Question

This is regarding broad keyword usage. Recently, at a lead gen webinar by Google, they recommended putting Exacts in their own ad group - this was new to me. Currently, my ad group contains all match types & it has worked for me for years. Even though I have working campaigns, I am considering if they will work better if I move match types into their own AG- exact/phrase & broad. Anyone currently doing this? or used Ad Groups with multiple match types & then separated them?

Answer 1

Yes, a lot of advertisers are now moving toward separating match types into their own ad groups, especially after Google started pushing this approach more aggressively in 2024–2025. 

While having all match types (exact, phrase, broad) in one ad group used to work well, today, separating them helps you control performance and budget much more cleanly.

If you split them:

1. You can bid more aggressively on exact match keywords (highest intent).
2. You can monitor broad match separately without it stealing budget from exact.
3. You get cleaner reporting to spot winners and losers faster.

Many lead gen marketers are finding that exact match ad groups allow them to maintain tighter CPL (cost per lead) control, while broad match ad groups help discover new search terms without risking their core budget.

If your campaigns are already working, you don’t have to rush into it. But testing a match-type separation setup could help you optimize even further without disrupting your best performers.