When you add a keyword to a manual Amazon campaign, you also pick a match type. The match type tells Amazon how loosely or strictly to interpret that keyword against the words shoppers actually type. Broad casts the widest net, exact the narrowest, and phrase sits in between. Flipkart Ads uses a similar idea for keyword-targeted PLA campaigns, but the definitions below are Amazon's, from its Sponsored Products targeting guide.
How match types work
Broad match. The search can contain the keyword's words in any order and may include singulars, plurals, variations, synonyms and related terms. Amazon's example: the keyword "sneakers" can match "canvas sneakers", "basketball shoes" and "trainers". Broad match also powers "broad match modifier" style expansion, so expect surprises in the search term report.
Phrase match. The search must contain all the keyword's words in the same order, with other words allowed before or after. "Cotton sheet set" matches "cotton sheet set blue" and "king cotton sheet set" but not "cotton king sheet set".
Exact match. The search must match the keyword word for word, in the same order; Amazon allows close variants such as plurals. "Cotton sheet set" matches "cotton sheet set" and "cotton sheet sets" only.
Worked example with a ₹10 bid on "steel water bottle": in broad match it might show for "insulated flask 1 litre" (related term), in phrase for "best steel water bottle for office", and in exact only for "steel water bottle" or "steel water bottles". Over a month the broad keyword may earn 2,000 clicks at 35% ACoS, phrase 600 clicks at 22%, exact 250 clicks at 14%. The exact keyword is the most efficient but the smallest; broad finds the queries you did not think of.
Why match types matter for sellers
Match type controls the trade-off between reach and relevance, and therefore CPC and ACoS. Broad brings volume and discovery but pays for irrelevant clicks unless negatives are maintained. Exact pays only for proven queries but never discovers new ones. Sellers who use one match type for everything either overspend (all broad) or stall (all exact). Amazon also lets you bid differently per match type, which is the whole point: the same keyword can carry a ₹6 broad bid and a ₹14 exact bid.
How to manage match types
- Run the same keyword in all three match types, in separate ad groups or campaigns, with bids rising from broad to exact.
- Harvest from the search term report. Queries that convert under broad or phrase get added as exact keywords with a higher bid.
- Add the exact keyword as a negative exact in the broad campaign so the two do not bid against each other for the same query.
- Use phrase match for modifiers such as "for kids" or "1 litre" where word order carries meaning.
- Review broad match monthly; if its ACoS is far above the campaign average and negatives are not fixing it, lower the bid rather than pause it.
Blooprint structures every Amazon account this way under marketplace ads management; the Amazon ads guide for India shows the campaign layout.