Broad Match vs Exact Match vs Search Match in Apple Search Ads

Apple Search Ads offers three match types: exact match, broad match, and Search Match. Each controls how closely a user's search query must align with your targeted keywords.

Using the wrong match type for a given campaign objective either restricts reach unnecessarily or wastes budget on irrelevant traffic.

Here's how to use each match type strategically.

The Three Match Types: Overview

Exact Match

How it works: Your ad shows for the specific keyword you target and close variants, including:

• Spelling variations
• Plural/singular forms
• Translations
• Word rearrangements

Notation: Wrap keywords in brackets: [budget tracker]

Example: If you target [budget tracker], your ad may show for:

• budget tracker
• budget trackers
• tracker budget
• budgettracker (common misspelling)

Your ad will not show for:

• expense tracker (related but different)
• best budget tracker (contains modifier)
• budget tracking app (different term)

Broad Match

How it works: Your ad shows for the keyword and relevant variants, including:

• All exact match coverage
• Related terms
• Broader or narrower variations
• Searches that include your keyword plus other terms

Notation: No special syntax needed (default)

Example: If you target budget tracker, your ad may show for:

• budget tracker
• best budget tracker
• budget tracker app
• expense tracker (related)
• personal finance tracker (broader category)
• budget tracking software (variant)

Your ad typically will not show for completely unrelated searches, though Apple's algorithm determines relevance dynamically.

Search Match

How it works: Apple automatically matches your ad to relevant searches based on your app's:

• Metadata (title, subtitle, keywords)
• Category
• User behavior signals

Notation: No keywords required—it's a toggle you enable at the ad group level

Example: For a budget tracking app, Search Match might show your ad for:

• budget app
• spending tracker
• expense manager
• money management app
• personal finance
• [competitor app names]

Search Match determines relevance algorithmically. You don't control which searches trigger your ad, but you can exclude terms via negative keywords.

When to Use Each Match Type

Exact Match: For Control and Efficiency

Best for:

• Brand campaigns: Protect your brand terms with precision
• High-performing keywords: Maximize ROAS on proven terms
• Competitive keywords: Control spend on expensive competitor terms
• Category keywords: Target specific, high-intent searches

Advantages:

• Tightest control over when your ad appears
• Higher tap-through rates (TTR) and conversion rates (CVR)
• Easier to attribute performance to specific keywords
• Lower wasted spend on irrelevant searches

Disadvantages:

• Limits reach—you miss related searches
• Requires comprehensive keyword research to avoid gaps
• More manual management

Recommended bid strategy: Aggressive on proven performers, moderate on tests

Typical performance (2025 benchmarks):

• TTR: 12-18%
• CVR: 65-75%
• CPA: Lowest among match types

Broad Match: For Discovery and Scale

Best for:

• Discovery campaigns: Find new keyword variations
• Low-volume keywords: Expand reach on niche terms
• Scaling proven keywords: Capture adjacent searches
• Testing new categories: Explore related themes

Advantages:

• Covers a wider pool of search terms
• Discovers keywords you wouldn't manually target
• Useful for expanding reach beyond exact match limits
• Less manual keyword management required

Disadvantages:

• Higher wasted spend on loosely related searches
• Lower TTR and CVR than exact match
• Harder to attribute performance to specific terms
• Requires aggressive negative keyword management

Recommended bid strategy: Conservative (30-50% lower than exact match)

Typical performance (2025 benchmarks):

• TTR: 8-12%
• CVR: 55-65%
• CPA: 15-25% higher than exact match

Search Match: For Automated Discovery

Best for:

• New campaigns: When you don't have keyword performance data yet
• Keyword discovery: Surfacing search terms you wouldn't think of
• Long-tail coverage: Capturing niche searches automatically
• Low-maintenance campaigns: Apps without dedicated UA resources

Advantages:

• Zero keyword research required
• Discovers unexpected high-performers
• Automatically adapts to search trends
• Minimal setup and management

Disadvantages:

• Least control over when your ad appears
• Often triggers for irrelevant or low-intent searches
• Typically the highest CPA of all match types
• Requires constant negative keyword refinement

Recommended bid strategy: Very conservative (50-70% lower than exact match)

Typical performance (2025 benchmarks):

• TTR: 6-10%
• CVR: 50-60%
• CPA: 20-40% higher than exact match

The Tiered Match Type Strategy

The most effective ASA campaigns use all three match types in a structured progression.

Tier 1: Exact Match (Brand & Core)

Campaigns:

• Brand defense
• Top 20 performing keywords
• Competitor terms

Match type: Exact match only Bidding: Aggressive Budget allocation: 50-60% of total

Purpose: Maximize efficiency on proven, high-intent searches

Tier 2: Broad Match (Expansion)

Campaigns:

• Category keywords (tested, but not top performers)
• Medium-volume terms
• Thematic keyword groups

Match type: Broad match Bidding: Moderate Budget allocation: 20-30% of total

Purpose: Expand reach on relevant searches while maintaining reasonable CPA

Tier 3: Search Match (Discovery)

Campaigns:

• Discovery campaign (dedicated ad group)

Match type: Search Match Bidding: Conservative Budget allocation: 10-20% of total

Purpose: Discover new keyword opportunities to promote to exact or broad match

The Promotion Path

1. Search Match discovery: New term drives 50+ impressions with TTR > 10% and CVR > 60%
2. Promote to broad match: Test as broad match keyword with moderate bid
3. Validate performance: If CPA stays within target over 30 days, promote to exact match
4. Optimize as exact match: Increase bid, allocate more budget

Simultaneously, add the keyword to your Search Match and broad match campaigns as a negative keyword to prevent bidding overlap.

Match Type Combinations: Common Scenarios

Scenario 1: Brand Defense

Goal: Protect brand searches from competitors

Setup:

• Campaign: Brand
• Keywords: 5-10 brand terms
• Match type: Exact match only
• Bidding: High (own your brand)

Why: You want absolute control. Broad match or Search Match could waste spend on adjacent but irrelevant terms.

Scenario 2: Competitor Targeting

Goal: Capture users searching for competitors

Setup:

• Campaign: Competitor
• Keywords: 20-40 competitor app names
• Match type: Exact match
• Bidding: Moderate (expect higher CPA)

Why: Exact match ensures you only pay for users explicitly searching for competitors, not tangentially related terms.

Scenario 3: Category Keyword Testing

Goal: Find which category terms drive installs

Setup:

• Campaign: Discovery
• Keywords: None (Search Match) or 50+ category terms (broad match)
• Match type: Search Match + broad match
• Bidding: Conservative

Why: You're testing, so you want reach to gather data quickly. Broad match and Search Match expose your ad to a wide range of related searches.

Scenario 4: Scaling Proven Keywords

Goal: Maximize volume on validated high-performers

Setup:

• Campaign: Category (Exact Match) + Discovery (Broad Match)
• Keywords: Same 10 keywords in both campaigns
• Match type: Exact in Category, broad in Discovery
• Bidding: High (exact), moderate (broad)

Why: Exact match captures the core search, broad match captures variants. You bid aggressively where precision is high, moderately where reach expands.

How Apple Determines Match Relevance

Apple doesn't publish the exact algorithm, but based on observed behavior and 2024-2025 reporting:

Exact match considers:

• Direct string match (with common typos)
• Word order variations
• Singular/plural forms
• Language translations

Broad match considers:

• Semantic similarity
• Related terms within the same category
• User behavior patterns (what users search before/after)
• Contextual signals from your app metadata

Search Match considers:

• All metadata fields (title, subtitle, keywords, description)
• App category and subcategory
• Download and engagement patterns
• Competitor set and category norms

This is why strong metadata optimization is critical—it directly influences Search Match performance.

Match Type Performance: 2025 Benchmarks

Metric	Exact Match	Broad Match	Search Match
Avg TTR	12-18%	8-12%	6-10%
Avg CVR	65-75%	55-65%	50-60%
Relative CPA	Baseline	+15-25%	+20-40%
Management Time	High	Medium	Low
Discovery Value	Low	Medium	High

Source: SplitMetrics Apple Ads Benchmarks 2025, AppTweak (aggregated 2024 data)

Common Match Type Mistakes

1. Using only broad match from the start

Problem: You burn through budget on loosely related searches before gathering signal on core terms.

Fix: Start with 50-100 exact match keywords to establish baseline performance, then layer in broad match for expansion.

2. Never using Search Match

Problem: You miss keyword opportunities you wouldn't think of manually.

Fix: Allocate 10-20% of budget to a Search Match ad group. Review search terms weekly and promote high-performers.

3. Running exact and broad match for the same keyword in one campaign

Problem: Broad match will consume most impressions, preventing exact match from gathering sufficient data.

Fix: Separate exact and broad match into different campaigns or ad groups. Add exact match keywords as negative keywords in broad match campaigns.

4. Not using negative keywords with broad match or Search Match

Problem: You waste 20-30% of budget on irrelevant searches.

Fix: Review search terms reports weekly. Add poor performers (TTR < 5%, CVR < 40%) to your negative keyword list.

5. Bidding the same for all match types

Problem: Broad match and Search Match don't justify the same CPT as exact match.

Fix: Use tiered bidding—exact match gets highest bids, broad match 30-50% lower, Search Match 50-70% lower.

When to Shift Between Match Types

From Search Match to Broad Match

When:

• A search term generates 50+ impressions
• TTR > 10%
• CVR > 55%

Action: Add as broad match keyword in Discovery campaign

From Broad Match to Exact Match

When:

• Broad match keyword hits target CPA over 30 days
• Drives 100+ conversions
• Consistent performance (no major weekly variance)

Action: Add as exact match keyword in Category or Brand campaign, add to broad match negative keyword list

From Exact Match Back to Broad Match

When:

• Exact match keyword loses volume (impressions drop 50%+)
• Search trends shift to related variants
• Competitive pressure drives CPT above target

Action: Pause exact match, test broad match to capture variants

Negative Keywords: Critical for Broad Match and Search Match

Negative keywords prevent your ad from showing for specific terms, even if they'd otherwise match via broad match or Search Match.

Format: Always exact match: [keyword]

Common negative keywords:

• [free] (if your app is paid)
• [games] (if you're not a game)
• [competitor name] (if running Search Match, exclude competitors you're targeting in a dedicated campaign)

How to build your list:

1. Run broad match or Search Match for 7 days
2. Export search terms report
3. Identify terms with TTR < 5% or CVR < 30%
4. Add as negative keywords

This can reduce wasted spend by 20-30% and improve overall CPA.

Recommended Match Type Setup by Campaign

Campaign Type	Primary Match Type	Secondary Match Type	Why
Brand	Exact	None	Maximum control on brand terms
Competitor	Exact	None	Specific targeting on competitor names
Category	Exact	Broad (separate ad group)	Precision on proven terms, discovery on variants
Discovery	Search Match	Broad	Automated discovery with keyword expansion

FAQs

What's the difference between broad match and exact match in Apple Search Ads?

Exact match shows your ad for the specific keyword and close variants (spelling variations, translations, word rearrangements). Broad match shows your ad for relevant variants and related terms, covering a wider pool of searches. Exact match offers tighter control and higher conversion rates; broad match offers greater reach and keyword discovery.

Should I use broad match or exact match in Apple Search Ads?

Start with exact match for proven keywords to maximize control and gather clean performance data. Use broad match in discovery campaigns to find new keyword opportunities. The recommended approach is a tiered strategy: exact match for core performers, broad match for expansion, and Search Match for automated discovery.

What is Search Match in Apple Search Ads?

Search Match is Apple's automated keyword matching feature that shows your ad for relevant searches based on your app's metadata, without requiring manual keyword selection. It's excellent for discovering new keywords but typically has lower conversion rates and requires negative keyword management.

Can I use the same keyword with different match types?

Yes, but separate them into different campaigns or ad groups. If you run the same keyword as both exact and broad match in one ad group, broad match will often consume most impressions. Best practice: exact match in your Category campaign, broad match in your Discovery campaign, with the exact match keyword added as a negative in Discovery.

How do I transition from Search Match to exact match?

Run Search Match for 14-21 days, export the search terms report, identify terms with strong performance (TTR > 10%, CVR > 60%), add them as exact match keywords in your Category campaign, then add those terms as negative keywords in your Search Match ad group to prevent overlap.

---

Match types are a lever for balancing control and discovery. The most effective campaigns start with exact match for precision, layer in broad match for expansion, and use Search Match for continuous keyword discovery. Adjust the balance based on your budget, category competitiveness, and optimization capacity.