Exact Match Explained: Control Keyword Targeting

Infographic defining Exact Match criteria: a target showing running shoes and synonyms as accepted matches of intent, while socks and walking shoes are rejected.

Definition

Exact match is a matching option in digital advertising and keyword targeting that shows your ads only when a user’s search has the same meaning as your chosen keyword. It is designed to keep traffic tightly aligned with what you intend to target.

How Exact Match Works

With exact match, your ad can trigger when the search query matches your keyword in meaning, even if the wording is slightly different. This may include:

  • Singular and plural versions
  • Misspellings
  • Abbreviations
  • Reordered words
  • Close variations that keep the same intent

Exact match typically does not include searches that change the meaning of your keyword.

Example

If your exact match keyword is:

  • [running shoes]

Your ad may show for:

  • running shoe
  • shoes for running
  • runing shoes

Your ad usually will not show for:

  • walking shoes
  • running socks
  • cheap running shoes (if the added word changes the meaning you want to target)

Where Exact Match Is Used

Exact match is most commonly used in:

  • Google Ads search campaigns
  • Microsoft Advertising search campaigns

It can also be referenced in other platforms or tools that offer strict keyword matching.

Why Exact Match Matters

Exact match helps you:

  • Control which searches trigger your ads
  • Reduce irrelevant clicks
  • Improve the quality of traffic
  • Keep ad copy and landing pages closely aligned to the query
  • Allocate budget to the most important, high intent terms

Benefits

  • High relevance between keyword and query
  • Stronger control over spend and targeting
  • Easier performance analysis because traffic is more specific

Limitations

  • Lower reach compared to broader match types
  • You can miss valuable variations if the platform does not consider them the same meaning
  • Still requires monitoring because close variants can bring in unexpected queries

Best Practices

  • Use exact match for your most valuable products, services, or high converting terms
  • Pair exact match with phrase match or broad match in separate ad groups or campaigns when you also need discovery
  • Review search term reports regularly and add negative keywords to block unwanted traffic
  • Keep ad and landing page messaging tightly aligned with the exact match keyword theme

keyword match types, broad match, phrase match, negative keywords, close variants, search terms report, Google Ads keywords, Microsoft Advertising

FAQ

What does “Exact Match” mean in a face recognition search engine?

In face recognition search, “Exact Match” usually means the result is treated as the same person as the query face (a same-identity match), not just a similar-looking face. It does not necessarily mean the image file is an identical duplicate—only that the system believes the face belongs to the same individual under its matching threshold.

A regular reverse image search is strongest at finding the same or near-duplicate image (same pixels with crops/resizes/compression). An “Exact Match” in face recognition focuses on the face identity and can match different photos of the same person (different camera, angle, lighting, haircut), even when the overall image is not a duplicate.

What makes an “Exact Match” decision unreliable or misleading in face search results?

“Exact Match” can be wrong when the input face is low quality (blur, heavy compression, side profile), partially occluded (mask, glasses, hair), heavily edited/filtered, AI-generated, or taken under extreme lighting. These conditions can push the system toward near-look-alikes, causing a false same-person label even if the faces appear close.

How can I verify an “Exact Match” result before assuming it’s the same person?

Treat “Exact Match” as a lead: open the source page, check multiple photos on that page, and compare stable facial features across images (ear shape, eye spacing, nose/philtrum, jawline), not just hairstyle or makeup. Cross-check with additional independent sources (another site, another photo of the person, or another search tool) and look for consistent context (same name/handle, timeline, location cues) rather than relying on one hit.

If FaceCheck.ID shows an “Exact Match,” what is the safest way to interpret and use it?

Interpret it as a high-confidence similarity signal, not proof of identity. Use it to find candidate pages, then verify through the linked sources and corroborating evidence, and avoid sharing or acting on sensitive conclusions (e.g., accusations) based on one match. If the context is high-risk (mugshots, adult content, scam reports), apply extra verification and assume the possibility of wrong-person matches.

Christian Hidayat is a dedicated contributor to FaceCheck's blog, and is passionate about promoting FaceCheck's mission of creating a safer internet for everyone.

Exact Match
FaceCheck.ID is a face recognition search engine that lets you reverse image search the internet and quickly find an **Exact Match** for a face across publicly available sources, helping you verify identities, spot duplicates, and track where a photo appears online with ease. Try FaceCheck.ID today to search for an Exact Match.
Exact Match Face Search with FaceCheck.ID

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Exact match is a digital advertising keyword option that shows your ad only for searches with the same meaning as your keyword (including close variants like plurals, misspellings, or reordered words), helping keep traffic highly relevant and controlled.