match type that can be that can be an issue. So I usually tend to do at least two words. Um so you get something meaningful out of that unless it's um some heavy research campaign type in question. Phrase match campaigns can be, as I mentioned, they can be used for research campaigns. They're pretty good as a defensive as a as a branded defensive keywords, sorry, uh, match types because imagine that you're Nike and you just put a Nike in sponsored products and put it in a phrase match that will cover every possible variation of Nike inside that word. So, Nike running shoes, Nike whatever shoes and you will you will cover all of your search terms with one single uh word inside. So it it's good for for defensive because very often I see cases where brands have a lot of their exact match keywords used with a with a brand name thinking that they covered most of their if not all of their possible variation of a keywords including the brand name. But still competitors that's what they do. They dig and dig until they find something that we missed. So using phrase match with the branded uh keyword can really save you a ton of money. Of course you need to do your your part on organizing structuring and bidding but that's another topic about bing which I also covered on our previous calls. Uh so also phrase match is good for precise targeting when used with a multiple words as a keyword. So, for example, if you want to target puppy organic food as a phrase match, then you will only be targeting search terms with puppy organic food plus something as a as a as a keyword. So that that's really high relevant and you can really gather pretty interesting longtail keywords highly relevant with a high buying intent with using phrase matching with several longtail keywords. Now we're coming to the broad which sometimes can be really painful and sometimes it's a it's a gold mine. First let's cover the variations. So puppy color in broad match can be puppy color for big talks. So in broad match in general you don't need to have the exact same keywords used. The point of the keyword can be triggered as a search term. Also the order of the word words doesn't matter at all. So puppy collar can be puppy color for big dogs or or as in this um puppy collar. So it can be small puppy color or puppy can be small puppy collar. Puppy in broad can be little dog. Puppy can be baby dog. Puppy in broad can be puppy food on sale and thousands if not tens of thousands of combinations. So broad match as a single word is a big no no unless you know what you're doing and you have a system to eliminate waste and additional stress on your PPC manager. So these broad campaigns can be useful for research. They can be used for casting a wide net on many different variations of what you're selling and kind of try to to catch everything every possible traffic out there. But again, that should probably be used with a very low bit and maybe small increments like a scent or two over the period of time. I don't know, 2 days, 3 days, 7 days depending on the on the search volume and the amount of clicks that you're gathering. But it's also good for window shoppers categories like um good example is jewelry. Good example is clothing and that sort of subcategories where people can really browse a ton of things. Click hundreds of times before they choose the right right fit for their needs or the the good design that the that's best for them for their t for their taste. So, it's also good for that one because you can never ever with any keyword research tool out there cover everything that's happening in somebody's head like what is it that they search in jewelry or specific sweater or jeans or whatever. Uh so that can be also pretty pretty useful broad match. I want to mention that it can be really really profitable because many advertising managers, many brand owners are scared of it with a reason because they generate huge huge amounts of single click waste. like you have 12 impressions, one click and if it's a $1 or dollar and a half of with a CPC that high so easily you can accumulate a huge amount of ad ads but also on the other hand you gather a lot of different search terms and get really profitable sales for that portion that actually made a sale. So it's really crucial to think through what you're planning to accomplish and then use all of these match types wisely. So each of them has their own strengths and weaknesses. So use them use them carefully. Also I wanted to mention that um it's very important that you test every match type for your product. That's crucial because very often it can happen that majority of your competitors are focusing on two out of these three and there can be really uh a great opportunity for you to land really valuable and low low a cost sales on those. So test it's not that like exact works for everybody or phrase. You really need to test which one is the best for your category your subcategory. So that that's a big takeaway for this. For those of you who are still watching this long video, that's a takeaway. So pay attention and test each one of them. Let me know if you have any further questions in the comments. I'll be glad to answer every single one of them. Stay tuned for more videos. Bye-bye.

Frequently asked questions

Is exact match in Amazon Sponsored Products truly exact, and what variations can it trigger?

Exact match in Sponsored Products is no longer strictly limited to the precise keyword as entered. Amazon has expanded its behavior to include plural forms and close variations. A keyword like "puppy collar" in exact match can now trigger on "puppy collars," and "treat puppy" can also match "treat for puppy" or "treat for puppies." The practical consequence is that a campaign containing 20 exact match keywords may actually be bidding on 40 or more distinct search terms once plurals and Amazon's close variations are factored in. This is worth checking in the search terms report regularly, since some of those expanded variations may be generating spend on terms you did not intend to pay for at the bid level you set.

When is phrase match the right choice, and what is its best use case for brand protection?

Phrase match is most useful in two situations: research campaigns where you want to capture long-tail variations of a core keyword while maintaining relevance, and defensive branded campaigns where you want to cover every possible search containing your brand name with a single keyword entry. For brand defense, entering just the brand name as a phrase match keyword means every search query that includes that brand name, in any position and with any additional words, will be eligible to trigger your ad. This is more efficient and more complete than building out a long list of exact match brand keyword variations, since competitors routinely find gaps in branded exact match keyword lists that phrase match would automatically cover.

Why is using a single word as a keyword in any match type risky?

A single-word keyword in phrase or broad match can trigger an enormous and largely uncontrollable range of search queries. The word "puppy" in phrase match can match "puppy food," "vaccines for puppy," "my puppy is sick," and thousands of other queries, the vast majority of which are irrelevant to a product like a puppy collar or dog treat. In broad match, a single word can extend even further to synonyms and loosely related terms. The resulting search term report becomes difficult to manage, and spend accumulates quickly across hundreds of low-volume irrelevant queries before any meaningful optimization can occur. Using a minimum of two words per keyword in most match types gives the campaign enough context to stay relevant and keeps the search term report manageable.

What is the hidden opportunity in broad match that most sellers overlook?

Because broad match is widely perceived as unpredictable and difficult to manage, many sellers and ad managers either avoid it entirely or use it only minimally. This creates a situation where broad match auction competition is lower than in exact or phrase match auctions for the same underlying search volume. A well-managed broad match campaign with consistent negative keyword hygiene can capture profitable long-tail search terms at a lower CPC than you would pay for the same terms in an exact match campaign, precisely because fewer advertisers are competing there. The key qualifier is that the campaign needs active management: pulling the search terms report frequently, negating irrelevant queries systematically, and bidding conservatively until the valuable terms reveal themselves.

Should every seller use all three match types, or is it acceptable to focus on just one?

Testing all three match types is genuinely important, not as a theoretical exercise but because the best-performing match type varies meaningfully by product category, subcategory, and competitive landscape. In some categories, exact match dominates and broad contributes little beyond wasted spend. In others, broad or phrase match consistently uncovers high-intent long-tail terms that exact match campaigns never surface. If your competitors are concentrating exclusively on exact match, there may be significant untapped traffic in phrase and broad auctions where competition is lower and CPCs are more favorable. The only way to find this out is to run separate campaigns for each match type and compare their performance over enough clicks to draw a conclusion, rather than assuming the answer in advance.