Keyword Matching

In the Internet marketing industry, advertisers pay to have their ads displayed to a select audience. One of the ways Google AdWords and other online advertisers do this is with Keyword matching. Keyword matching is the process of matching ads by keywords that computer users type into search engines.

Let's look at an example of keyword matching. If a person types in: "Disneyland " to the Google search box, the search results page will display several relevant ads along with the search results (the ads are called "sponsored links"). So, on the search results page, which includes encyclopedia entries, Disneyland news results, and the official Disneyland website, you will also see banner ads and sidebar ads that tell you about current advertised offers to buy Disneyland tickets, Disneyland vacation packages, or ads for staying in nearby Anaheim hotel ads.

Keyword matching can be done in one of 4 ways: Broad match, Exact match, Phrase match, or Negative keyword.