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The Madison Avenue Field GuideA field guide to marketing & advertising, by Brandon Mina

GlossaryBrand & Performance MarketingBroad Match

Brand & Performance Marketing

Broad Match

The loosest keyword match type, letting ads show for searches related to the keyword's meaning, even without its words.

By Brandon MinaCEO, BrandPilot AIUpdated November 2026

Short answer

Broad match is the loosest keyword match type in search advertising, letting ads appear for queries related to a keyword's meaning even when the query does not contain its words. It maximizes reach and query discovery. Paired with smart bidding and negative keywords, it can scale efficiently, but without controls it may waste budget on irrelevant searches.